Industrial Blogs: A Day In The Life
You know you need one. You read about it all the time. Adding a blog to your website will increase traffic and improve your search rank for your perfect keywords. Or – you have one. You’re doing well to post something once every month or two. How can an overworked marketer in a manufacturing company justify the time commitment to crank out a blog each week?
If you’re experiencing either of these situations, it might be helpful to take a look at the broader impact that one blog post can make. Consider a day in the life of one blog – a case study where your company’s product solved a specific problem for a customer.
7:30 am: the blog is published to your website.
7:45 am: …
Industrial Branding: Differentiate From Your Competition
EVERY company has a differentiator.
Take 3 brands of high performance, industrial lubricants. Let’s assume that each company basically does the same thing. However, a potential customer may see one company as the most innovative; another as having the best quality products; and the third as the most flexible, the most in tune with their customers’ needs. Each of these companies probably possesses the 3 attributes to a certain extent, but there can only be one company in the position of “leader.” Having the leadership position for any significant value to the customer offers an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. It is the same whether it is pump OEM’s; corrosion control companies; safety service companies – it makes no difference. If there are competing companies that …
Industrial Branding: Can it Effect Buying Decisions?
The essence of good marketing is first, making target customers aware of a product or service; second, persuading them that it will meet their needs or solve their problems; and ultimately, making them prefer that product or service over any other.
Most industrial marketers will tell you that you don’t market to an engineer buying a component for his equipment like you would a mother buying diapers for her baby. Of course there is an element of truth to this; but there has to be an answer to the question: “why would an engineer prefer one product or service over any other, despite higher prices, longer delivery times, and other pertinent factors?” This clearly happens in the industrial realm as well as the mass, B2C consumer market. …
Industrial Branding: What Makes a Strong Brand?
The term “brand” originated from the practice of using a scorching iron to “brand” a unique symbol into the hides of livestock so ownership could be determined. In the 20th century, companies began calling their logos their “brand.”
A logo is just the beginning
Today, a “brand” means much more than a logo. At its most basic level, industrial branding is a consistent presentation or visual identity of a company: its tagline or slogan, stationary, brochures, website, social media pages, and any other representation of the company. If consistency is achieved in all of these areas, a company can build “brand recognition.” This is about as far as it goes on the industrial branding ladder in most manufacturing or industrial service companies. In fact, many smaller companies …
Inbound Marketing: Why You Should Do It
Last year I wrote a series of articles that explained all the reasons that manufacturing and industrial service companies should implement an Inbound Marketing program. Each article focuses on a different component of Inbound Marketing; why it is necessary for a successful program; and why it should matter to industrial companies.
Although it’s been eight months since I wrote the last blog, I think the series is still fresh and relevant. Industrial companies continue waking up to the fact that this is an area of marketing they can’t afford to ignore, although it’s as if they’ve been drugged. The “waking up” is taking longer than it should. There is still resistance, doubt, procrastination, and a lack of understanding about Inbound Marketing in general.
The lack of understanding …
