Digital Marketing for Manufacturers: Questions to Ask Your Marketing Agency

August 29, 2021

Operating a manufacturing business is certainly no easy task, there’s a lot to keep track of each day, from orders to payroll…you name it. That’s why if you don’t have the energy left over to focus on marketing activities, there are a lot of firms out there that offer digital marketing for manufacturers so you can focus on what’s most important to you: serving your customers.

However, if you want to boost sales and revenue and keep up with the competition, you’ll need to work with a marketing agency that can provide proven results and the best return on your investment. That’s why the team from WSI B2B Marketing is here to give some important insight.

Below you’ll find some of the most essential questions and things to consider when working with a reliable B2B digital marketing agency for manufacturers.

A Few Questions to Ask Before Signing on the Dotted Line

Before agreeing to anything, there are a few key questions you should ask potential manufacturer marketers to ensure you’re getting the very best services available. They include:

Do I Really Need a Manufacturing Marketing Company?

This question depends upon your needs and desire for future growth. If you’ve been happy with your marketing tactics, like cold calls and email blasts, then perhaps a manufacturing marketing firm isn’t really necessary. However, it’s important to point out that these days, there are a lot more things you could be doing to help increase your revenue, like content creation, social media marketing, SEO, and more, all of which will offer sources of untapped revenue. You can easily drive more leads and attract new business with a targeted manufacturing marketing plan.

What’s the Difference Between a Traditional Marketing Firm & a Manufacturing Marketer?

There are a wealth of traditional marketing firms out there, helping everyone from e-Commerce sites to retailers sell their wares. But what about where the industrial and manufacturing sector is concerned? The main difference between digital marketing for manufacturers and traditional digital marketing is that a manufacturing marketing company will have in-depth insight and experience into what makes a marketing campaign work for industrial companies. They do things differently. For example, an industrial marketing firm will have experience with the specific products and services you offer, as well as be in tune with the buying cycles in your industry. They’ll also have a good handle on who you’re selling to, whether it be B2B companies or engineering firms.

But before agreeing to any marketing plan, it’s important to have potential marketing agencies demonstrate their experience with your chosen industry, so don’t be afraid to ask about their knowledge of your business and the industry you’re in. Also, inquire specifically as to how they align their marketing tactics with buying cycles and target your key consumer personas.

Do You Have Industrial Engineers on Staff?

This is one of the things that truly set manufacturing marketing firms apart from traditional marketing agencies. Since in the industrial sector, engineers are often the ones making important decisions and driving many industry trends, it only makes sense that a truly reliable digital marketing firm for manufacturers will have either engineers on staff to help them craft winning marketing strategies, or at least a team of consultants they can confer with. This ensures they’re keeping their fingers on the pulse of the industrial sector. Often, many great manufacturing digital marketing agencies work side by side with engineers to develop winning marketing campaigns for their clients. 

What Other Manufacturers Have You Worked With in the Past?

You’d never hire a new employee without checking their references first, right? Well, hiring a manufacturing marketing firm is no different. Don’t be afraid to ask who they’ve worked with previously, as well as what they’ve done, whether it be creating eBooks, blog posts, designing websites, managing social media accounts, and more.

Additionally, don’t simply ask about the work they’ve done, but also the results from such work. They should be able to demonstrate how their social media campaigns have boosted returns for clients and increased growth. Get them to demonstrate how their services improved search rankings and website traffic and resulted in enhanced revenue. Also, be sure to look at customer reviews and testimonials, and ask for a list of past clients and references you can talk to.

How Is Your Manufacturing Marketing Plan Unrolled

Just like your clients rely on timely delivery for their products and services, you should expect no less from your B2B digital marketing agency for manufacturers. When working with a reliable marketing firm that specializes in manufacturing, they should easily be able to assess your needs and goals and provide you with a detailed plan and timeline to help you reach them. This plan should include specific dates, as well as the tactics your marketing firm plans on using. If there are any questions you have, be sure you address them and ask for clarification at this point so there’s no confusion down the road.

How Do You Measure the Results of Campaigns?

One of the key benefits of working with a manufacturing marketing agency is that they can show you proven results that the campaigns they’ve implemented, and your marketing investment, are paying off. Ask how they measure such results and collect and analyze key data related to your business. There are a number of ways manufacturing marketers do this, such as:

Assessing Metrics: Find out what type of metrics potential marketing firms monitor and track and be sure to ask them to elaborate on anything you don’t understand. There are a lot of industry terms and tools that can be a little overwhelming to outsiders.

Using Innovative Tools: There are a variety of marketing tools out there that agencies use, so find out what they are, how they work, and how they’re designed to improve your business.

Reporting: Marketers rely on reporting tools to demonstrate that the campaigns they’ve implemented are providing proven results, so ask what type of reporting they can offer on active campaigns. This will usually consist of a variety of things, everywhere from assessing SEO strategies to regular updates on PPC and other advertising tactics. These tools help marketers periodically tweak campaigns to ensure optimal leads and returns.

Expertise & Experience: All of the tools and tactics mentioned above are only useful in the hands of experienced marketing teams, so be sure to make certain you’re working with an experienced expert by asking about their credentials, background, certifications, and hands-on expertise.

A Few Questions to Ask While Your Marketing Campaigns Are Ongoing

So, now that you’ve found your ideal marketing team, the communication with them doesn’t stop there. To ensure that you’re getting the best industrial digital marketing services for your investment, following up with your team and having an ongoing dialogue will ensure the best results. Here are a few questions to ask while marketing campaigns are ongoing:

How Qualified is My Traffic?

When it comes to attracting traffic to your website, bringing qualified leads is extremely important, as these are the people most likely to convert to a sale. It doesn’t hurt to keep track of such things and ask how much-qualified traffic is being sent to your site via your marketing campaigns. In the grand scheme of things, having thousands of visits to your website each month will matter little if none of them are qualified and ready to convert.

Where’s the Data?

As mentioned previously, marketing campaigns are measured in a variety of ways, using different tools to collect key data and insight about ongoing campaigns. This data helps demonstrate the ROI you’re receiving on your marketing campaigns. Any reputable manufacturing digital marketing agency will monitor and regularly track everything from search rankings to conversion rates and show you clear data to back up your campaign results.

What About When it’s Time to Renew My Contract?

So, you’ve been working with a manufacturing digital marketing firm for manufacturers for a quarter, or annually, and it’s time to renew. Again, before agreeing to anything, there are some things you should assess to determine whether the past few months have generated the results you expected. First of all, it’s important to look for a clear correlation between an increase in leads and your marketing efforts. Any reputable marketing firm will be easily able to show you this type of data to place your mind at ease.

Additionally, they should also be able to assess past campaigns and long-term results, highlighting room for improvement and new tactics to help you reach your long-term marketing goals.