The manufacturing sector here in the UK – and internationally – is poised on the edge of a seismic shift, in which data-driven decision making, automation, and digitalisation are transforming the way that businesses manage production and promote their services. For manufacturing SMEs and service providers, this changing landscape presents a range of opportunities which, if harnessed effectively, can instigate strong growth in sales.
In what ways can digital marketing support manufacturing businesses to thrive in the modern economy?
Building Brand Awareness On Social Media
‘Brand’ is a specific thing for manufacturing businesses. While most often associated with visual image and style, for manufacturers ‘brand’ is more than this. Your brand is your professional credibility, as expressed by your company story and background, your service record, your accreditations and certifications, and your track record for innovation. Social media is a good way of demonstrating this credibility in a changing industry, responding in real time to news, emerging technologies, and events, and showing that your business has the means of ‘walking the walk’, not just ‘talking the talk’.
Tips:
- Choose the right platforms: LinkedIn is a natural fit for manufacturing B2B outreach, while Instagram is a good platform for showcasing the visual aspects of your products and business model.
- Use content narratives: use your social media content to tell compelling business and project stories. Visual content and videos, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your facility, and regular testimonials can all contribute to a richer narrative that increases the credibility of your brand, while injecting consistency into your content.
Using Data To Make Better Marketing Decisions
Data is a means of better understanding your market and customer base. The advanced analytics tools provided by platforms such as HubSpot can give you valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences, your website performance, and even the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
Tips:
- Precision segmentation: divide your customer base into segments according to their purchase behaviours and interests. This segmentation enables you to tailor your marketing content and outreach for the best results.
- Predictive modelling: predictive models help you foresee trends and anticipate customer needs, providing essential insight at a time of rapid change. By doing so, you can adapt your offerings and messages to meet your customers’ current needs, thereby increasing conversion rates.
- Customer feedback loops: surveys, customer reviews, and social media monitoring provide unfiltered insights that are instrumental in refining your marketing strategy and improving your customer experiences. Acting on the insights you gather can enhance the competitiveness of your products and business.
- Communicate improvements: Sharing how you responded to customer feedback is a powerful way of building trust and loyalty. Customers appreciate when their input is taken seriously, and it can often lead to stronger and more enduring relationships.
Customer-Centric Marketing, 2024 Style
Digital marketing has always been about personalisation and customer centricity, and for manufacturers, this can present a conundrum. Manufacturing, traditionally, is a product-focused sector, and while you can sell the benefits and value of a product through marketing, ultimately, a customer will either want your product, or they won’t. So where does personalisation and customer-focus fit into marketing for manufacturers?
Tips:
- Personalise the customer experience: the customer experience and buyer journey is unique for each customer, even if the product you sell is the same for all customers. Marketing gives you the capability of personalising the customer experience to precisely meet the challenges, constraints, and aspirations of tightly defined customer groups. This is important because it helps to keep your products and services relevant at a time of radical change, empowering you to not just sell features and benefits, but to genuinely explain the ways in which a product or service can help your customers to grow and thrive. This subtle shift makes your marketing content more about them than about you, which can make it easier for your team to close deals.
- Strategic use of technology: marketing itself has changed over the past few years, and so for manufacturers, investing in technology that enhances the customer experience can boost your brand profile and B2B sales. You don’t have to spend capital on every new tool and gadget. However, modern CRM systems and automation platforms, data analytics tools, and AI productivity tools can help you in several ways, offering deeper insights into customer behaviour, streamlining your communications, and reducing the cost of marketing. Investing in the right technology stack can boost the efficiency and effectiveness of all your customer centric marketing initiatives.
Seizing The Opportunities
Digital marketing has never been a more promising field for British manufacturers. If you’d like to find out more about marketing and how it can help equip your business for growth in 2024 and the years to come, please contact one of our specialists today by calling 01332 982022.
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