Wylde Words

Marketing for Manufacturers:

A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

Few industries are as important to the world as manufacturing and engineering. The products we enjoy every day have all travelled a long way, from raw materials through to manufacturing production, wholesale, distribution and retail, to our front doors. These critical supply chain connections are essential for the efficient supply of goods all over the world, which means maintaining strong supply chains is a key factor of any manufacturing or engineering company’s success.

Effective marketing can not only keep manufacturing and engineering businesses visible to supply chain partners, but it can help attract new business collaborations, like-minded industry partners and of course, raise awareness of your products to the end users themselves – your existing and potential customers.

Understanding how to effectively market your manufacturing or engineering business can be difficult. With so many audiences within the supply chain to reach and new marketing tactics emerging all the time, it is not always obvious whether you should be using social media, traditional trade media, your website, blogs, or other forums to promote your business and convey your key messages.

At Wylde Connections, we like to start from the beginning – with the creation and implementation of a robust manufacturing marketing strategy and plan. Consisting of nine modules, our Marketing for Manufacturers online course will teach you everything you need to know about marketing with regards to the manufacturing and engineering industries, and by the end of it you will be able to produce a marketing strategy that is unique to your company.

What drives manufacturers?

We start right at the beginning looking at the passion and purpose behind your manufacturing business. What is it that really excites your teams, your customers, your suppliers and your stakeholders? Why do they want to align with you and what is it about your business that resonates with them?

SWOT analysis and business structure

Understanding your business, warts and all, is also a key element of any good marketing strategy. We give you the tools to take an in-depth look at your manufacturing business and supply chain, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors that may affect or influence this. We help you take a deep dive within your own business, looking at your go-to-market strategy, your products and your point of differentiation. After all, without understanding this thoroughly, how could you possibly communicate this to your audiences?

Communicating a vision

Once you have carried out analysis of your business situation, we help you to understand and map out your future business goals. This involves developing a unique values proposition, underpinned by your earlier work on your mission statement and vision. We will take you through a goal setting process through which you can manage and measure the success of your future marketing and will help you benchmark your company against industry standards, your peers and your competitors.

 

 Market positioning

Your market positioning is about asking pertinent questions about where you currently sit in the market and whether this correctly represents your business. We look at your current brand reputation, identify your key stakeholders and any raving fans you have obtained over the years. This is an important module for taking an in-depth look at the markets you already operate in and identifying potential areas for diversification, as we create a plan that will enable you to break into new areas of commerce.

 

Manufacturing benchmarking

To understand where you are going, it is important to first understand who else has taken the same journey. We give you access and insight into our unique competitor analysis and benchmarking tools so you can map your own business progress. We look at the marketing platforms and channels that are best suited to help you successfully implement your marketing strategy and plan and begin to set out how we will achieve your business goals.

 

No pain, no gain

What your business currently offers to the markets you serve as well as your potential for future new product introduction is an important element of any thriving company, including ones that are looking to diversify. We help you evaluate why you do things as well as what you do and how you do it, and will start to build a plan that will enable you to communicate this to key business stakeholders.

 

Tactical marketing for manufacturers

Once we have gathered critical business information, the marketing for manufacturers online course will help you to build a tactical plan, mapping out your marketing activity for the year. We’ll show you when and how to review your success and how to apply these learnings to your marketing plan moving forward. This is the practical part of the online course that helps you to identify which resources you already have available to implement your marketing ideas and which additional resources, if any, you may require. Of course, the Wylde Connections team is always on hand to help your manufacturing enterprise with marketing consultation whenever you need it.

Measuring marketing success

You will want to know that your marketing is successful, so measuring success is an integral element of any manufacturing business growth strategy. This module will help you to use existing measurement tools as well as creating your own, so you can benchmark your marketing progress and adjust future communication activities accordingly.  We will help you to set effective, OKRs and  KPIs and show how to deliver outstanding return on investment for your efforts.

 

Complete marketing support for manufacturers

The final module is where we bring all our learnings together for a comprehensive look at your marketing strategy and plan. We’ll set in place a marketing programme that will help you attract the attention of distributors, subcontractors wholesalers and other end user customers. By tracking the customer journey from their point of need and research through to supplier evaluation, shortlisting and purchasing, we will ensure you are attracting the right attention at every stage.

 

Impact of marketing on the sales funnel

Manufacturing and engineering businesses typically have complex supply chains, several different routes to market, expansive production and design capabilities and several customer personas they deal with on a daily basis. Marketing and communicating all of this to stakeholders in the correct way can be a challenge, which is why it so important to have the right marketing strategy and plan in place.

Wylde Connections understands how to navigate these complexities and has worked closely with blue-chip manufacturing and engineering businesses in addition to SME companies and innovative engineering start-ups, for more than twenty years. We have harnessed our skills and experience in our marketing for manufacturers course, to help you take back control of your company’s profile, reputation and market position.

 

The importance of marketing planning

Successful marketing always starts with the right plan and strategy – it’s as the old adage says, when you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Without first understanding the position your business is in now and where you would like to go, you will always come across roadblocks in your journey. Some of the risks involved with not having a successful marketing strategy and plan for manufacturers include:

  • Wasted time and effort doing tactical marketing activities with no bigger picture aims or objectives
  • Poor visibility of your business among supply chains, partners and customers
  • Lack of crisis management and risk mitigation procedures
  • Fading pipeline for new business
  • Losing market share to existing competitors or new start ups
  • Failure to embrace digitalization and Industry 4.0 alongside business priorities
  • Insufficient resources, creating a stop-start effect to marketing

Marketing is a crucial function within any organisation and one that interacts with every business department. Within manufacturing, for example, a marketing team will work closely with sales and field sales, planning and scheduling teams, technology departments, finance, senior management and sometimes, with supply chain partners. Having a robust strategy and plan in place with clear goals and objectives, can help to smoothen communication between multiple departments and engage key people within the business.

An effective marketing strategy for manufacturing and engineering will be multi-faceted, realistic and implemented consistently over a period of time. It will act as the bridge between the C-Suite’s business growth ambitions and the practical conversations being had by key sales teams. As such, it is important that everyone throughout the organisation has bought into the same vision and mission to make marketing a success.

 

Manufacturing business growth

As a specialist, dedicated manufacturing marketing consultancy, Wylde Connections understands the importance of effective marketing to wider business growth. Our tactical implementation is built upon the power of storytelling; an art form as old as time itself and one which engages people of all backgrounds, positions and markets. A powerful story can be the key you need to unlock a plethora of opportunities for your manufacturing enterprise.

From awards success to the creation of new supply chain alliances, engagement of important manufacturing trade associations and new business strategies, marketing has become one of the most critical parts of manufacturing industry success.

Once you have taken part in our marketing for manufacturing online course, we can also supply the resources you need for successful implementation. Wylde works with specialists in all areas of marketing, from content production to PR, design to SEO and event marketing to digital media. All of our consultants have considerable experience working within manufacturing, engineering and the wider supply chain. They can quickly to get to understand your business, your marketing strategy and goals and work with you to achieve them for business success.

So what are you waiting for? Click here to register your interest of our Marketing for Manufacturers course and kick start your business growth journey today.

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