Four marketing action items for manufacturers
By Elena Garuc, Executive Director, FuzeHub
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, meeting customer demand isn’t enough. Small and mid-sized manufacturers must have a continuous pipeline of new sales in order to thrive and grow. However, it is becoming more challenging to connect with key decision makers to accomplish this.
Technology is constantly evolving and has changed how people communicate, research products and parts, and make purchasing decisions. In comparison to the past, your target audience now has more control over the sales process. The internet enables them to easily research information and pricing at the blink of an eye. Caller IDs, gatekeepers, spam filters, and “no soliciting” signs are making it more difficult for manufacturers to proactively connect with prospects. And the nonstop barrage of advertisements and sales pitches are making it more difficult to become memorable.
Developing a robust marketing program is crucial to increasing sales and sustaining growth. Here are four action items your business can take to improve your marketing outreach efforts.
1. Establish a Marketing Strategy:
Before you start sending out e-blasts or tweeting, your marketing initiatives must be driven by a structured strategy. An organized marketing strategy provides companies with the necessary foundation required before moving forward. While the specific defined goals and objectives are unique to every manufacturer, businesses are typically looking to achieve the following:
- Enhance brand awareness
- Generate new leads
- Convert leads into sales
- Increase sales from current and former customers
It’s vital for manufacturers to have a strong marketing strategy in place, so take the time to identify your goals and create a calendar of your efforts. Your strategy should also be written down and communicated with key decision makers. It is also vital to include leveraging multiple marketing channels, as targets communicate in different ways.
2. Update your Website:
Your website is essentially a “digital salesperson” for your organization. If your website isn’t consistently generating new leads and sales for your company, it’s time for an upgrade. A successful website does the following for your team:
- Gets found by quality prospects when your products and services are looked for in search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)
- Establishes your industry credibility
- Engages with and nurtures website visitors at all stages of your sales cycle
- Depicts your brand in a positive light
- Provides your team with data and analytics to help the sales process
In addition to dynamic graphics highlighting your brand, updating your website’s content is critical to digital success, as your content should provide a simple journey for your website visitors. Providing helpful information via checklists, white papers, blog entries, and eBooks will help you engage with your audience. Sharing case studies and testimonials validates your business.
Whether you have an internal marketing specialist or use an outside vendor, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) efforts will help you increase website traffic. In the age of smartphones, it is also imperative to have a mobile responsive design.
3. Embrace Social Media:
Social networking is no longer a fad – it’s a regular method of communication and conducting business. Social media platforms can help your team connect with new prospects, showcase your products, share content, and increase your website traffic. Here are some ways manufacturers can use the most popular social media sites:
- LinkedIn – LinkedIn has a plethora of established networking groups where people can share information, ask questions, and network. By joining LinkedIn groups, you have an ability to connect with targeted leads and gain insight into industry news and trends.
- Facebook – This is a great way to constantly engage with customers and prospects to share content, gain feedback, and upload pictures and videos to personalize your company.
- Twitter – While it allows only 140 characters to share a message, Twitter is an easy way to quickly distribute company news and pictures.
- Pinterest – This platform is very visually based, so companies can share pictures of their products, parts, and processes.
- YouTube – From product reviews and product demonstrations for potential consumers, to quick FAQ videos for current customers, YouTube can help you connect with multiple audiences.
4. Rework your Email Marketing Communication:
Your e-mails or eNewsletters require more substance than just shooting out your sales pitch and hoping for the best. People receive a superfluous amount of emails, so yours have to be targeted, personalized, and unique. Here are five quick tips to improve your e-mail outreach:
- Branding – Your e-mail templates should be consistent with your brand. Incorporate your company’s logo, color scheme, and messaging into your e-mail communication.
- Content – Share information that genuinely helps your target audience. Providing how-to tips, industry news, and solutions to their problems will help you establish your credibility. All e-mails should have a clear “call-to-action” at the end and include links to your website.
- Scheduling – Sending out a single e-mail here and there makes it challenging for your audience to feel an ongoing connection with your company. Whether it’s monthly or quarterly, have a consistent email schedule and stick with it.
- List Maintenance – Individuals leave companies, organizations go out of business, and professionals get promotions. Consistently cleaning up incorrect e-mail records and adding new e-mails to your database will help you keep the list fresh.
- Analyze Results – All email marketing software vendors enable you to evaluate the tracking results of an e-mail campaign including views, un-subscribes, and click activity. This information will help you when you’re developing content for follow-up or future campaigns.
Connect with the University of Utah MEP Center to get started!
This blog post originally appeared in the Manufacturing Innovation Blog.
Elena Garuc is the Executive Director of FuzeHub, New York State’s newest MEP Center. For over a decade, Elena has championed economic development initiatives and major marketing programs. In 2012, she was named to the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40”, a prestigious group of up-and-coming business leaders in New York’s Capital Region. Before joining FuzeHub, Elena served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the Center for Economic Growth (CEG), the NYMEP Center for the Capital Region. At CEG, she directed economic development initiatives and created successful programs such as an Upstate venture capital forum, biotechnology network, and technology roadmap portal. Today, Elena leads FuzeHub’s operations and works closely with its Board of Directors to realize strategic goals.
Cybersecurity: Protecting manufacturing technology and innovation
By Pat Toth, NIST Cybersecurity Expert
Recently a segment on my favorite morning news program stopped me in my tracks. The young and attractive hosts (why are they always so young and attractive?) were demonstrating new appliances including a smart refrigerator. The fridge was equipped with all kinds of high-tech features including touch screen displays, a camera inside that allows you to see the contents and Wi-Fi connectivity. You can see inside your fridge while grocery shopping, how convenient! But I must ask, how secure is it?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing everything from home appliances, nanotechnology and cloud computing, to manufacturing. Advancements are enabling manufacturers to become more innovative, productive, efficient and globally competitive. Computers, the internet, and digital devices are positively impacting communication, operations, product developments, and more. As we increase our connectivity we must also be aware of the importance of cybersecurity for manufacturers.
Jared Newman recently wrote in Fast Company, “Smart homes and other connected products won’t just be aimed at home life. They’ll also have a major impact on business. And just like any company that blissfully ignored the Internet at the turn of the century, the ones that dismiss the Internet of Things risk getting left behind.”
The Importance of Cybersecurity for Manufacturers
Technology has evolved and empowered manufacturers in a variety of ways, and companies have become increasingly reliant on computer systems and IT. Because of this, cybersecurity has emerged as such a critical topic in the industry. Strong cybersecurity practices are crucial to:
- Defending your company’s vital data and information.
- Preventing theft or damage to your infrastructure, equipment and systems.
- Avoiding major disruptions to operations and the delivery of products.
- Protecting your employee’s personal information.
- Shielding your organization from negative publicity.
Manufacturers are unfortunately a frequent target of hackers and attackers. According to a report from the U.S. Department for Homeland Security, manufacturing is the second highest industry with the most reported cyber attacks, only subsequent to the energy sector. Foxconn, an international manufacturer of electronics, was attacked in 2012 and all of its employee’s login information was released publicly. A Honda breach in 2010 resulted in the disclosure of personal vehicle identification numbers.
A Kaspersky Lab Survey of IT managers published in Virus News also found that “21 percent of manufacturers suffered a loss of intellectual property (IP) within the past year.” The most commonly cited reason was malware (computer viruses, spyware, etc.), although a host of related issues including software susceptibilities and misplaced or stolen mobile devices were listed as causes as well.
Three Tips for Improving Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a complex issue and there are no “quick fixes” to address it. IoT has made security an even more difficult challenge. However, there are things you can do to improve your cybersecurity posture. Here are three important factors to consider:
- Be proactive about prioritizing cybersecurity initiatives: Lapses in cybersecurity are very costly. An IndustryWeek article, “Cyber Security on the Factory Floor,” highlighted studies showing that “the average cybersecurity data breach costs more than $3 million.” Don’t wait to get hit.
- Prepare for the worst: In a Manufacturing Business Technology article highlighting the 2016 biggest cybersecurity issues facing manufacturers, cybersecurity professional Andrew Ginter, said, “The biggest mistake I see routinely is an overemphasis on vulnerabilities in cyber-risk assessments, rather than attacks.” Don’t just focus on the short-term—your organization needs a developed contingency plan in the event of an attack. Conducting a simulation of an attack has been beneficial for manufacturers looking to develop a comprehensive plan.
- Communicate with employees and vendors: Human error occurs, which is why everyone from the CEO and down should be trained about cybersecurity and data protection. Include policies in your employee manuals and regularly have your staff trained on best practices.
Digital Manufacturing Pilot
NIST MEP is working to improve cybersecurity for small- and medium-sized manufacturers across the U.S. We have partnered with the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) to operate a joint Digital Manufacturing Pilot. This pilot will address technical opportunities and challenges and also assist manufacturers with a basic understanding and implementation of digital manufacturing approaches.
In addition to improving cybersecurity, the partnership will address specific topics under the digital manufacturing umbrella, including innovative engineering approaches and improved supply chains operations.
As the Internet of Things evolves and becomes a fixture in manufacturing, cybersecurity will continue to be an issue that small manufacturers must address. As you connect more and more devices to the internet, ask yourself, “how secure is it?”
Pat is a Computer Scientist at NIST MEP and serves as the Cybersecurity Program Manager. Pat has over 30 years of experience in Cybersecurity and worked on various NIST Cybersecurity guidance documents including “NISTIR 7621 Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals”.
This post originally appeared in the Manufacturing Innovation Blog on April 14, 2017