What Did You Expect to Happen? Get the result you expect in your marketing campaigns

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Simple question, with a not-so-simple answer. We ask this question to our customers and prospects alike, and the answer will surprise you. As manufacturing companies build their marketing plans, they use email marketing drip campaigns, industrial public relations, inbound content marketing, and advertising tactics. Now, you might be thinking the answer is sales, and you would be right if you connect the dots. The problem is the dots or “steps” in your plan are disconnected.

Do you know what to expect when, and how it will be measured? Knowing what success looks like and what you expect will be critical 9 months from now when you are asked in a meeting, “is your program working?”

Major tactics and the most common gaps in each

Email campaigns are still one of the most used and effective in modern marketing. You control the content, who by persona you are targeting, and the result you want to happen. With most contract manufacturers, your sales cycle is long, 12,24 even 48 months in some industries. Email marketing lets you maintain a relationship with your prospect, impart expertise to make your case, and at the end of the day, measure engagement. Engagement is your window into who is interested and who is not inside your CRM. With reporting, you can measure who is active, who is reading your emails, visiting your website, downloading your technical papers, and even reading the quotes you sent. Engagement is the measurement on the path to sales and answers what we want to happen by this activity.

Industrial public relations are often one of the most misunderstood tactics. We hear “We just want to make a splash. We want prospects to know our name,” OR “we want to send a press release. OK, why? I ask again, what do you expect to happen when you send a press release? Most manufacturers think a press release is an article, it is not. Or, the simple tactic of sending a release drives the sale, again, no.

Getting coverage in a coveted trade magazine, with a high circulation that matches your target audience is the first step.

That said, the purpose of a press release is to get the attention of the editor so that they consider writing about your company news. A more direct approach is pitching proprietary case studies to a publication. A case study, prominently featured, drives interest and website traffic. This is the dot you are looking to connect. The measurement hence is a lead capture structure inside your website that gathers the lead information. Then (see email marketing above), you can begin the process of engagement leading to the ultimate measurement, that elusive sale. One note of caution, public relations is a long-game tactic. With editorial cycles and magazine issues planned months in advance, you need to be ready for the success that is measured in years, not weeks.

Inbound content marketing is the process of drawing prospects to your company through content they want to read. Content that solves their problem. Here, drafting content about your products and services, highlighting the problems you solve is key. One of my favorite responses to “our prospects are not on the internet or our business is just so niche” is Engineers worth their salt and under 40 Google everything. And, these engineers are not at their desk; they are on the manufacturing floor, solving problems and searching the internet from a device. Wouldn’t you want to be the solution they see first? Like public relations, this content strategy needs to have a system to capture these leads and begin the measurement process. One of your dots can be more leads and measurement here is easy. Read: Why Manufacturers Need a Content Map for Inbound Marketing Success Now, you can answer the question of why you are researching, writing, and publishing content on your blog. Justification of your spending on content generation is easy when you can show the leads and sales generated.

Advertising (print, pay-per-click, paid social) comes in as many facets as there are ways to spend your budget. With leads and engagement in mind, now that you have seen the rationale above, advertising can yield immediate results. All ads can impact name recognition, elicit a response and uncover hidden needs with your prospects. LinkedIn paid social ads for example generate leads in real-time (very measurable). Imagine calling an interested prospect within minutes of their response. This is what is supposed to happen in advertising campaigns – lead generation.

See this article on why digital advertising is very relevant in the no-trade-show-pandemic world we’re living in currently. Why Manufacturers Should Invest in Digital Advertising Right Now

The dots in this process include voice of customer assessments, copywriting, graphic design, photography, and video – all the tools an advertising campaign needs. This should help you support your budget request, as you can show the results.

Let’s discuss today what expectations you have for your marketing plans for the remainder of 2021. Call Rob Felber (330) 963-3664 or email RobFelber@FelberPR.com to arrange a time to speak.

How to Write a Great Manufacturing Case Study

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Case studies provide your manufacturing company an incredible opportunity to showcase your expertise, product value, and customer service. While testimonials are great, case studies go a step above by highlighting a customer story from start to finish. Continue reading to learn some key tips to make your case studies stand out and resonate with your prospects.

  1. Write About Your Most Relatable Customer Story

Do you have a clear understanding of who your ideal prospects are? Check out our blog Why Developing Buyer Personas is Invaluable for Manufacturers to get a crystal clear vision of the ideal prospects you’d like to close as customers. When your prospects read your case studies, the goal is to have them resonate with the story.

To do this, we suggest highlighting an industry-specific need the customer had and explain how your product or service was the solution. Ultimately, you want your ideal prospects to read the case study and say ‘I have that same problem’ or ‘If they helped XYZ Company, they must be a trusted industry supplier.’

Media Appointments That Are Out of This World – Case Study, Fabrisonic LLC.

  1. Don’t Cut Out the Details

Unlike a testimonial, a case study is meant to be in a long format. An excellent case study really allows your audience to get to know your customer, understand your company’s relationship with them, and fully explains in detail your work together.

Make sure in your case study that you explain the challenge your customer had and how you helped them with their unique goals and challenges. If you and the customer went back and forth with a few design iterations before landing on the final part design, don’t cut that out. Allow your readers to see the full picture and understand all that went into the project. Need help writing content? Our experienced writers are available to help.

  1. Legitimize the Story with Metrics and Visuals

To have an effective case study that your prospects will read and engage with your company, it is essential to include metrics to legitimize your story. Did you create a product in record time? Include in the story how much quicker you got your solution to your customer. Did switching their product manufacturing from another process to your process save them money? Include a quote from your customer talking about cost-savings.

Felber PR rebrands PMI

Include tangible results so your readers have a clear understanding of what you could do for them. When you are done writing your story (and it’s been approved by your customer to go live), don’t forget to add customer-approved high-resolution visuals or videos. Photos, infographics, and videos are a phenomenal way to enhance your story and get your message across to prospects.

Are you saying to yourself, this is great but I’ll never be able to get my customers to participate in case studies, don’t fret.  Check out our blog, How to Convince Your Stubborn Manufacturing Customers to Participate in Case Studies for our tried and true tips to get them to say yes!

Concerned your staff of engineers can’t write? Not to worry. Our experienced writers will help you unlock the content vault. Since 1993, we’ve developed blogs, case studies, white papers, press releases, literature, and eBooks for business-to-business manufacturers. Give me a call: Rob Felber (330) 963-3664 or RobFelber@FelberPR.com

 

How to write content engineers will read, and then take action

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Whether you are targeting business owners, financial executives, salespeople, or engineers, your writing must always focus on your audience. One particularly difficult audience to target is engineers. Whether they are mechanical, electrical, civil, or chemical, all engineers like facts, not fluff. Engineers, especially those under 40, have taken to the web to research, find partners, and solve problems.

Your task, which is increasingly difficult in a fast-paced, internet dominant world, is to capture their attention. Engineers can influence the use of technology, position your products ahead of the competition, and often are the main gatekeeper to adopting your products. 

Three key factors to include in your content for manufacturing engineers is:

  • Data-focused information that clearly features specifications and facts
  • Content that conveys trust and authenticity 
  • Tools and assessments

Just the facts…Whenever possible, use charts, infographics, and video demonstrations. You are appealing to their engineering brain. Analytics, third-party lab results, industry standards are all a must to include when writing for the engineer. If they are putting their name and reputation on the line to recommend your product, they will want to have evidence to back it up. Make the evidence easy to access, download and understand. Need content help?

Trust is critical. Make sure to convey your company history, past success, and standing in the industry. Do you have associates holding positions in key industry trade groups? Has your CEO or lead engineer been featured in a magazine? Are you involved in peer-reviewed research? Use your involvement to portray a company that will not let them down. In all sales, they will not work with you until they trust you. 

Online assessments. If your product allows, this is a great place to include online calculators, surveys. and quote builders. Provide the information they need quickly and efficiently and you will be leaps and bounds ahead of your competition. Use email to send them their results. They will save the email for reference and have your contact information too. You’re painting a picture of a company that has been there and is experienced in the problems they face. Demonstrate this whenever possible. 

Now, just because your content is filled with facts, figures and charts do not mean the quality of the writing is secondary. We hear it all the time, “I am an engineer, not a writer.” No worries. We have a team of technical and journalistic writers that are very skilled in sorting facts from fluff and crafting content engineers will want to read. Have a project or case study you need to be wordsmithed? Give me a call or send me an email. RobFelber@felberpr.com  or (330) 963-3664.

The Best Google Chrome Extensions for B2B Manufacturing Salespeople

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Top B2B manufacturing salespeople understand the power of optimizing their daily work routines to sell smarter, not harder. Below, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 Google Chrome extensions for B2B manufacturing salespeople that boost productivity, optimize the sales process, and allow you to build deeper relationships with prospects that ultimately, lead to sales.

1.  HubSpot Sales Chrome Extension

Manufacturing salespeople are looking for new ways to take their prospects into the customer end zone. Are you utilizing a CRM, email tracking and quotes-sent opens to get a better insight into your prospects and customers so you can sell more seamlessly? HubSpot CRM is free to get started (though there are paid available depending on your needs.) Seamlessly sync Gmail or Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce (if you have it but not necessary since HubSpot offers a free CRM), to engage with prospects and customers more efficiently. With HubSpot Sales, schedule & track your email opens and replies access contact information, and share sales documents, presentations, and proposals/contracts with ease. Get HubSpot Sales Chrome Extension here.

 

 

 

 

 

2.  Vidyard Chrome Extension

 

 

 

Looking for new ways to crush the sales game and deepen relationships with prospects and customers from the comfort of your office or home? We use a free video platform called Vidyard (and so do our manufacturing clients). Vidyard allows you to take videos through your computer webcam or your phone on the Vidyard app. When using Vidyard on your computer, you have the option to record just yourself, yourself with your screen, or just your screen. Record and share unlimited videos for customer presentations, employee onboarding, team updates, and more—in just a few clicks. Get Vidyard here.

3.  Grammarly Chrome Extension

 

Let’s face it, it’s been years since we learned about pronouns, nouns, and verbs from Schoolhouse Rock videos. Not a writer or a perfect speller? Not to worry. Grammarly gives manufacturing salespeople a handy around-the-clock editor to review and refine emails, blog posts, social posts, and sales documents. Best part? It’s free and checks your grammar, spelling, and word choices so you can feel confident that you’re using the best messaging every time you engage with prospects, customers, influencers, and co-workers. Get Grammarly here.

 

4.  Giphy Chrome Extension

GIFs are a great way to ‘break the ice’ with prospects and customers in your sales emails, blogs, and social posts. Your prospects and customers are sick of seeing the same boring emails. Adding a GIF is a great way to insert personality into your emails and cut through the clutter. Just make sure you double-check to ensure there’s no cursing or inappropriate words on the GIF before sending it! Giphy Chrome Extension allows you to search for GIFs, and drag and drop ones you like into your email or content. Get Giphy here.

 

5.  LastPass Chrome Extension

 

There is nothing worse than trying to remember countless passwords with varying characters and complexity. Not to worry, you don’t have to memorize or even write down your passwords. By utilizing the LastPass Chrome Extension, you can sync this information across all connected devices. Additionally, utilizing LastPass as your password manager creates another level of security with your login information. Get LastPass here.

 

 

 

 

 

We hope you give these helpful Google Chrome Extensions a try. Have a helpful can’t-live-without Google Chrome extension that all manufacturing salespeople need to implement ASAP? Leave it in the comments section below!