April 2016 - The Repp Group

6 Justifications to Outsource Your Industrial Content Marketing

Industrial content marketing is hot…& a necessity. These 6 justifications will convince your owners and management to get outside help.

It seems as if all you hear about in industrial marketing departments is, “We have to get involved with content marketing…Joe Competitor is eating our lunch with some great content on his website”. (i.e. content marketing: blogs, white papers, ebooks, webinars, podcasts, etc.)

OK…so you assume that Joe Competitor is taking some of your online exposure and leads. It is time to get serious about content marketing or inbound marketing for industrial, as some call it.

Here is why you should outsource your industrial content marketing:

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www.thereppgroup.com/industrial-marketing-strategy/lower-industrial-lead-generation-with-inbound-marketing-for-industrial/

Many industrial marketers are finally looking to content marketing for industrial for lead generation. Here is how NOT to do it.

I was recently called into to consult with a mid-size manufacturer in Indiana. The President was an old high school basketball teammate and he wanted advice on the best way to generate more traffic and leads from their website. He simply felt the opportunity for lead generation had passed his company by when it came to leveraging the power of the web.

He was right.

Their business was doing well and they had some unique differentiating features for their industrial product, so I viewed this as an excellent opportunity. It was easy to see that their products needed a brand theme or story that would resonate differences in the marketplace.

I then met the new marketing manager that was hell-bent on firing up an aggressive content marketing campaign. The President was also hell-bent on using a local web developer to freshen up their website. Just like his impatience on the basketball court, he demanded that a new website be finished in one month.

The marketing manager had read lots of content on the web about content marketing for industrial (…Or, as some call it, inbound marketing for industrial). He devoured much of the content by HubSpot about content marketing. (HubSpot’s founder, Brian Halligan, was the originator of the term “inbound marketing”). The marketing manager actually found my blog because of my HubSpot certification and my blog’s focus on industrial internet marketing,

The marketing manager also attended Content Marketing World this past September in Cleveland. He was fired up and now had a shiny new toy. The problem was, he had no experience deploying a content campaign and had not read the entire instruction manual.

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Digital B2B Lead Generation for Industrial Takes Guts

Content marketing (or inbound marketing) for industrial works…but it takes lots of guts.

I was talking to the VP of large industrial supplier in West Michigan about the digital channel for B2B lead generation. My passion was bubbling over and I was expanding on the moat he could build around his business if he really embraces this idea of content or inbound marketing for industrial. I knew he trusted me, but he was a little like the deer in the headlights as I expounded on the benefits of the web and content marketing.

He retorted, “This whole industrial content marketing thing is going to take a lot of work, isn’t it Tom? We don’t have the right resources or staff to compete in this new world of content marketing for industrial. If we do this…it is going to take a lot of guts, isn’t it?”

Then it struck me.

It really does take a lot of guts to change the way you have gone to market for years…especially when it worked so well for years. For the industrial marketer there are so many unknowns when it comes to the brave new world of content or inbound marketing.

I live with this stuff every day. I see it work, and I think it is a no brainer for industrial companies to embrace a B2B lead generation machine.

But, then I need to put myself in the VPs’ shoes. Continue reading “Digital B2B Lead Generation for Industrial Takes Guts”

Ad-blockers, Changes Everything for Industrial Content Marketing

A few companies have dabbled in industrial content marketing. The ones that understand the true rebellion of your audience will have a huge competitive advantage

I am sure you are aware there is a Presidential campaign going on…and the cartels on both sides of the aisle are being taken to the woodshed. Let’s just be blunt. People are really pissed off.

This holds true with your industrial buyer as well.

Just as in the political arena, there is a popular rebellion against traditional advertising and marketing. If you have not noticed, your industrial buyer is now in control.

Ad-blocking software is the most recent sanction against established, traditional industrial advertising & marketing…along with call screening, DVRs, streaming video, curated content, browser extensions…and the list goes on.

The web has let the genie out of the bottle and your industrial buyer is now in control.

There is no going back.

Let me make a prediction concerning industrial content marketing.

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