It has long been a fact that marketing is an indispensable element of any company’s business strategy. However, we still see a lack of understanding of its importance in the production context. Industrial companies need marketing no less than enterprises operating in the end consumer market. Of course, industrial marketing has its own characteristics and requires a different approach, but its importance and significance are difficult to overestimate
Industrial companies are 96% more likely to achieve competitive levels of sales development if they implement an integrated marketing approach to create sales opportunities (Aberdeen)
What is industrial marketing?
This is a complex of marketing works for industrial and manufacturing enterprises, factories, suppliers of industrial goods and services
As experience shows, it often happens that the task of marketing in industry is to solve all sales problems, and quickly and preferably without attracting telemarketing data additional funding. Or marketing falls as an additional function to the sales department, and no one really understands what its function is. In a number of other cases, industrial marketing is reduced to preparing printed materials and advertising leaflets, participating in thematic exhibitions and other minor tasks. And even if a company gets a specialized marketing specialist, it often happens that the heads of manufacturing enterprises simply do not understand what tasks and functions he should perform and what indicators to monitor
In fact, industrial marketing is a complex, comprehensive and multi-stage work that affects fundamental areas of the enterprise’s activities.
What are the objectives of industrial marketing?
Let’s figure out what the main tasks of marketing in industry are and what subtasks they include
Organization of sales of manufactured goods or provided services and ensuring sales growth
The task includes:
- attracting new clients (quality lead generation)
- promotion of new products/services
- analysis and improvement bu leads of the customer journey and the path to the customer
- growth in sales of related products/services
- increasing brand awareness and trust
- formation of the company’s image
- building a communication strategy
Ensuring profit growth (sales margins)
The task includes:
- deeper segmentation and development of relevant marketing materials ( positioning , USP , industrial design)
- formation of pricing policy
- promotion
- analysis and improvement of the sales system
- increase LTV
Development of development strategies
The task includes:
- determining the development prospects of a new direction/product/service, including in new segments, in new markets
- analysis of the market segment capacity before launching production
- development and implementation of a strategy for entering the market with a new product/service
- development of a strategy for competition and increasing competitiveness
- development of a strategy for attracting investment
Features of industrial marketing
Industrial marketing has several fundamental differences from consumer marketing, so it requires a aero leads different approach and a certain adaptation of traditional marketing tools.
- The target audience is quite narrow, which requires the development of more precise, personalized marketing strategies . Here, it is simply unacceptable to act in a template manner. It is necessary to pay special attention to product, pricing and sales policies, principles of service, and think about a communication strategy for interaction with the client.
- Long sales cycle. In the industrial sector, it takes longer to make a purchase decision. This is due to both the specifics of the goods/services, the availability of large amounts of information, competitor analysis, etc., and the specifics of the management structure. Accordingly, the marketing strategy should take this aspect into account
- Business relationships are of key importance. Industrial marketing is about building long-term relationships with customers. The principles of partnership, trust, respect, honesty, etc. play a major role, on which the success and long-term nature of business cooperation depends.
Trends in Industrial Marketing Development
Global trends have been showing for several years that industrial marketing is moving from traditional marketing strategies to digital marketing strategies, which is quite natural given the global trend of digitalization. This means that approaches, principles and methods of marketing in industry must be transformed. Such tools as personal meetings, phone calls, mailings, exhibitions, printed advertising materials, etc. remain important, but in order to interact with customers more effectively, it is worth developing and implementing new strategies that include working in social networks and content management, using online advertising tools , working with a website and SEO promotion , using video marketing, etc.
Industrial Marketing and Digitalization. Some Statistics:
- By 2027, the global industrial marketing automation market will reach $45.3 billion
- 43% of industrial marketers use email as their most effective content distribution channel
- 70% of B2B buyers look for online content during the buying process
- LinkedIn is the most popular social network for industrial marketers: 81% use it to distribute content
- 45% of marketers who work in the manufacturing sector report that their organization prioritizes organic search traffic (SEO
Let’s sum it up
Do industrial companies need integrated marketing? The answer is a resounding yes, especially given modern trends. Global practice clearly confirms that manufacturing companies should have long been using an integrated strategic marketing approach, while taking into account the key features of marketing in industry. Global experience in figures clearly shows that it is extremely important to use digital tools in a marketing strategy, which will not only increase sales and profits, but also gain long-term competitive advantages.
We at seven mountains understand entrepreneurs very well because we have many years of personal experience in industrial business. We know how industrial marketing works and are ready to help you.