Industrial marketers face innumerable challenges. Lack of transparency from manufacturing companies is a major one. Theft of intellectual property is a big deal and manufacturers are keenly aware of the threat of other domestic and/or foreign entities stealing their proprietary designs and creating the same products cheaper. Because of this fear, many manufacturing companies are afraid to share the very data engineers are seeking. Some manufacturers require potential customers to reach out to them for data and ask them to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Additionally, Only 20 percent of engineers say they will contact the supplier for a model if they can’t download a 3D model online. The fear of losing intellectual property keeps many manufacturers from leveraging their most valuable content, the CAD models, and data for the products they sell.
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Taking Your Industrial Marketing To The Next Level
Industrial marketing starts with design engineers. Engineers are the primary specifiers of parts. If you don’t win them over early and continue winning their trust by providing what they need and delivering on promises, you will lose to your competitors. Sure, procurement departments are a significant factor in the buying process, but 82% of engineers who download a part ultimately purchase the part. That means that even if they don’t physically hit purchase, the engineer that specs the part into their design has A LOT of influence over which components are ultimately purchased by their company.
During the course of the design process, engineers research to find the exact part they need that fulfills tight criteria for their specific application. Engineers use supplier websites as a critical research resource. Industrial manufacturers must give engineers access to the data they need to spec products into their designs while they are in the research phase. If the engineers find the information they need to spec the part, they have a higher likelihood of spec’ing the part and ultimately purchasing it. To capture design engineers during the research phase, give them the critical data they need, when they need it, in the proper format for their consumption.
Most B2B marketers spend much time researching content ideas. It’s a real thorn in the side to do keyword research on audience-relevant topics, research trends, and create relevant content. Industrial manufacturers have a massive advantage. You have product information you can turn into marketing content. It doesn’t take hours of research to come up with each content idea. Instead, it takes a few conversations with your SMEs (subject matter experts) within your company to come up with hundreds of content ideas which can be presented through videos, articles, webinars, white papers, detailed product pages, and 3D CAD model downloads among other engaging possibilities. Take your industrial marketing to the next level with an informative, creative, and multimedia approach.
Infographic source: PARTsolutions
