Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 2, 2010

Let’s look at two case studies to see how industrial marketers are using email to reach and engage with industrial buyers. Case study #1: B2B lead generation through better segmenting and more focused email content Business challenge: FreightCenter wanted to change its customer mix of 70/30 (B2C/B2B) to a more B2B-centric mix.

Email Marketing 60

Email Marketing Planning Web 2.0 BtoB 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 29, 2010

According to a study done by Professor John A. One of the key findings from the study was that B2B marketers are realizing that developing brand awareness among their customers’ customers can capture a larger share of channel margins and build loyalty that can protect them against lower-priced competitors.

Relevance 60

Relevance B2B Marketing Web 2.0 Brand Identity 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 26, 2011

I too have read all those studies about the how the Internet has permanently changed the industrial buyer’s behavior. Credibility is built over many years of performance in the field and not by the frequency of blog posts, number of Twitter followers or Facebook likes. An updated website serves them well as a point of reference.

Inbound Marketing 60

Inbound Marketing Paid Search Agency Companies Ad Frequency 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

HubSpot in their recent study of over 1,400 small- and medium-sized businesses, found that marketers with blogs generate 67% more leads. Business blogs for lead generation Even though business blogging is not widely used in B2B marketing and especially in industrial marketing, it can be very effective as a tool for lead generation.

Lead Generation 60

Lead Generation Business Blogging Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 22, 2010

I also found a fascinating video interview on Andrew’s blog that really drives home the point with a case study featuring Mr. Fred Whyte, President of STIHL Inc. You can buy the book from Amazon and visit his site at www.distributiontrap.com. The interview is split over four videos.

Distribution 60

Distribution Web 2.0 Lead Ranking Privacy Policies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 26, 2010

Make judicious use of Facebook, LinkedIn and Tweeter to communicate directly with your core audience and gather free market intelligence. Use case studies to demonstrate tangible results. The bottom line is for your content to engage your prospects and customers at every stage of the buying cycle.

Rules 60

Rules Marketing Websites Web 2.0 Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

According to the same research study done by GlobalSpec, during the initial Research phase, 42% of buyers evaluate four or more suppliers, but as buyers move closer to Procurement, only 26% get quotes from four or more suppliers. However, these tend to be far more effective in the later stages of the industrial buy cycle.

Buying Cycle 60

Buying Cycle Marketing Automation Services Peer-to-peer Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

Content marketing does not mean churning out white papers, case studies, articles, blog posts, podcasts and webinars for the sake of putting out content. How can you use marketing content to generate a decent volume of sales-ready leads at a low(er) cost? What is effective content marketing?

Buying Cycle 60

Buying Cycle Buy Marketing Budget Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 23, 2010

Build a library of various content assets such as published articles, white papers, online demos, webinars, videos, technical specifications, datasheets, case studies and customer testimonials. Instead of thinking of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as lead generators, use them to increase awareness and drive traffic to your website.

Rules 60

Rules Marketing Websites Marketing Automation Services Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 7, 2010

Here are some of the key findings from the study: Emerging Trends: 61% of the respondents (500 total) cited Driving Revenue as the most important success metric as compared to Sales Accepted Opportunities (40%), Qualified Leads (39%) with website visits and click-through rates trailing way at the back at 12% each.

Lead Generation 60

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Web 2.0 B2B Marketing 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 19, 2010

The chart below from a research study done by Forrester illustrates this point very clearly. Even if you have carefully segmented your target audience by demographics, different people within the same company can and do react differently to your content. And they use different sources to get their information.

Relevance 60

Relevance B2B Marketing CMS Development Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 5, 2010

Provide him/her with case studies and client testimonials to lower their risks and fears of selecting you. Convert prospects into leads – a prospect that has made an inquiry or responded to an offer is now a lead.

Sales Cycle 60

Sales Cycle Web 2.0 Buying Cycle Privacy Policies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 21, 2010

Lead nurturing of a vast majority (up to 70% according to some studies) of site visitors and prospects who are not “sales ready” right now. Social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are free to set up.

Marketing Automation Services 60

Marketing Automation Services Inbound Marketing Marketing Automation Top of Funnel 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 24, 2009

Studies have shown that people retain information quicker and longer when you engage their visual senses. Share customer stories or provide examples to make it more interesting and help your readers connect with their own situation. READ If you are going to edit your own content which is not a good idea, then read your text aloud.

Web 2.0 60

Web 2.0 Copywriting Content Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 14, 2010

in Museum Studies, but the idea of acting as a curator of information to post on our website for the benefit of our clients and customers is extremely interesting. Achinta offers his industrial clients marketing for engineers by an engineer. { Maybe it’s my M.A.

Curation 60

Curation RSS Web 2.0 Content Marketing 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 21, 2010

If you are still not sure about the benefits of using a business blog, head over to HubSpot and read these articles: 6 Reasons Every Small Business Should Be Blogging… Are You Missing the Boat?

Web 2.0 60

Web 2.0 Buying Cycle B2B Blogger 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 14, 2010

What do you do when the bulk of your marketing content, with the exception of case studies is product focused? However, industrial marketers face a challenge when it comes to producing a steady stream of fresh content to keep their target audience engaged. How do you shift the focus from you or your company to your prospects and customers?

Webinar Metrics 60

Webinar Metrics Marketing & Strategy Marketing Strategy Product 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 11, 2011

Highlighting completed projects and a few case studies seem to be the norm. Update old articles with more recent case studies that use concepts from those technical articles. Tweet about the updates and announce them on your Facebook page to drive more traffic back to your Website. Email updated articles to existing clients.

Thought Leadership 60

Thought Leadership Marketing Management Peer-to-peer Service 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 1, 2010

That was the key finding of a research study done by McKinsey & Co. The table below shows results from the study that shows what sales reps do wrong to turn off B2B customers. Glad to hear that “sales experience&# was validated/reinforced in another study.

Marketing Automation Services 60

Marketing Automation Services Web 2.0 B2B Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Follow the golden triangle – several tracking research studies have shown that site visitors tend to track through content in a rough F-shaped pattern (see Jakob Nielsen’s eyetracking study ). Try to eliminate these bottlenecks on your landing pages because your prospects will be far more critical and suspicious then you are.

Traffic 60

Traffic Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Top of Funnel 60

Industrial Marketing Today

DECEMBER 15, 2011

Even though the content marketing adoption rate for these companies is at an impressive 83%, I am surprised that it is even that high; the Manufacturing/ Processing industry (as defined in the report) is dead last among the six industries studied. See chart below ). These results match what I’m finding on the ground.

Paid Search Agency 60

Paid Search Agency Trends Content Marketing Companies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 24, 2010

If you need more empirical proof, then look at the recent study done by GlobalSpec, Trends in Industrial Marketing 2010: How Manufacturers are Marketing Today. The use of supplier websites is at number two, second only to search engines.

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Marketing Budget Buying Cycle Web 2.0 60