Industrial Marketing

Manufacturing Marketing: 6 Reasons to Make the Online Leap

Written by Kerry O'Malley Friday, 23 April 2010 12:07

businessmanthinking Change is never easy for us humans. We're comfortable with what we know we know - even if what we know we know is that what we're doing isn't quite working any more. All the same, taking a leap outside of our comfort zone and trying methods that are unproven requires more effort, and can be a little scary. Regardless, industrial marketers have got to suck it up, take a deep breath, and take the leap from more traditional marketing methods to online marketing. It doesn't have to be a wholesale change; but adding online tactics to the marketing mix is going to be a requirement for marketing success in the next few years.

The times, they are a changin'! Nobody today goes exclusively to traditional marketing communications such as trade publications, trade shows, mailers, and filed brochures for information they need to do their jobs. If manufacturing marketers want to connect with customers and prospects at as many points as possible, they must integrate online marketing programs into their marketing communications plans.

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The New Manufacturing Marketer: Educator and Evangelist

Written by Kerry O'Malley Sunday, 18 April 2010 13:42

woman.explaining_to_boss There's a shift going on in the world of marketing communications. If you're responsible for marketing in a manufacturing or industrial service company, you're probably more keenly aware of this than most. The shift is from traditional marketing methods (print advertising in trade journals; industrial P/R through trade journals; trade shows; direct marketing through the mail; hospitality events, etc.) to Internet based marketing tactics such as strategic website optimization; social media marketing; blogging; email marketing; online article and news release marketing; webinars and podcasts; and even video marketing through sites like YouTube.

We're still living in a world where people go to both offline AND online sources for information, research, vendor sourcing, and networking. This can make an industrial marketer's job more challenging, and not just because you have to stretch your marketing dollars across a broader range of tactics. Convincing execs to give the thumbs up to less tried and true methods can be difficult.

If you can relate to this, it may be time to build stronger bridges with colleagues in other departments, including your bosses, if you want support for your online initiatives. If marketing is your world, you are probably more educated than those around you about the shift from offline to online marketing tactics. You also have a deeper understanding of the need to reach your target audience at as many "touch points" as possible in order to build brand awareness and credibility and achieve "top of mind" status. If you want to help your company keep a foot in both marketing worlds as the shift continues, you now have two more titles added to your job description: marketing educator and evangelist.

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So What's Different About INDUSTRIAL Marketing Communications?

Written by Kerry O'Malley Tuesday, 06 April 2010 13:36

worker.plant.hardhat One of my Twitter followers asked me a question today: "What's the difference between industrial marketing communications and regular BtoB marketing communications?" In the Twitterverse my answer could only be 140 characters long and it was: "Smaller, more targeted audience; less feelings driven and more problem-solutions driven; limited options for message delivery." (I obviously didn't get to answer as comprehensively as I would have liked.) In order to satisfy my need to fully express (and provide more information for my Twitter friend,) here's a more detailed answer to that question.

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On Demand: Ask me Anything

Written by Kerry O'Malley Monday, 05 April 2010 15:04

woman-with-puzzle For months now I've been blogging my little heart out about industrial marketing communications: tips, ‘how to's", observations and insights, and other forms of "advice" based on my many years of experience marketing industrial products and services. Just one little problem . . . my posts must not be compelling enough to warrant a conversation with my audience. (I'm not looking for sympathy; it's just time to do something different!)

What would YOU like me to write about? Is there anything marketing communications related that you'd like to know more about? Are there any problems you're having with your own marketing program that have you scratching your head? Could you use a different perspective on how you're marketing your products and services? WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

Ask me anything about marketing communications! Really! I'm here to serve (and hopefully generate some interactive conversation with my audience.) If I don't have the answer based on my own experiences, I'll research it for you. As in school, no question is stupid and I'll be happy to apply 100% of my experience to the answer. So shoot!

If you don't want to comment on my blog, email me instead:

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What's Your Value?

Written by Kerry O'Malley Sunday, 01 November 2009 20:59

Create a value proposition that makes it crystal clear how your company differs from the competition.

Does your company have a "value proposition" that all of your employees know, understand, communicate, and attempt to provide every customer or potential customer? It doesn't have to be rocket science, although I've read plenty of articles that tell you "how to do it," authored by marketing gurus or MBA's that make it seem much more complicated than it is. It's not easy, but it really is one of those things that you can apply the KISS principal to. It can have powerful results if driven from the top, down through the company ranks.

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