Discover the art of securing industrial clients through strategic targeting and tailored marketing approaches.
Understanding the Industrial Market Landscape
To successfully target industrial clients, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the industrial market landscape. You are not selling from business to consumers (B2C) but to representatives of other companies (B2B). This involves researching and analysing the various sectors within the industry, identifying the key players, and understanding the dynamics and trends that influence the market. It can also mean gaining a deep understanding of the supply chain within the sector, and where your company fits in.
Where do you fit in the supply chain?
Understanding where your company fits in the supply chain is crucial for successful industrial marketing. A supply chain encompasses all the steps involved in bringing a product or service from its raw materials to the end consumer. This includes sourcing materials, manufacturing products, distributing them, and ultimately delivering them to customers. It can also include engineered solutions, as well as the testing and installation of them.
By understanding where your company fits in this complex network, you can better identify your target market, tailor your marketing messages, and offer solutions that meet the specific needs of industrial clients. Whether you are a supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, knowing your role in the supply chain is essential for positioning your company effectively in the market landscape.
Sub-sectors in industrial marketing
By gaining insights into the market landscape, businesses can better position themselves and develop effective marketing strategies. What does this mean in reality? Industrial marketing is a broad field, and to effectively target the right audience, it's often broken down into sub-sectors. Here are some common examples:
1. Manufacturing: This sub-sector focuses on marketing products and services used in the production of goods. This could include machinery, equipment, raw materials, software solutions for production management, or industrial automation systems.
2. Construction: Marketing within this sub-sector targets companies involved in building and infrastructure projects. This could involve construction materials, heavy machinery, building automation systems, project management software, or safety equipment.
3. Energy and Utilities: This sub-sector caters to companies involved in power generation, transmission, and distribution. Marketing efforts might target solutions for renewable energy systems, grid management software, power plant equipment, or specialized maintenance services.
4. Aerospace and Defence: This specialised sub-sector focuses on marketing products and services to the aerospace and defence industries. This could involve parts and materials, defence electronics, simulation and training systems, or specialised software for engineering and design.
5. Transportation and Logistics: Companies involved in the transportation of goods and people fall under this sub-sector. Marketing efforts might target solutions for fleet management software, logistics optimisation tools, warehouse automation systems, or specialised vehicles for industrial applications.
6. Healthcare and Medical: While this might seem separate from traditional industrial sectors, there's a growing sub-sector for marketing industrial equipment and services specifically for the medical field. This could involve medical device manufacturing equipment, sterilisation solutions, or specialised materials used in medical implants.
7. Technology and Automation: With the rise of industrial automation and Industry 4.0, this sub-sector caters to companies developing and implementing advanced technologies in industrial settings. This could involve marketing solutions for robotics, artificial intelligence for industrial applications, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, or industrial data analytics platforms.
These are just a few examples, and the specific sub-sectors within industrial marketing will continue to evolve as technology and industry needs change.
Another important aspect of understanding the industrial market landscape is identifying the unique challenges and pain points faced by industrial clients. This knowledge can help businesses tailor their marketing messages and solutions to address these specific needs, making their offerings more appealing to potential clients.
Identifying Key Decision-Makers in Industrial Organisations
To effectively target industrial clients, it is essential to identify the key decision-makers within industrial organisations. In the context of marketing (and sales), what are the attributes of a decision-maker?
- These are the individuals who have the authority to make purchasing decisions.
- They influence the buying process.
To be clear this is NOT the purchasing department. They have a role to play, but they are not the decision-makers. One of their jobs is to filter out suppliers who aren't suitable or recommend suppliers who are, but they don't make the ultimate decisions. By identifying and understanding these key decision-makers, businesses can tailor their marketing efforts and messages to resonate with their needs and preferences.
Avoid giving free consultancy
In my experience, you will find many many individuals in industrial settings with a need. These people want help and look for solutions. Watch out though. It is often the case that they have no budget as they are not the decision-makers. That doesn't mean you shouldn't engage with them, but it is really important to qualify them. If they don't have a budget, what steps do they have to go through to get one? Can you help produce the business case or financial justification?
If you don't qualify the customer, you can find yourself giving free consultancy in the belief that a sale or work will appear at the end of it. I have witnessed sales and operations staff spend hours with a client, over weeks and months, trying to help them only for the end of the discussion to be:
"So would you like us to draft a proposal?" only for the client to answer "Oh no thanks, I have everything we need now" or "No that's ok, I don't think I can get the budget for this, but I learnt a lot from you".
Decision-makers need a different message to those with a problem
It's human nature for many of us to be liked by our clients. Therefore we offer help. There's nothing wrong with that, but be clear on the terms under which that help is being given. Marketing your offerings to the people with the need is not the same as marketing to the decision-makers. Their requirements are different, so be very clear on who your audience is and why. Identifying key decision-makers in a company is crucial for any successful B2B interaction.
Research the typical buying process within the target industry. This can help you identify different stakeholders involved and where key decision-makers play a role.Tailor your outreach to each decision-maker, highlighting how your product or service addresses their specific needs and challenges. Identifying decision-makers might take some effort. Be persistent in your research and outreach, but also be patient as connecting with the right people can take time.
Lead generation from digital marketing requires different messages
If you are using digital marketing to create lead generation, then understanding who the real buyer is within an organisation is critical. As an example, one company I worked for sold specialised and premium training solutions and equipment to large power generation companies. The client with the need was nearly always the training manager or head of training. This individual usually had to make a business case for any large investment to go to the station executive. They were not the key decision maker.
Our digital marketing was firmly aimed at the training community, as they would be the ones to engage with us, but our messaging provided them with the information and value propositions which would allow them to believe they could make the business case e.g. "Our solutions reduce downtime" or "Our equipment reduces error rates". These factors were important to the power station executives - the key decision makers.
Crafting Tailored Marketing Messages for Industrial Clients
Crafting tailored marketing messages is crucial when targeting industrial clients. Industrial clients have unique needs and requirements, and generic marketing messages may not resonate with them. It is important to understand the pain points and challenges faced by industrial clients and develop messaging that addresses these specific concerns.
When creating customised marketing messages, it's crucial to showcase the unique benefits of the product or service being offered. Industrial clients are focused on efficiency, productivity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. As their assets age, they may also be looking to prevent obsolescence by replacing outdated equipment. By highlighting how the product or service can assist them in achieving these objectives, businesses can capture the attention and interest of industrial clients.
Your customers know best why they bought from you
As a former Business Development Director, successfully growing a number of engineering companies, three key groups should be involved in developing the messaging. The marketing team, the sales team, and customers. The sales and marketing teams were often in conflict. The marketing team wanted to present the company in the best light (brand), and the sales team wanted to find customers with a problem and the money to solve them (qualified leads). It was our customers who gave the best insight as to whether our value propositions or marketing messages met their needs.
Having a meaningful conversation with existing customers is a really good way to determine your messaging, but this needs to be an honest conversation on your part. It can't be an exercise to reaffirm your beliefs or flatter your personal or company ego. For example, if you ask the question "Why did you buy our solution?" you may well get your company brochure words fed back to you.
If you ask more pertinent questions and follow up with more e.g. "Why did you really choose us?" you might get a completely different set of answers such as "Well your service met our need, but we really chose you, because you promised we would get 10% more throughput, and your team had done this 5 times before." Or they might say something like "You were the most straightforward to deal with, you answered our questions promptly in plain language, you didn't push a hard sell."
Find out what's really important, dig deep
Now you are starting to understand what's important to them, not what they say is important. If they give an answer like those above, keep asking the 'why' questions e.g. "Why was that important to you at the time?" "Why did that solve an issue at that moment?" "Why was 5 times enough to convince you?". When you dig below the surface you will find out more about the real buying habits and what is important to the client. This should inform your messaging.
Leveraging Digital Tools for Effective Industrial Client Engagement
In today's digital age, leveraging digital tools is essential for effective industrial client engagement. Digital marketing channels offer various opportunities to reach and engage with industrial clients, including social media, email marketing, content marketing, and search engine optimisation.
By leveraging digital tools, businesses can enhance their visibility, build brand awareness, and establish themselves as thought leaders in the industry. They can also use digital platforms to share valuable content and resources that address the specific needs of industrial clients. Additionally, digital tools provide valuable data and analytics that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategies and refine targeting approaches.
Increasing brand awareness is not lead-generation
Increasing brand awareness and establishing a brand's reputation is an important aspect of marketing (digital or otherwise) and supports more traditional methods of sales (cold calling, networking, exhibitions etc). It is not lead generation though. This requires a different mindset, set of skills, and content for your digital platforms.
If you use a tool like Google Search Console for your company website, and find that the majority of people who come to your site are finding you by searching your company name, or variants of it, it's telling you that potential customers are finding you because they know you exist. However, what about those companies that don't know of you? You need a digital marketing strategy that means those potential customers with a problem can find you, and that's where the likes of content management, search engine optimisation etc feature.
How are your competitors using digital marketing?
Traditional business development, sales or commercial C-suite employees may not see the need for digital lead generation, after all, they got to where they are without it so why do they need it now? I read some interesting facts the other day:
- 49% of all B2B spending now takes place online.
- 68% of buyers say they will increase their use of digital shopping channels in the future.
- 64% of business buyers are either Millennial or Gen Zer.
How true are these numbers? Who can say, but it does appeal to our own experiences and observations, particularly post-Covid where many industrial companies are now far more used to using technology (such as video calling via the likes of teams), hybrid and remote working. If you aren't already using your digital platforms to generate leads, you can be sure at least some of your competition is. To compete and generate leads online these companies must adapt their marketing strategies and investments to generate meaningful and qualified leads.
Evaluating and Refining Targeting Strategies for Industrial Markets
Assessing and fine-tuning targeting strategies is a vital component of industrial marketing. As markets shift and customer preferences evolve, it's crucial to continuously evaluate the effectiveness of targeting strategies and make necessary adjustments.
One effective method for evaluating targeting strategies is to analyse key performance indicators (KPIs) such as conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer retention rates. By monitoring these metrics, businesses can pinpoint areas for enhancement and adjust their targeting approaches accordingly.
Staying abreast of the latest industry trends and technologies is also essential. This enables businesses to tailor their targeting strategies to align with the changing needs and preferences of industrial clients. Regularly monitoring and analysing market trends can offer valuable insights for refining targeting strategies.
