Inbound Marketing for Manufacturing Companies

A recent study done in New Jersey, took 113 typical manufacturers (if there is such a thing) and compared their marketing strategies to the top 25 manufacturers in the same state. As expected, the study showed that the top 25 companies had better marketing strategies and this was definitely the reason for their success – duh! More money + more marketing = more successful company. The key takeaway from this study was the primary marketing method used: Inbound Marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

For those who may not know, inbound marketing attracts customers and qualified leads by setting the company up as an authority in their industry. Specifically it involves content marketing (articles, whitepapers, data sheets, product demo videos, webinars, newsletters, etc.), social media strategies and search engine optimization.

The reverse of Inbound Marketing is obviously outbound marketing – commonly called advertising. This is where your company is positioned all around the web in common ad placements such as pay per click advertising, banner ad promotions, trade magazine ads, etc. The disadvantage to outbound marketing is that it’s your word that your product or service is the best solution for the customer. While it truly may be the “best solution”, there is generally no data to back this claim. You’ve not developed a relationship with your audience based on solid solution-based information but rather you’ve attracted their attention because you stood in the crowd and yelled the loudest and longest – make sense?

There is a place for everything but one thing is for sure… Outbound marketing is far more expensive and because you have to convince your audience that you’re the best solution for them, you’ll see a longer duration between initial contact and final sale. With inbound marketing, a lead comes to you because they’ve read a whitepaper you’ve written, watched a video you produced or have followed you on a social network and have come to understand that you are an Authority In Your Industry. The obvious solution for them is to work with your company.

“Inbound Marketing for manufacturing companies helps establish your company as an Industry Authority!”

Inbound Marketing takes time to develop because increasing your brand awareness and market share takes a methodical, well-executed approach.

We combine content development (technical literature — press releases, articles, etc), media planning/buying, public relations, product demo videos, webinars and SEO to increase your brand exposure and awareness, thereby increasing your market share.

The key is to get started right now – there’s a lot of work to do!