10 Best Practices When It Comes to Manufacturing Lead Generation
Manufacturing companies face unique marketing challenges that aren’t relevant in other industries. Consider that your target audience possesses a higher level of knowledge, which means content must be far more sophisticated. It’s also a lot harder to create compelling social media campaigns that are effective in terms of manufacturing lead generation.
Not only do you want to make prospective clients aware of your business, but you also want to entice them to take the necessary actions that result in sales. The following are just a few strategies that manufacturers can utilize to greatly improve their industrial sales lead generation.
Grow Your Audience
LinkedIn is an invaluable tool for marketers in many different industries. This platform is very favorable to long-form publishing, which involves high-level content that targets a specific business niche. Where other social media platforms are all about brevity, professionals perusing LinkedIn are more likely to read long-form posts, especially when they’re in search of specific information. Developing effective long-form content is only half the battle, however.
You can also grow your audience by taking other steps. For instance, make sure you’re publishing something at least twice a week to ensure your connections are engaged. Also, try to make posts dynamic. Along with your carefully crafted content, add some pictures to illustrate your point. Additionally, try to post when people are most likely to read, which is usually during 9 to 5 business hours.
Make Sure You’re Listed
Making sure you’re listed in relevant directories and databases ensures that clients can find you when they’re looking for assistance. While it seems old-fashioned, keep in mind that many of the former print directories so crucial to the manufacturing industry have found a home online. Keep in mind that there is a multitude of these services. Some of them require a fee to be included, while others allow free listing. As a result, your company should be listed in as many directories as possible to ensure clients have access to your name and contact information. In the same token, make sure you’re perusing these same directories on a regular basis. You never know when you might stumble across a company that’s a perfect fit for you.
Emphasize Clear Messaging
When creating content, your goal should be clear and concise messaging. Even when discussing high-level, complex concepts unique to manufacturing, it’s best to steer clear of jargon. Jargon rarely communicates what you’re intending. Instead, it confuses and frustrates the reader, who is probably quite knowledgable about the subject he or she is researching. Reliance on jargon can also come across as a blatant sales pitch. The focus should be on organic, informative language that provides value to the reader’s life. This establishes you as an authority on the topic, which is the first step to securing a brand new client.
Put Effort Into Your Title
Titling content truly is an art. After slaving away at creating compelling and illuminating content to be broadcast across multiple channels, it may seem like the title is an afterthought. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The title of your content is the first things a reader sees, and if the title isn’t eye-catching it’s likely that your content will be passed over. Of course, this is often easier said than done, but there are a few tried and true tricks you can employ. One method involves generating intrigue.
Make sure the topic of the post is obvious but introduces a bit of mystery that entices the reader to yearn for more. Titles that incorporate numbered lists and how-tos are also quite effective. If you’re having a hard time coming up with a winning formula, experiment and see which pieces have the most impact on your audience in terms of views.
Invest in Paid Advertising
Along with free methods of lead generation, paid advertising can also be quite successful. Many platforms feature sponsored ads that can pinpoint your target audience based on a number of factors. You can drill down into criteria like location, industry, and even time of day to ensure the right eyes land on your content. With a platform like LinkedIn, where your content is primarily dispersed to those you’re already connected to, sponsoring content offers a huge benefit. This allows blog posts to be disseminated to a much wider audience, which helps drum up leads beyond your corner of the internet.
Develop Rapport Organically
Social media platforms like Twitter make it easy to interact with companies and individuals you’d like to do business with. When faced with seemingly endless networking opportunities, it’s easy to come across as too eager. For instance, launching right into your selling spiel before developing a relationship could derail your strategy before you even begin. Even if what you offer is useful to a company, no one wants to be blatantly sold to.
That’s why it’s important to let a rapport develop organically. Feel free to like, share, and comment on another person’s post. This is akin to introducing yourself at a party or networking event and often serves to get the ball rolling. From here, interact with the person, but refrain from diving right into your pitch. Letting a rapport develop naturally takes the pressure off the person you’re trying to pin down for a sale.
Know How to Contact Leads
There is a variety of methods you can use to reach out to leads once you’ve secured them. Cold-calling might sound antiquated in this digital age, but when used wisely it can make quite an impact. Frame calls as surveys and ask the contact to provide his or her unvarnished opinion about a subject that is near and dear to your industry. People love talking about their opinions at length, much more so than they enjoy being the subject of a sales call.
You can use this information to hone your business strategies, and at the end of the call offer to send information to interested parties. Emails are also effective, and a lot less intrusive. Make it short and sweet when emailing prospects; provide a compelling description of what your business has to offer and offer some incentive for following up. This can in the form of a free consultation or other bonus that entices a contact to reach out to you.
Make Use of Scarcity
Marketers often look for ways to tap into the psyche of those they’re targeting. This is highly effective in terms of getting a target to act, as you’re speaking to a deeper motivation within them. Leveraging scarcity is one tactic that causes a target to act out of a fear of missing out.
When a supply of something is perceived as being limited, people find it far more desirable. You can leverage scarcity in one of two ways. When you make an offer, such as the free consultation mentioned above, you can attach a time limit on it. If you’re offering a tangible item, you can specify that there is only a limited quantity, with the implication that those who delay will miss out on an amazing deal. You can even combine the two concepts to make your offer that much more desirable.
Don’t Underestimate Promotional Items
In today’s increasingly digital world, some businesses look down on promotional items. However, don’t underestimate just how effective these items can be to broadcasting your name to the right people. This is especially true when considering how minimal of an investment it is to print your company’s name and logo on a variety of items, such as pens, coffee mugs, and t-shirts. These items also have a lifespan just beyond the initial target. Say you meet with a potential client, who ultimately decides not to utilize your services. If they leave the meeting with promotional items emblazoned with your name and contact information, there’s a good chance that another prospect will also come across them.
Rank Higher in Search Results
Where you rank in Google searches has a distinct impact on your reach. Fortunately, there are ways you can improve your website’s ranking. Make sure it’s optimized for mobile searches, which now rival or even best that of desktop searches. Also, take a look at your URL. A truncated URL free of extraneous characters is best to ensure proper indexing.
Lastly, don’t annoy your visitor with a pop-up that appears as soon as he or she lands on your site. These ads rarely accomplish what you want. Most users close out these ads immediately and may even click away from your site out of irritation. Pack your content with value and you won’t need pop-up ads to seal the deal.
Momentum can be your trusted guide to all things digital marketing. This knowledgeable team tackles multiple areas, from website design to copywriting to marketing, to ensure you not only generate ample leads but also have the ability to turn them into sales. Take a look at a portfolio containing their recent work by visiting the website. If you’d like to speak with a friendly and knowledgable representative about your business’s needs, be sure to call (586) 265-2562.
