For SMEs considering what to do in economic recovery I would suggest that we can see that for the past decade or more traditional media have offered an important route to the internet. This has been both independently and via search engines such as Google, greatly enhancing the online presence of companies far beyond the reach of just their own website alone.
Good industrial PR facilitates this communication process by providing valuable information from the suppliers of products and services to reach the potential customers who want to read it – via established and respected media vehicles whatever their format.
In recent years we have seen the incorporation of social media, blogging, content marketing and SEO under the umbrella of the established PR mix.
At The Industrial Marketing Agency we foresee a great future for UK manufacturing industry in the Green Agenda – our clients are addressing this. We believe it is the way forward to sales and jobs so this is the time we can all re-structure to help meet zero carbon for the benefit of the planet. Going Green can be the next industrial revolution but we do need to promote to a new audience in print and online with PR and social media and all the other channels available to us.
Lets discuss with a phone call or email
I have heard concerns about marketing voiced as “I know I need to do something but I don’t know what” and then “we tried it ten years ago but the guy didn’t do anything” or again “we did an advert a few years ago but it didn’t work” – ignoring for the moment the huge difference between an advert and a PR or Social Media campaign, interestingly these statements have led to relationships of 10 years – even 25 years.
The problem seems to focus around the issue of trust, understanding of what is being done and concerns over the level of financial commitment involved – these are significant matters – but as with any new project can easily be clarified and quantified.
Building trust with a supplier starts with a phone call – or an email.
Industrial marketing is different from retail, white goods, etc which is why we differentiate it as “B2B” (business to business) and we understand that it requires a completely different mindset, experience base and skill set.
Industrial PR is not magic, it is a capability or skill like any other supply that depends on ability and experience.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand the implications of that “nichness” when we in the UK are offered so much US-based B2C advice that is just not correct for our manufacturing industries.
Call us to discuss how industrial PR can work for you.
I am drawn to consider the way that Google operates and how that affects manufacturing SMEs in our promotion where we have a relatively small audience of a special type. We are in the main addressing engineers, designers, buyers in a technical arena and of course it is important to bear this in mind.
So the important part about presenting information online is that it be valuable to our audience.
Support of the technical media is core to this process and plays a major part in the information stream where we can see that the flow of information tends to go from supplier to customer. This enables the customer to evaluate what they can expect from a prospective supplier or their products – but without a convenient way to tap into this information stream then customers are restricted in their research and their choices. Who of us does not recognise the value of a “good” supplier and the difficulty of finding or replacing one. Industrial trade and technical media, magazines, websites and directories provide this information flow and the opportunity for suppliers in the market to feed into it for general consumption.
Ah, the budget – do budgets ever make any real difference? At the end of the day, it is always up to industry to pull ourselves out of the economic problems – generally created elsewhere. Noses to the grindstone, backs to the wheel etc. etc. we fall back on tried and tested, value for money promotional activities – ie the low-cost options to sales success – options like PR and content marketing, social media and in-house newsletters.
Experience over many boom-bust cycles has shown that the best time for promotional investment is when we are in a recession – to support survival, then to speed up the recovery. Of course, a recession is probably just the time when resources are already stretched, so what is required is a relatively low cost but effective approach – a drip-drip marketing strategy that is sustainable throughout an economic cycle.
I have noticed that SMEs can often have a problem with self-promotion, sometimes voiced as “I know we need to do something, but I don’t know what?” otherwise as “but what would we talk about?”
Let me reassure non-marketing people that there are lots of things to do and there is always a lot to talk about – just imagine talking to an interested potential customer – marketing simply addresses a bigger audience in many different ways.
A conversation with us could help you open up a new sales support activity.
At times like these – with sales teams working from home so much – this is when it is so important to support them with pro-active marketing, including PR and Social Media. A good marketing program based around all the available promotional channels will save them so much time and help them to be much more effective by generating warm enquiries.
See here how TIMA can help then contact us to discuss what we can do for you.
“When the going gets tough – the tough get going”
Furlough has been an essential lifesaver to many companies and put off redundancy for many individuals – essentially by paying people not to work. This has the effect of putting even more stress on the people left working as we all bend our best efforts to survival and recovery of our companies, our industries and our country.
It may be this is a policy that works for some areas of society but for industries, like manufacturing, based on competitively seeking new business and to service existing customers to the max it is topsy-turvey.
I guess we just need to work smarter – one way to do that of course is to leverage expertise through publicity with a simple PR and content marketing strategy. Contact us to discuss.
If you were a shopkeeper – according to Napoleon we are all shopkeepers this side of Brexit – then you would at least have a sign on your shop and possibly if you are adventurous then one on the pavement as well. In fact the more signs the better – so now we want to rebuild our businesses isn’t this the time to put up more signs?
Speak to us to see what TIMA can do for your business.
