4 Strategies to Get More from Your Manufacturing Marketing Efforts

Manufacturers often struggle to get results from their marketing efforts.

Sometimes, it’s the result of relying on traditional sources of marketing in the belief that catalogs, tradeshows and industry advertising are the primary drivers of manufacturing lead generation, e-commerce sales and revenue growth.

Sometimes, the problem is brand story messaging that is so product-focused that it doesn’t convey the and the real value you provide to your customers.

Often, the problem can be tied to an approach that is more random than strategic: a few trade shows here and there, a website makeover, and the occasional email sent out into the wide world of potential prospects. The results tend to be unimpressive, or worse: undetectable.

On the other hand, an approach built on a comprehensive and holistic marketing strategy that leverages brand storytelling and digital marketing best practices will drive results you can measure—in dollars, not clicks.

Marketing Strategies that Drive Leads & Grow Profits

Here are four marketing strategies that drive manufacturing leads you can close – to grow your profits and your business:

1. Strengthen Your Foundation

• Refine your brand story. When you lead with products, services and features, it is easy for prospects to tune out. They’re more interested in what you know about their problems and how your solutions can resolve them. Brand storytelling is built around your prospects’ journey and your role in helping them succeed.
• Differentiate with solutions, not price. How you talk about your products matters.
• Conduct market research. Knowing what your ideal customer profiles (ICPs – e.g., target markets) value most in your products is critically important and won’t be fully understood unless you survey your customer base annually.
• Sell online. If you haven’t implemented e-commerce—or have but aren’t seeing 20-30% annual e-commerce sales increases—you are leaving money on the table. E-commerce has never been faster, easier or more cost-effective to implement, and both inbound and outbound marketing best practices help ensure sustainable, double-digit growth.

2. Inbound Marketing

• Optimize your website for search engines and AI. Expertly executed search engine optimization (SEO)—and increasingly AI search optimization so you are found in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT—are the difference between a website that drives leads and a website that just serves as an online brochure.
• Leverage your content with syndication. In combination with careful onsite SEO practices, a robust program of content syndication on high-profile and cost-effective websites can lead to dramatic jumps in keyword rankings.
• Implement e-commerce sales without channel conflict. Highly customized e-commerce marketing strategies can amplify your reach and create new opportunities, leveraging the brand awareness and marketing materials you already have.

3. Outbound Marketing

• Take a targeted approach to email marketing – and follow up on it. Curated email lists, a compelling subject line and message, and diligent follow-up can drive success in the most cost-effective outbound effort available to you.
• Automate LinkedIn prospecting. Targeting influencers and decision makers can now be automated using services like Dripify to like posts, send connection requests, and forward a series of messages designed to get these prospects to engage with you.
• Explore new markets. Blue Ocean strategy is a means of making competition irrelevant by creating and capturing uncontested market space.
• Optimize your distribution channels. Develop the right mix of OEM, channel and direct sales for maximum profitability and minimum conflict.

4. Get Help

• Partner with manufacturing marketing experts. Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all effort, and it can take up to 16 different skill sets to maximize your marketing ROI. Look for a partner with manufacturing industry experience and a process that begins with a deep dive into your business. Starting with a marketing audit can show you where your efforts are falling short and create the foundation of strategies that drive double-digit growth.
• Track leading and lagging marketing KPIs. All manufacturers want sales, which is the ultimate lagging indicator when considering everything that goes into a sale. This starts with organic search engine rankings, AI search results, website traffic, pay-per-click campaign clicks and conversions (e.g., Google Ads), email campaign opens and clicks, and lead generation.

Take the Next Step

Custom marketing programs developed by Innovaxis for manufacturers are built on a unique approach to marketing and deep industry expertise.

With a process that starts with getting to know your business thoroughly and is tailored to the problems of your target market, we craft, implement, and hone marketing strategies to generate the results you need.

If you’re tired of investing time and money into random acts of marketing that don’t produce the results you’re looking for, an Innovaxis marketing audit can show you why.