You’ve probably said it to suppliers, vendors and consultants – “Our business/customers/market/situation is different!”. We hear it all the time from prospects and clients ranging from attorneys to performance coaches, aquariums to museums, and industrial saw manufacturers to robotic integrators. Everyone believes there’s some aspect of their business that qualifies them as unique. For most, that’s just not the case, but for companies that manufacture for others YOU ARE SPECIAL and deserve to be treated as such by your marketing team or partner.
WHY MANUFACTURERS ARE SPECIAL
- How You Were Established
- How You Grew
- How You Survived COVID
Most companies are started to capitalize on the expertise of one or many of their owners, founders or leaders. This subject matter expertise or “special sauce” is often the sole reason for incorporation. While this is true for manufacturers, they’re smart enough to realize if they build it no one will come unless invited. In other words, many manufacturers are initially established to serve the needs of a select few clients. These heavy hitters may even invest to launch the venture or support it through other resources.
Most companies complete one-and-done transactions with their customers, serving the needs of their client and moving on to the next. In contrast, most manufacturers grow by enhancing, extending or increasing the value they provided their initial clients. Meaning they grow and constrict with the volume of the customers for whom the business was started. Additional growth may have been presented in the form of referrals or partnerships to explore new markets and/or geographies.
The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for an 11.2% decrease in the industrial production index from March to April 2020, the largest monthly drop in the 101-year history of the index. The drop affected ALL major industries with a 70% decrease in the output of motor vehicles and parts. Some manufacturers closed for good, while the savvy ones used their networks and resources to pivot, producing products supporting the quarantine or its recovery. Others were forced to shut down completely but those with an eye toward the future used their networks to revamp their processes, eliminating waste to return stronger than ever.
Your history is both a blessing and a curse. It provided you with a captive audience to establish your footing, reputation and success, BUT it’s restricted your visibility because that success was built on who you knew. Few B2B manufacturers felt the need to do any more than create a website (typically built internally), attend industry tradeshows and create a few fliers highlighting the features of their products. Frankly, they rested on their success and have, or are ready to, feel the pain for doing so.
THE CHANGE THAT IS/WILL CRUSH YOU
The baby boomers with whom many manufacturers built their success are retiring in record numbers – 2.6 million are expected to retire from their manufacturing jobs throughout the next ten years, that’s 11,000 boomers retiring each day throughout the coming decade. The “partners” with whom the business was built are being replaced (if they’re able to find viable candidates) with people who don’t know your reputation, have a contempt for the status-quo and are seeking to make a name for themselves by finding alternatives to their current suppliers.
Simply put, these new engineers, purchasing agents and manufacturing leaders are using the internet to find, research and engage their new suppliers and partners. If they don’t find you (even if they’re already doing business with you), they’re sending their lucrative business elsewhere.
HOW DO YOU COMPETE?
It’s time to take action in the digital marketing space, to identify the best media and assets with which to communicate with the new “manufacturing guard” and share content that’s relevant and timely. Your business is unique in the audience it needs to attract, nurture and convert into raving fans. The job of identifying where and how to play requires expertise, focus and persistence. Getting it wrong can be a costly mistake in resources and reputation.
How to Contact Us
Call us at (513) 394-6431 or send us a message to share your story. We’d enjoy the chance to learn about you, your business and the challenges you’re facing to explore if we’re a fit for your digital marketing needs.
