Industrial marketers need to catch up to the rest of the advertising world when it comes to attracting new clients and maintaining existing relationships.
In the past, cold calls and emails were two of the most common ways of reaching out to potential clients. Then along came email, which seemed to revolutionize the game…but actually, it was just the beginning. Applications like email are becoming a dime a dozen every week!
The best marketing campaigns nowadays must be flexible and able to adapt to any new information. So how do you get new, up-to-date information on what your clients and prospects want?
Industrial or manufacturing companies who want to increase their digital marketing should pay attention to these 6 tactics to formulate the best plan for their business.
1. MEASURE YOUR ROI
Only 44% of industrial marketers measure their ROI. That means the majority of manufacturers don’t know if they’re spending more than they’re making on marketing!
By measuring the return on your investment, you can determine what marketing techniques are working, and which don’t. Only then can you know what you should do to improve your performance and pay for the expense.
Data and analytics can help you determine how many times your website is accessed; which portions of your webpages are attracting attention or getting skipped; which videos people are watching; and even how long a person watches or re-watches a video. When you monitor your numbers, you will be able to determine the best ways to spend your marketing dollars so that you get the best return on your investment.
2. USE VIDEOS TO IMPROVE YOUR CLICK-THROUGH RATES
Your click-through rate is the number of times a potential customer actually clicks on any link in your email. That link should direct them back to the landing page that you’ve prepared on your website.
Your click-through rate is one of the best indicators as to how well a specific email or marketing strategy is performing.
Even adding the word “video” in your subject line will increase email opens– and an image with a play button is one of the most popular calls to action you can create.
Statistics show that when you send your prospects a quality video through an email, the click-through rate can increase by as much as 200-300%! (But don’t actually send the video file in the email, as we’ve discussed on previous episodes.)
3. USE VIDEOS TO INCREASE YOUR CONVERSION RATE
Your conversion rate is determined by how many visitors on a webpage actually fill out a form and become leads. If you were to test two identical pages against each other, and merely added a relevant video to one of the two…the page with the video would win.
Including a video on a landing page or in a social media post can increase your conversion rate by up to 80%.
Potential clients look for things that make their lives easier. With a video, they can listen to your pitch without having to read through all the fine print. They can see it, hear it, and remember it much easier than if they had to spend the extra time reading through an entire article.
3. CASH IN ON GENERIC SEARCHES
Just over 70% of business to business searches start with a generic keyword or phrase.
For many people, it’s much faster to use a generic search term than it is to try to think of the exact keywords they need, especially if they are unsure of what ones will produce the best results.
Not everyone looking for your company or product actually knows the official terms for what you do.
You may sell “ceramic cook-tops,” but most people will start their search with the term “stoves,” or “stove-tops.”
In most cases, when a researcher begins to look for a specific item, process, or industry-related topic, they will begin with the most basic search terms possible. This will give them a few ideas on expanding their research, and will often lead them to more advanced searches with specialized keywords as they move forward.
4. DON’T IGNORE THE MOBILE MARKET
We live in a mobile market now. Over half of all internet users worldwide go to their phone first instead of a computer. But in the US, that percentage is even higher: as of 2017, 63% of US internet users use mobile devices to surf the web. That’s too many to ignore.
If you want to increase the return on your marketing investment, you need to make sure to target and cater to mobile users, too.
92% of most mobile users will share videos that they access while on their mobile devices. Videos or podcasts can be viewed while a person is on the move., This makes it easier for them to watch without having to take the time to stop what they are doing to read an email.
If you offer someone convenience, they will listen and share. If you don’t provide services via the medium they’re accustomed to, they’ll drop you like a hot potato and go find somebody else.
5. USE VIDEO. SO MUCH VIDEO
Videos are the biggest, baddest tactic you can muster. They may be common in most B2C campaigns, but industrial manufacturers are only just now starting to recognize video’s considerable value. As a result, video is just getting started as a major component of industrial marketing.
Whatever you’re already doing in marketing – be it in-person demos, personalized brochures, or educational training – can be done with video.
Video adds the genuine human element to any tactic, and increases your reach far more than it could have been otherwise.
Almost 87% of marketers in the manufacturing industry are starting to include videos as an integral part of their marketing plan. For many, convenience is the name of the game.
Video is convenient for marketers, because they can re-use the same clip to answer common questions they get all the time. Video is convenient for prospects because watching a quick video means less time wasted trying to find your way through a written article, ebook, or email.
6. DON’T DISCOUNT SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media offers a fast and effective way to reach numerous people at one time. Almost 72% of marketers in the manufacturing industry will increase their social media presence in 2019 alone.
Increasing your presence on social media makes it easier for current customers to follow your activity and share news with their peers who may be interested.
Social media offers as many opportunities to connect with new acquaintances as any networking event. If you’re not “in attendance,” you’re going to miss out on the majority of introductions that your peers are having without you.
Keeping track of your own marketing tactics is the best way to find out how effective your campaigns and strategies really are. As an industrial marketer, your niche is unique. It’s up to you to find out which tactics work best for you and your company. If you don’t, then somebody else will – and they’ll take the business that you’ve passed up.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get every new episode, blog article, and content offer sent directly to your inbox. You can also subscribe wherever you download podcasts so you can listen on the go!
If there’s a particular topic that you’d like for us to talk about, or if you have a particular a challenge that you’d like us to take a crack at, send us an email. We’d be happy to answer them for you. If your topic gets picked for a future episode, you’ll win a free IndustrialSage t-shirt!
Sponsored by Optimum Productions
Author: Rica
Since the inception of IndustrialSage back in 2017, Rica has been one of the driving forces building IndustrialSage. As Marketing Manager, she's dedicated to producing amazing content on the site. There's little she loves more than storytelling: helping to explain new ideas in order to aid others in solving their problems. Fortunately, that's what IndustrialSage is all about.
