How Industrial Marketers Can Increase Traffic, Leads, and Customers

If you’re an industrial marketer who wants to increase traffic, and ergo leads, and ergo customers for your industrial business, you need to:

• Realize marketing is no longer outbound.
• Employ inbound marketing.
• Plan for multi-channel marketing.
• Construct an inbound funnel.
• Never cease on your quest for results.

The only difference between industrial marketing, and the techniques used by other businesses…is that the customer base is normally made up of other “industrial” companies.

Almost all industrial marketing is B2B, and not B2C.

Your prospects and buyers can include suppliers, manufacturers, buyers, and retail outlets. The basic premise of an industrial marketer’s job is to draw interest, educate those you are trying to reach, and hopefully get them to purchase products or materials that will support and sustain your company.

1. REALIZE MARKETING IS NO LONGER OUTBOUND

In the past, the main way to generate new leads or to let people know about your business was through cold calling and emails. With today’s advancements in technology, those are now practically obsolete.

You no longer send sales reps out into the world seeking buyers: if you’re ‘worthy,’ then the buyers will come to you.

Information, education, and interaction are now the best ways to market yourself, even in an industrial setting.

Through the use of blogs and SEO, you can put yourself into the line of sight of potential customers. By giving them something interesting to read, you pique their interest. The goal is to attract their attention.

Once you have attracted a stranger and turned them into a visitor, you can provide them with information that will convert them into an actual customer. Closing the deal and providing satisfactory results completes the cycle and allows you to continue to grow your client base.

Attract, Convert, Close, and Delight.

These four steps are invaluable if you want to maintain positive marketing results.

2. EMPLOY INBOUND MARKETING

Inbound marketing uses specific tools to bring readers into your circle. Through the effective use of social media, blogging, link building, and various types of media usage, you can attract the types of customers you need to keep your company on top of its game.

The content you use to inform and educate your potential audience must always be relevant to the problems they may be facing. It has to be interesting and easy to read.

In a world driven by information and interaction, the way to earn attention is to offer things that are attractive to your target audience.

Use free downloadable whitepapers; customer testimonials; video case studies; tutorials and webinars; and any other type of marketing tool that will stand out.

Make sure keywords and phrases are used strategically to keep your content at the top of the search rankings. SEO is one of your most valuable tools and can be used to your advantage in both written and audio content.

For inbound marketing to be effective, you have to utilize tools that will draw in your audience. Once they are there, it’s up to you to make them want to stay.

3. PLAN FOR MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING

Multi-channel marketing involves utilizing every tool available to keep your audience both intrigued and excited to be there.

Some of the most important channels you can use to funnel new customers into your circle include:

• Social media
• Blogs filled with quality content and useful information (building SEO)
• A visually appealing website and landing pages that boasts your brand
• Marketing automation that keeps your material top of mind for viewers and allows them to interact with you
• Quality email newsletters that are informative without being overbearing

Social media websites and forums that allow you to interact with your target audience.

Blogs, whether they’re your own or syndicated by others, are a great way to build and share audiences within your network. If you promote other relevant blogs, they may do the same for you – and either way, your audience wins!

If you want to have an effective marketing strategy, you have to know where your potential audience lingers and what they want: then give it to them in a way they can easily access.

Wrap everything up with a tidy call to action that encourages prospects to follow through with the process. If they are truly interested, the call to action will be the last bit of encouragement they need to convert into a lead, then into a buyer, and create a lasting relationship.

4. CONSTRUCT AN INBOUND FUNNEL

The inbound funnel acts like a spiral that builds up speed as it goes along.

The first step is to use SEO to create the highest quality content possible. The next step is to introduce it through various means: a video presentation, well-written blogs, or creative content that can be shared through social media websites.

Visually appealing landing pages on your website are a must. Scatter small calls to action throughout the website and within each piece of content.

The idea is to get each visitor to eventually fill out a form that details what they are looking for.

When you start to receive new leads, send them a short email on an automated platform. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to capture their attention and encourage them to follow through on their need to connect with you.

The best way to turn a lead into a bona fide customer is to catch and maintain their interest. Don’t bother them with fluff. Give them something useful they can employ each time you contact them.

In the industrial market, those content offers can mean anything from introducing a new process, to how you are working to improve your impact on the environment, to a free video on five podcasts they might like.

The last step of building out this automation is to evaluate your marketing strengths and weaknesses.

What has worked out the best? How can you improve your ads or your content? Look at the feedback from your existing customer base, and try to create an platform that maximizes your potential and strengthens any weaknesses you may have. Never cease to hone your process.

5. NEVER CEASE ON YOUR QUEST FOR RESULTS

One of the biggest benefits of digital inbound marketing is that the return on your investment is trackable.

With the use of analytics, you can determine which type of marketing tool provided the most visitors, to the most leads, to the most conversions, to the most buyers…and ergo, which tools are most lucrative.

The key is using that information to help you improve your marketing strategy all the way around.

As your number of committed clients begins to increase, so will your revenue. This, in turn, will result in more exposure over a larger network, especially where social media is concerned. Basically, the more you offer in terms of quality connection, the more you get in return.

Even though inbound marketing is often associated with small businesses, it can be effectively used in the industrial realm as well. By adapting to the specifics of your B2B industry with the right content, you can use these new marketing strategies to draw in new clients while maintaining and strengthening the relationships you have with existing ones.

 

 

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