The only sure things in life are death and taxes. Everything else is subject to change including the way we do business. This is true even for manufacturing businesses. The B2B landscape is forever evolving. Buyer’s expectations change, so do their needs. If a manufacturing company wants to stay ahead of their competitors, they need to connect to their customers in a more meaningful way. In this day and age, this means developing and implementing a digital marketing strategy.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is simply all your marketing efforts that involve the use of the internet and digital technologies. A company uses various digital channels in order to connect with current customers and reach a wider audience filled with potential buyers. These digital channels include social media platforms, websites, and email.
Benefits of Digital Marketing:
Should your manufacturing company invest in digital marketing? The answer to that is a definite yes! The benefits of this move will make it more than worth your while and can help your business succeed. Below are some of the reasons why this is one step you shouldn’t be afraid to take.
Wider Targeting
When you utilize traditional marketing methods such as magazine ads, TV ads, or billboards, you aren’t able to exert much control over who sees your ad. Even with brochures, you can never be sure that the recipients fit your ideal customer profile.
With digital marketing, you can easily identify and target a very specific audience. Not only that, you can send a more personalized message which increases the conversion rate.
For example, you can use Facebook’s targeting features to ensure that your ad shows up in the feeds of people who belong to a certain age group, occupation, and/or interest that mirror your current customers.
More Cost-effective
With digital marketing, you’re able to track how much you’re spending on a campaign on a daily basis. You are also able to choose how much you will spend per day per channel. This means that you can easily reduce costs in one digital channel if the data shows that you’re not getting a high enough return on your investment. With traditional marketing, not only you do not have any control over who sees your ad, you won’t be able to alter the cost no matter the result.
Establish Credibility
It’s not enough that your company has specialized expertise to offer customers. You need to be able to prove to them that you are capable of delivering what you promised. Customers won’t work with you if they can’t trust you. Digital marketing can help you establish that trust and provide proof of your expertise.
How? For example, you have an online 3D printing service. You can establish credibility in several ways. One is by publishing testimonials from happy customers on your website and social media accounts. You can also choose to post blogs on your website as well as how-to videos that will establish you as an expert and a thought leader in your industry. You can even include awards and certifications on your website as further proof.
Increased Lead Conversions
As we’ve already mentioned, digital marketing enables you to target a wider, highly specific audience. This means that you are able to reach out to customers who are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer. More importantly, you can customize your marketing campaign based on your customer’s behaviour on your website and/or where they are in the buying journey. Highly personalized messages are very effective in converting leads into actual sales.
Get Repeat Customers
Repeat customers are the bread and butter of any manufacturing business. It costs less to retain a current customer than it does to acquire a new one.
With digital marketing, you can earn your customers’ loyalty more easily. Engaging with them through social media, sending them content that they are interested in. You can use their previous purchase to help you tailor your conversations with them. When customers feel special, when they realize that you understand their needs, they are more likely to stick with your brand and even recommend them to others.
Measure Your Efforts
It’s hard to know for sure how much of your current sales can be attributed to your TV or newspaper ad. This means that you can’t accurately assess the return on your investment – was the cost worth it?
Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing is measurable. You can gather data from all your marketing efforts in real-time. You can gather data from your website and social media accounts – how many people visit your site or profile, how much engagement you get, and even what content they are interested in.
Because of the data available, you can prioritize when, where, and on what to spend your marketing budget on. You can make more informed decisions on your marketing campaigns based on your customers’ behaviours on your website and other platforms, moving them further along the buyer’s journey.
Levels the Playing Field
One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is that it allows small businesses to get on the same footing as large corporations. Investing in digital marketing doesn’t need to break your bank or put you out of business. As long as you are able to create high-quality content that your customers are looking for, you will be able to stand out against your competitors, both big and small. Sure, large companies can throw a large amount of money to fund their marketing campaigns. But money is only one factor out of several to make your digital marketing strategy a success.
About the author: Louisa is a content marketing professional and editor creating her successful career past 2 years atD3D Printing. She is a goal-oriented, creative individual with a unique voice in writing, editing, and optimizing content for various projects. She’s a devoted mom and an excellent piano player.
