7 Reasons why manufacturers can’t ignore marketing

If you are a manufacturer, you probably focus a lot of your attention on getting your product out the door. Will it go wrong? Is it the best possible version? What are the weaknesses, and how can I make my operations more effective?

Amidst these concerns, it’s no surprise that marketing slips down the priority list. But in an increasingly digital world and with rising competition, manufacturers can’t afford to let this happen. You need marketing to tell your brand story, expand your reach to audiences and ultimately secure leads.

Below, we’ve compiled the reasons why manufacturers can no longer ignore marketing.

The manufacturing landscape is changing

There’s a movement towards digital. A rising skills gap and labour shortage. Growing competition, and ever-shifting regulations. A pandemic that’s still having a major impact on manufacturers. All of these things should be seen as reasons why, now more than ever, manufacturers need to revamp their marketing to drive sales and boost their appeal to employees and potential customers alike.

The marketing landscape is changing too

Gone are the days of solely product-focused marketing distributed through traditional channels like print and broadcast media. Nowadays the focus is squarely on the consumer, their pain points and how those products will appeal to them. With a whole suite of new digital technology at their fingertips, manufacturers have a whole new avenue to reinvent themselves and find a new audience - the trick is knowing how to do it.

The industrial buying process is much longer and more complex

Rarely are manufacturers selling to just one person – they have to convince multiple stakeholders. That’s a long sales process, not helped by the fact that nowadays 70% of buyers define what they want on their own before interacting with a salesperson. That’s why it’s even more important to invest time in the pre-sale activity, create a name for your business, make sure your USPs are hitting home and selling a compelling story, which brings us to this next point.

Manufacturers need a brand story

Boring brands don’t generate the level of leads they want. It’s that simple. If the only thing that defines your company is your product, then guess what – you are exactly the same as everyone else. You have to give your customers a reason to care. That’s why you need to create a narrative that gets the attention of potential customers across a variety of good marketing channels. Want to find out more about building a brand story? Take a look at our guide here. 

Your product isn’t good enough on its own

It doesn’t matter how good the product is: if the marketing is boring/non-existent, or if it doesn’t do enough to explain how it will answer a customers’ pain points, they won’t listen. In ‘The New Way to Market for Manufacturing’, Bruce McDuffee argues that manufacturers have strong product-focused cultures, but if they changed their culture even just a little bit so they can answer the consumer’s main question (what’s in it for me) they will win.

Digital marketing helps you measure what’s working and what isn’t

So many companies push the same old marketing out the door day on day, month on month, year on year, without thinking about whether it is actually working or not. However, with an entire suite of online tools now available (Semrush, Google Analytics and so on), there’s no reason why manufacturers shouldn’t be measuring their progress and adapting accordingly.

More than anything, marketing gets results

Revamping your marketing strategy will help you take a step back, create tangible goals and ensure that your brand message isn’t falling on deaf ears.

That’s where Nutcracker comes in. We’ve worked with manufacturers to help them identify the gaps in their current marketing strategy and develop a new one that combines social media, content, PR and email marketing into a cohesive package that gets results.

Want to find out more about how manufacturers can market themselves and their products more effectively? Read our guide ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in Manufacturing Marketing’ today, or contact us at hello@nutcrackeragency.com to find out more.