The Challenges of Content Creation for B2B Manufacturing Companies

Research indicates manufacturing companies are often slow to embrace new content creation and marketing strategies. In fact, one study revealed that 27% of manufacturers thought their marketing activities are outdated and another 20% didn’t prioritize marketing at all.

Manufacturers often leave the lead generation tasks to the sales team. These sales professionals connect directly with prospects through traditional trade shows, in-office meetings and advertising campaigns in industry publications.

But this type of sales-only relationship with business partners no longer works. In today’s competitive landscape, manufacturers need to step up their marketing game.

Marketing for Manufacturing Companies

Marketing for manufacturing companies is considered B2B marketing which is more complex and has a longer sales cycle than B2C. A significant part of marketing for manufacturing companies is thought leadership. Since buyers are typically senior-level decision-makers in their organizations, they prefer dealing with experts and authorities in specific industries or fields. As such, marketing content for B2B marketing leans towards a highly informative approach.

Content Creation Hurdles for B2B Manufacturer Marketing

B2B marketers are often plagued by unique challenges that B2C marketers don’t experience. For instance, the relationships with other teams within and outside of the organization can be complicated.

According to Hubspot, only half of B2B marketers feel comfortable collaborating effectively with their sales teams. The disconnect between the two teams creates unique content creation challenges that affect the manufacturing company's overall revenue.

1. Personalizing Sales Content

Manufacturers often deal with different territories, markets and client tiers with specific demands. Maximizing lead generation means developing content that targets different types of potential clients. Manufacturing companies should produce content that highlights different product lines and showcases use cases that match each market’s demands.

For example, manufacturing companies for construction supplies typically offer product lines related to insulation and heating in states with extreme weather conditions. In contrast, they may offer ventilation supplies in areas with a humid climate. Sales and marketing collateral for these territories should be unique and customized in order to attract potential clients effectively.

2. Converting Leads

Due to the long sales cycles, the same PPC campaign isn’t going to be as effective as it is in B2C marketing. To improve conversion, manufacturers need to focus on tactics centered around brand awareness, granular analytics and lead generation. From there, the sales department takes charge of nurturing the leads before deals close.

B2B marketing teams also struggle with generic content throughout the sales cycle. Sales funnels often include general information that caters to a wider audience. However, leads lose interest when they cannot find information tailored to their needs. Besides better lead qualifications, manufacturers need to create specific content for different types of leads to maximize conversion rates.

3. Maximizing Investments

The reliance of manufacturing companies on traditional B2B channels means using print materials throughout their sales cycle. As the production and distribution of print materials become more expensive, their ROI also decreases significantly. It is also more challenging to keep up with rapidly changing market demands using this type of collateral.

In contrast, digital materials are much more flexible and scalable. Investing in tools that lend to digital content creation also provides better ROI. Solutions, such as cloud-based presentation platforms,  can be used more efficiently. These tools can also distribute digital content through more channels such as social media, websites, emails and even one-on-one demonstrations.

Revolutionizing B2B Marketing Content Creation with Ingage

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Ingage is a content creation platform that equips businesses with tools to compete within this changing industry. This software provides powerful online presentations that can be used to deliver messages, educate customers, showcase products and influence purchasing decisions.

How can Ingage help?

• Brand Storytelling. Consumers are getting more intelligent and they want more information. But, they still buy based on their emotions -- and that’s where storytelling becomes an advantage. Ingage combines text, images, videos, audio and other interactive elements to create content-rich presentations that will engage your audience. Develop compelling narratives that put your potential customers at the center of the story. Then, highlight products and services that will fit their needs and desires.
• Personalization. Ingage allows users to segment their presentations, enabling sales reps to make changes according to the clients’ needs. Marketing teams can create brand-specific pages that are consistent throughout all collateral. Ingage’s page locking feature prevents any unauthorized changes to key brand-related pages. This way, sales reps can personalize the presentation without compromising the materials’ branding.
• Digital marketing tool. Reprinting marketing materials is inefficient and expensive. Keeping up with marketing trends and client demands is next to impossible using traditional collateral. With Ingage, manufacturers get the most out of their marketing materials and leverage other online platforms, including social media, websites and blogs. Updates can be made and published in real-time without the hassle of reprinting.
• Updated information. Version control allows each member of the sales and marketing team to have access to only the most current version of the presentations. Changes are reflected in real-time to ensure that your sales reps are sending out consistent and updated information to your prospects.
• Powerful analytics. In-app analytics help determine where your sales teams are falling short in their delivery. The numbers will show you how many people have seen the presentation and the amount of time they spent watching it. Gauge the effectiveness of your presentation using these insights and improve them to maximize your conversion rate.

What’s Next?

Manufacturers face unique challenges in B2B marketing, especially if the company serves various territories. Without modern tools, like Ingage, these organizations are stuck with traditional sales and marketing materials that provide decreasing returns on investment. With digital content creation tools, manufacturers can leverage personalized materials that target specific markets, locations and clients.

Ingage equips manufacturers with online presentations that allow them to reach new markets and improve lead conversions. Its flexible and scalable features help B2B marketers develop content and materials for different types of leads. Find out the difference online presentations can make by signing up for a demo.

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