2022 Trends Guiding Marketing in Manufacturing
The pace of change requires marketing teams to stay agile 
The last several years have been dynamic and disruptive for manufacturers, forcing many to embrace more digital marketing tactics to compete and survive. Yet maintaining a sense of relevance with your audience has never been more challenging. Supply chain challenges and radically shifting buying behaviors requires organizations to be agile.
Marketers who can quickly adjust strategies and tactics based on the shifting landscape can generate measurable results, remain ahead of the competition and deliver an experience that aligns with customer expectations.
With that in mind, we’re sharing three trends that marketers in manufacturing should focus on: creating an amazing customer experience, using brevity in your message and incorporating personalization.
Customer Experience
B2C industries embraced a strong customer experience (CX) years ago and manufacturing is finally catching up. Today’s business buyer wants a consumer-like experience. In fact, in a Salesforce survey, 74% of manufacturers said they believe customer experience to be a key competitive differentiator. Delivering a superior experience creates operational efficiencies and generates more revenue.
Developing a strong CX isn’t solely the responsibility of the marketing department. But given our access to various tools and data, we play an integral part in determining the right time for engagement. We can understand when sales and marketing teams should swiftly engage qualified buyers, or when we can turn a steady customer into a true promoter of the business.
By partnering with other internal teams, manufacturers can create an amazing CX throughout the entire customer journey.
Brevity
Content marketing allows for an extensive explanation of any product or service. Most marketers want to pack as much information into their content or ad space as possible. But let’s face it, our audience doesn’t want to power through a 2,000-word white paper. According to Microsoft, human attention span has dropped 25% in the last several years.
The more succinctly you can convey your message, the more likely your audience will engage with you. Say what you need to say but do it effectively and concisely.
Explore where you can incorporate brevity into your marketing — whether that’s simplifying your website to focus on the essentials or crafting content that hits directly on pain points and solutions without the unnecessary fluff.
Ready to take action? Let’s have a conversation.
Personalization
The days of relying on generic sell sheets and one-size-fits-all catalogs are over. Manufacturing companies need to adopt more B2C marketing tactics to maximize revenue growth. Today’s business buyer wants marketing and advertising that speaks directly to them.
Account based marketing, although not new, offers a chance to get closer to your prospects and customers by taking time to understand their needs, tailor the outreach and connect on a more personal level. Investing in a more personalized content strategy can lead to greater payoff.
Another trend in manufacturing is foregoing print catalogs in favor of interactive online catalogs that can simplify quoting and ordering. Sales teams can communicate with prospective customers more efficiently during the sales cycle, better understand their needs and ultimately sell more.
Your Next Steps
Marketing teams must continually remain ahead of the curve, and manufacturers still have room to engage B2B decision makers with personalized messaging and an amazing experience. By taking a proactive approach that incorporates key trends, organizations can position themselves to meet the ever-changing needs of their buyers.
Hopefully the tips above will help improve your digital marketing. Have more questions about developing and implementing an effective marketing strategy? Reach out to us directly.
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