Every manufacturing business is different so the marketing challenges you will face as you grow and evolve as a business will also be different. In this series of two blogs we will look at the most common marketing challenges for UK manufacturing companies.
The first of our blogs will focus on strategic marketing. Looking at the challenges you face at a business level. Our second blog will focus on challenges with tactical marketing, with the content you will need to create, and the marketing channels you use for reaching your target audiences.
Business level challenges when marketing for manufacturers
- Low brand awareness
Often in our initial discovery meetings, manufacturers will tell us they are “the best kept secret”. This might have worked for a few years while they’ve been growing and selling into a niche market. However, things change. New competitors come on the scene, investment and technological change can require a wider range of products and services to be sold or long-standing loyal customers might be acquired by larger groups with a preferred supplier list in place. Suddenly being a secret is not a good thing. If this sounds familiar, brand building is what you need to raise awareness of your business and position you as a key player with authority in your chosen markets.
- Differentiation from the competition
It can be hard to stand out from the crowd particularly for manufacturing companies that are selling commodity products, raw materials or components. There’s a reason you’ve had some of your customers for years and it won’t be down to price. You are offering them value but it’s sometimes difficult to identify what that value boils down to and how you can use it to get more customers. Marketers are trained to uncover that value and present it in such a way that will differentiate your business.
- Identifying your target audience
Knowing how to prioritise and where to focus your marketing efforts can be overwhelming. Whether you are a manufacturer targeting a niche market with exceptionally technical products and specialised services or are selling into a broad market, it can be challenging to identify and segment your audience.
Marketing strategy decisions need to be made early regarding what will work best for your business – a broad approach to the masses with some sector specific or customer type tailoring or a highly personalised account based marketing approach to a few high value prospects. If you’re not sure what your perfect customer is, how to prioritise your marketing or where to start with segmentation, an experienced B2B marketing agency specialised in manufacturing will be able to guide you through the process.
- Sales lead generation
Many manufacturers are finding it more difficult than they used to to generate sales leads. This is because marketing and selling to customers has changed. There has been a shift to customers researching and finding what they need online without relying on early contact with salespeople. This is why marketing has grown in importance and lead generation techniques such as SEO and ABM, and marketing channels such as your website and paid social media, are more vital than ever.
Customers narrow down their options before they make an approach and if they haven’t found any information about your business, you’ll be knocked out of the running or not on the shortlist in the first place.
- Long lead-times or complex decision making
We hear about this challenge from clients all of the time. The fact that the lead-time from initial interest, through to customer conversion and then to delivery of the project can be 18 months to 2 years or even longer. The industrial B2B sales cycle often involves very complex decision-making processes with different teams within your prospects business needing to be involved at different stages. This can make it challenging to know who to focus your marketing effort on and when.
B2B marketing agencies who work with manufacturing companies are used to working on projects that need sustained marketing. Nurturing prospects through the marketing funnel and supporting sales by building relationships over time, from initial enquiry to customer conversion, is what we do on a daily basis.
