4IR means manufacturers are using technology and digital marketing techniques to streamline their marketing strategy

We are living and working in the 4th industrial revolution where increased competition coupled with changing customer expectations translates into a renewed focus on digital marketing for manufacturers. To keep up, manufacturing businesses need to optimize their approach to digital to stand out and defend their market share.

How does the digital era influence marketing for manufacturing?

According to Mckinsey, digital transformations are 'long-term efforts to rewire how an organization continuously improves and changes'. This generic definition is true for all industries but it's particularly prominent in the manufacturing industry right now. For example, this PwC survey of oil and gas executives reported that manufacturing leaders see the most potential in technologies that combine data and analysis. In this insightful report, PwC outlined a framework for digital transformation within the sector. This demonstrates that…

Grow your IT/high-tech business across the 'internet of things' by applying these latest industry strategies for technology product marketing

What is product marketing?

Product marketing describes the management of all processes involved in taking a product to market. This field of marketing involves working with R&D, manufacturing, logistics, comms, and sales. Since your role is so closely tied to the products in your category, product marketers take the role of advocating for the customer when product-related decisions are made (positioning, launch, development, etc). In this blog, we will explore what makes technology product marketing different.

What is technology product marketing?

Technology product marketing refers to product marketing when your products are IT/high tech. Typically sold in a B2B environment, technology product marketing is renowned for extended stakeholder relations and, currently, an increasingly competitive market. Of course, the nature of IT/high tech means many technology products will be software. The growing Software as a Service…

Find out how to use the RACE Framework to optimize a more people-centric approach to marketing for manufacturing

In manufacturing, marketing enables you to connect with both wholesalers and distributors, ensuring that your product reaches your customers. However, as our target decision-makers are becoming familiar with online models for other products and services, so too must we as manufacturing marketers consider if we are still using the most appropriate tools for the job. Digital marketing has evolved tenfold in the last few years. And, whilst the adoption of new omnichannel marketing strategies has varied across different sectors, in manufacturing today we are seeing some great examples of a people-centric approach to marketing. When considering your options for how to market a manufacturing company, the RACE Framework is a really useful system for visualizing customer journeys. As such, the below examples will be structured across RACE. (Plan) > Reach > Act > Convert > Engage The RACE…

5 steps to transform your B2B manufacturing marketing strategy

The aim of business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing marketing, is to connect your manufacturing company with wholesalers and distributors, ensuring your customers obtain your product. B2B marketing has become almost identical to B2C (business to customer) marketing due to the customer conducting more thorough research during the sale process, and more notably, expecting a more digital experience, especially in the industrial and manufacturing industry with 67% of purchases being influenced by digital marketing. A model that B2B manufacturing marketing professionals can utilize is the RACE planning system, which covers the full customer lifecycle, including paid, owned, and earned inbound marketing activities. (Plan) > Reach > Act > Convert > Engage It can be used to identify improvements to your customer lifecycle by generating awareness to build your audience, encouraging interaction, lead generation, purchase, and then loyalty. Here’s how each component…

The manufacturing industry is moving towards increased use of technology and automation, but manufacturing marketing is not on the same level yet

Marketing is an important part of a manufacturing company’s activities as it connects you with both wholesalers and distributors, ensuring that your product reaches your customers. The manufacturing industry has experienced a rapid acceleration of digital marketing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the in-person limitations that this brought. The industry saw a 12% increase in website usage by manufacturing companies last year. Those in manufacturing marketing can utilize the RACE Framework which is used to structure a plan covering paid, owned, and earned inbound marketing activities. RACE covers the full customer lifecycle or marketing funnel from: (Plan) > Reach > Act > Convert > Engage It covers how to improve your marketing across the full customer lifecycle or marketing funnel from, generating awareness to build your audience, encouraging interaction, lead…

The manufacturing industry is experiencing rapid change. Catch up on the latest trends and innovations in this sector plus what we've learned about how to market a manufacturing company in 2021

Around the world, manufacturing marketers and managers are rapidly adapting and amending their marketing strategies to win more customers. Marketing for manufacturing is a unique skill, requiring a strong reliance on physical products in a digital world. That's why so many manufacturing businesses right now are relying on omnichannel marketing to acquire and retain high-value customers. We've got marketing strategies and tactics to help boost your profits. But first, let's take a deeper look into exactly how to market a manufacturing company.

How to market a manufacturing company with the RACE Framework

Regardless of your current levels of digital maturity, the RACE Framework is a structure you can use to take stock of your current manufacturing marketing efforts and find out how to…

Manufacturers are rapidly adapting their marketing strategies in the age of digital disruption. How do your digital marketing capabilities compare?

In this article, I will be reviewing the state of digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. I will give practical digital marketing recommendations for manufacturing companies at different stages of digital maturity. Plus, I'll be revisiting our popular 2021 digital marketing maturity benchmarking report to help you assess the effectiveness of your manufacturing marketing. The manufacturing industry, including the marketing of manufacturing products, has typically been slow in its approach to digital transformation over the last 20 years. There are many reasons for this. McKinsey highlights 'external market factors, combined with fragmented and complex industry dynamics and an overall aversion to risk' in construction as barriers to change in this vital area. However, the digital disruption caused…

Blockchain technology is gaining momentum in the market and hugely impacting on the manufacturing industry

Currently, the world is highly fascinated with terms such as cryptocurrency, bitcoin and blockchain technology. The reason for this is simple - people are getting are really benefitting from them, especially blockchain. When it comes to blockchain, the technology has largely evolved, bringing with it even more benefits. In this blog, we will cover the initial phase of blockchain technology, its evolution and how it can benefit the manufacturing industry. [si_guide_block id="87688" title="Download our Premium Resource – Marketing technology selection guide" description="Where do you start when deciding on the best types of services to use? There’s a challenge with the sheer number of tools which vary enormously in cost and quality and new challenger tools can sometimes do a better job than the established tools.This guide will help you harness the power of the available digital tools."/] Let us…