Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

Make sure online datasheets include ratings, classifications, sizes, operating ranges and material options for all your industrial products. 42% of engineers and specifiers said they couldn’t find complete and detailed product or capabilities information on suppliers’ websites ( Source: ThomasNet’s Industry Market Barometer™ ).

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Wiki Content Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 14, 2011

Thriving in today’s content-driven online marketing world, demands that you think like a publisher. Just as publishers start by learning everything about their target audience and what information they want, content marketers must realize it is not about them but about their customers. That’s the battle cry among content marketers.

Content Marketing 60

Content Marketing High Quality Lead Planning BtoB 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 12, 2010

There have been many studies done over the years that indicate that price information is the very reason why most B2B buyers visit a vendor’s website. The results from three separate studies confirm this: 61% of engineers surveyed indicated pricing information as one of the primary reasons to visit a vendor’s website.

Sales Management 60

Sales Management Pricing Price Marketing Websites 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 7, 2011

In other words, the online content is very product-centric. The implied C2A is “interrupt your online activity and call us for a price quote.”. Visit Grainger’s current site and you can immediately see how they’ve transformed their business by using online content marketing strategies. Need to create a bulk order?

Enterprise Management 60

Enterprise Management Effectiveness Content Marketing Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 5, 2010

said it best when she wrote, “Passive reading of your content is not going to help online marketing initiatives shorten buying cycles or increase customer acquisition and revenues.” Your online content needs to play a much more active role in moving site visitors along in his/her buy decision.

Sales Cycle 60

Sales Cycle Web 2.0 Buying Cycle Privacy Policies 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 26, 2011

Create an online version that supports complex parametric searches to help design engineers find the exact part from your inventory of thousands of SKUs. Convert that very useful piece of content from a static printed application into a real-time online application. A QR code can hold a lot more information than just a simple URL.

Product 60

Product B2B Thought Leadership Cross-Selling Thought Leadership 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Gated content or higher value content such as white papers are used for lead generation where the company provides a tangible benefit in exchange for the visitor’s contact information. Project galleries with photos that have informative captions describing the work done, size and the location of each project.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Differentiation Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 26, 2010

It may be time to invest in your online presence. Optimize, optimize, optimize : That’s the golden rule of online marketing as is location, location, location in real estate. Provide this information in plain English with compelling reasons for people to do business with you. Use case studies to demonstrate tangible results.

Rules 60

Rules Marketing Websites Web 2.0 Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

DECEMBER 1, 2011

That’s why headlines, subheads and bullets play such an important role in online content. Myth: We want our site visitors to call our sales team for more information. They will do their research online and create their shortlist of vendors long before they will engage with your salesperson.

SIC 60

SIC Peer-to-peer Buying Cycle Copywriting 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 23, 2010

Today, technical buyers and engineers expect suppliers to have a substantial online presence with a website packed with relevant content in a variety of formats and easily searchable. The more detailed and specific information you can provide with the least number of search queries or clicks, the better will be the user experience.

Rules 60

Rules Marketing Websites Marketing Automation Services Web 2.0 60

Industrial Marketing Today

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

I’ve seen some unusual applications of online content. You’ve got a winner if your online content makes it easier for them to find relevant information with the least number of clicks. This is true no matter where the content is used – Websites, email campaigns, webinars or marketing collateral.

Relevance 60

Relevance Sales Qualified Leads Sales Leads Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 17, 2011

Your blog posts will remain online in perpetuity. The same repurposing and compilation tactic can be used with other existing content such as engineering data, performance characteristics charts and regulatory compliance information. It is not just your latest post that draws traffic.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel FAQ Case Studies Content 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 1, 2012

When that doesn’t work, they turn to the Internet in search of information on how to do industrial marketing on a shoestring budget. Information is free on the Internet but proven expertise isn’t. Next, they try a series of marketing tactics without a strategy or a plan, hoping something will produce results.

Tactics 60

Tactics Planning Paid Search Agency High Quality Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 20, 2010

Anything you can do to help them find the right information quicker will score big with engineers. Add a link that carries the part number to the shopping cart if you also have an online store or to the RFQ form on your site. For other engineering disciplines and architects, you can create an online library of detailed CAD drawings.

Web 2.0 60

Web 2.0 Planning Buying Cycle Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 1, 2011

In my last post, I had briefly mentioned how manufacturers can use QR codes to link printed collateral to their online content. Construction signage: Signage at job sites is a great place to put a QR code which can include full contact information and meet safety regulations by auto-dialing emergency phone numbers. Catawba County, N.C.,

Marketing Proposals 60

Marketing Proposals Comparison Mobile Marketing Communities 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Digital marketing has also changed how industrial and technical buyers behave, search and consume information that they need at different stages of the buy cycle. The first type uses a self-serve model and is typically completed in the very first sales interaction, be it in person or online. Not so fast!

Social Media 60

Social Media Social Marketing Media Planning 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 3, 2011

You can find lots of online articles about the advantages of using a business blog for building thought leadership, communities and humanizing your company. A business blog is a powerful online marketing tool for inbound lead generation. The answer is a resounding yes.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Business Blogging High Quality Lead Business 60

Industrial Marketing Today

DECEMBER 7, 2010

This is because of the prevalent trend of industrial buyers using online resources to go deeper and deeper into their buying cycle before engaging with your sales people. So there is no dearth of information about it. Helped 9% more sales reps make quota and shortened ramp up time of new ones by 10%. What is lead nurturing?

Lead Nurturing 60

Lead Nurturing Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Qualified Leads 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 22, 2011

You’ll find a wealth of information right at your finger tips. Here’s the link to the article “Information Wants to Be Everywhere.”. They are accessing your online content on the go and using their choice of mobile device. You can easily get good data from your Google Analytics. Here’s how: Log into your Google Analytics.

Mobile Marketing 60

Mobile Marketing Paid Search Agency Marketing Analytics Tools Planning 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 20, 2012

We are afraid of giving away our trade secrets if we reveal too much in our online content. We don’t want to give away free information. Our in-house subject matter experts (SMEs) know their technical stuff but are not good writers and they don’t have time for marketing.

SEO 60

SEO Content Marketing Copywriting Content 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

They are beginning to look beyond a static informational website and are now seriously focusing on developing a more robust online presence for attracting qualified traffic, generating higher quality leads and positioning themselves as thought leaders in their respective niches.

CMS Development 60

CMS Development Curation Inbound Marketing Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 30, 2011

A landing page in online marketing refers to a page on your site that visitors see (land) after clicking on a link from another page on your site or an email campaign. It is up to your landing page to reinforce the value of the offer and convince visitors to part with their precious contact information. What is a landing page?

Landing Pages 60

Landing Pages Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

AUGUST 26, 2011

They know what they need and are looking at vendor sites for specific information. Here are some suggestions: Add QR codes to your print ads to tie together your online and offline marketing. Don’t deliberately leave out relevant information from your website in the hope of forcing the visitor to call your inside sales people.

Inbound Marketing 60

Inbound Marketing Paid Search Agency Companies Ad Frequency 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JANUARY 3, 2012

The most important ones are: Bite sized content is easier to consume online and on mobile devices. Put these higher value content behind simple sign-up forms for lead generation (Readers are more likely to part with their contact information if they find value in your blog posts). Add links within your posts to these longer content.

Long Tail Marketing 60

Long Tail Marketing Thought Leadership Content Marketing & Strategy 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JULY 14, 2010

I searched Wikipedia for information but couldn’t find an exact definition. In his post, Manifesto For The Content Curator: The Next Big Social Media Job Of The Future, he defines a content curator as “someone who continually finds, groups, organizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online.”

Curation 60

Curation RSS Web 2.0 Content Marketing 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 25, 2011

According to eMarketer’s Lauren Fisher, author of the new report, B2B Lead Generation: Using Content to Acquire Customers : “Online content is the fuel for the new B2B marketing lead generation engine,” said Fisher. “In

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Marketing Funnels Content Marketing High Quality Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 21, 2010

A B2B blog is the perfect online tool to accomplish that. Capture visitor information – Implement a method to capture visitor information from your business blog. Install some kind of a sign-up form to capture basic contact information such as name, company name and email address. That’s all you need for now.

Web 2.0 60

Web 2.0 Buying Cycle B2B Blogger 60

Industrial Marketing Today

JUNE 19, 2010

And they use different sources to get their information. Here’s a chart from Enquiro’s white paper, “Building Business Online: Your Digital Persuasion Portfolio” that shows how specific content from your website plays a role at different stages. What marketing content you serve at each phase of the buying cycle also matters.

Relevance 60

Relevance B2B Marketing CMS Development Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 1, 2011

After lead nurturing: Salespeople only call those prospects that have sent a clear signal of their readiness to buy with their online interactions with your marketing content. Your content has helped them make a more informed decision. You’ve become the trusted resource and not just another vendor listed on their spreadsheet of bids.

Lead Nurturing 60

Lead Nurturing Cold Calling Leads Lead 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 23, 2011

Stick with “white hat” SEO tactics – ones that will genuinely attempt to provide useful and relevant information to your human readers in response to their search queries (See my earlier post, “3 DiY SEO Mistakes to Avoid When Optimizing Industrial Websites” ). Joe Pulizzi refers to this as his 80/20 rule.

Content 60

Content SEO CAN-SPAM Buzz 60

Industrial Marketing Today

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

After sampling your content, your blog readers are more likely to download the complete article/white paper in exchange for their contact information (lead generation). If it is a big topic, break it up into a series of short posts to encourage first-time visitors to come back for more.

Marketing Websites 60

Marketing Websites Curation Ad Exchange Case Study 60

Industrial Marketing Today

MAY 14, 2010

Once they find the correct part number, offer datasheets with performance characteristics, applications and tolerance information, include a way for the visitor to send a quick question to your engineering department and if applicable, add a “buy now” button to take advantage of online sales. Thanks for sharing!

Webinar Metrics 60

Webinar Metrics Marketing & Strategy Marketing Strategy Product 60

Industrial Marketing Today

APRIL 3, 2011

Customers in turn get 24/7 access via a secure online portal to personalized content such as: Detailed and critical cradle-to-grave records of every valve installed at their plant. Add value to them with every visit to your site and/or download and help them make a more informed decision. Help to frame the discussion in their minds.

Planning 60

Planning Work Management Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Their call to action was asking site visitors to call the toll-free number in order to get the latest information. It is true that a manufacturer’s website is the hub of its online presence. That digital marketing strategy is doomed to fail even before it gets off the ground.

Paid Search Agency 60

Paid Search Agency Marketing Management Content Buying Cycle 60

Industrial Marketing Today

OCTOBER 1, 2011

It is up to marketing to create relevant content, optimize it for search engines, promote it online via social media and other outlets, score prospects, nurture leads until they are “sales ready” before handing them off to sales. It needs to do all the heavy lifting for creating qualified opportunities for industrial sales.

Top of Funnel 60

Top of Funnel Inbound Marketing Bulldog Solutions Lead Ranking 60

Industrial Marketing Today

DECEMBER 12, 2010

For example, a site visitor with a very high level of activity (several pages visited including pricing information, downloaded white papers, and viewed online demos) would score high on engagement. A phone call or progressive landing pages may be needed to unearth this additional information.

Lead Ranking 60

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 60

Industrial Marketing Today

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

According to Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor , you are going to need two critical pieces of information to conduct a content audit. There is plenty of information out there about buyer personas. Industrial buyers of today use online content extensively in making their buying decision.

Buying Cycle 60

Buying Cycle Buy Marketing Budget Web 2.0 60