As a result of complex sales processes, suppliers to the manufacturing sector often have difficulty generating leads and marketing their products.
Manufacturing often involves intricate production processes over an extended period of time, but also the coordination of various stakeholders across the supply chain.
Hence, the manufacturing industry presents a unique set of challenges when it comes to making a sale.
Here are three key ways that suppliers can refine their B2B marketing strategy and increase sales.
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Make sure you have an online presence
Today’s marketing landscape is predominantly digital and today’s B2B buyers expect an engaging digital experience
In the B2B marketplace, Gen X and millennial consumers dominate purchases.
More than 60% of millennials now make or influence purchasing decisions for their businesses or employers.
Ask yourself:
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Do you have an up-to-date website?
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Are you ranked high in Google when people search for the products you sell?
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Is your business email active and visible?
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Is your website, email, and other marketing materials linked to social media?
If not, your online presence probably needs improvement.
Make warm contact
Unsolicited emails or cold calls are rarely welcomed, even if what they are offering is valuable to the recipient.
People rarely purchase from a business on their first encounter with them –Â the average customer journey consists of multiple points of contact.
The customer journey in B2B can be even more complex, so your ability to funnel people through the process and establish touchpoints is crucial.
Furthermore, since nurturing cycles are getting longer, B2B marketers need to engage customers more in their sales funnel if they want to see results.
Warm contacts are those who have already had some form of contact with your company before you call or email them.
By warming up your potential customers before selling to them, you can take advantage of the fact that people in a B2B market are already more likely to be open to contact.
The key to making warm contact is to get manufacturing companies to interact with your business. As a result, social media profiles, email marketing software, and other marketing tools should be invested in.
Invest in email marketing
One of the most popular tools in inbound marketing, email marketing allows you to communicate with existing customers and new prospects.
People check their inboxes multiple times daily, so you have plenty of opportunities to reach them.
The challenge is getting them to actually read, appreciate, and act on your email – especially in B2B industries like manufacturing, where product prices are high and multiple decision-makers are involved.
Personalizing your email content is key to successful email marketing, as your leads may not be ready to make a purchase right away.
Engage them gradually through a targeted marketing campaign and high-quality content so that your brand and products become more credible to them.
A successful email marketing strategy can:
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improve your customer service through feedback and reviews
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increase customer touchpoints and maximise sales with automation
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boost website traffic
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drive visitors to your website using newsletters and educational resources
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provide valuable content to your audience to build authority and give you a competitive advantage.
Marketing to UK manufacturing companies
The UK manufacturing companies database from More Than Words Marketing contains 64,345 registered limited and PLC manufacturing companies.
If you lack the infrastructure or time to carry out your own campaigns use our managed email and telemarketing service.
Interested in finding out which companies in the manufacturing industry we can connect you with? Call us at 0330 010 8300.
