“The Deficit Myth” by Stephanie Kelton – a clear read which explains Modern Monetary Theory and how our governments could do a load of things differently. Fascinating and inspiring – well worth a read. and interesting that (some) economists are working with a different and very positive perspective.
It seems to me that industrial marketing is like talking to an interested audience in a small room – it is not necessary to raise your voice too much to have a big effect.
Trade and tech media are very helpful in this as they specifically focus on the very engineers, specifiers, and buyers who make up this niche.
It is similar in fact to a very large national trade exhibition where all your potential customers come together – but re-run 24/7 using the impact of print media and the convenience of the internet.
One of the things that drew me to marketing originally was the element of planning – and the present situation is a great example. The media are all looking ahead planning what they can do over the next year and that is what we are also recommending to clients.
Marketing is always a matter of trying to understand your market and where it is going – for me the interesting thing often is that industrial markets run differently from the high street. This means that it is important to stay focused on the positive – when business is down then that is the time to make marketing plans and to initiate action.
There are timing lags in every system and industrial marketing is no different – what is the time lag in your business process?
Multi-channel marketing has been a feature of promotional work for a very long time but it is true to say that its character has changed with the growth of the internet. This was pointed out recently by Chris Rand on his daily blog where he suggests that more people are now involved in decision making than before.
This corresponds to the way that now everybody can become an expert overnight and anyone with the least interest in sales/marketing can participate in decisions about these areas. Each person has their own preferred route to knowledge so it is important for a company to be present across as many as possible. This means that Multi-channel Marketing is even more important now because everybody is a stakeholder in decision-making.
As we all pull together out of yet another major economic downturn it is worth considering the vital aspect of teamwork and the role of respect in that process.
We all have different perspectives which may conflict but need to be respected. For example, the sales team is generally focused on getting orders today – marketing on getting orders tomorrow, or next month, even next year. Because the time frames are variable it is important to respect that difference.
It is all very well me and others talking about a massive recovery, but how can industrial SME’s afford to market themselves after a year of economic downturn?
Well, after more than a few years in the business may I suggest that PR with Social Media will be the lowest cost and most cost-effective promotion available.
Start there and see how it goes – your advertising and exhibition budgets can follow and build on your media presence. The combination will build a flexible, dynamic program that allows you to recover and promote as the recovery progresses.
Such a program is not only very cost-effective but also enables you to support the people who support you with true long-term benefits all round.
As we move into the much-predicted recovery from last year’s economic downturn with growth of 6 to 7% envisaged for this year – the UK needs a strong media in support of its manufacturing industries.
And of course, it is vital that those industries support the media in their job of channeling valuable information from the companies who have solutions to the engineers who need them, in design, production, and installation roles.
Advertising and PR/free content are part of a two-way street – if we work together then we all get where we are going a whole lot quicker. Now is the time to work with an experienced marketing team who have been through this situation before and helped clients to come through stronger.
If the forecasts are right and the half-full glass is about to get full again very quickly, then SMEs need to be sure they have all their marketing tools in place to take advantage of the recovery. If you want sales results in six months then we need to start your marketing now.
There is much debate about whether the UK economy is set to grow amazingly this year from a combination of Covid and Brexit – or completely tank from a combination of Covid and Brexit. Which sets me thinking that the marketing environment will also be very lively – so isn’t it time to plan how best to work with probably the most active trade and tech media in the world?
Industrial PR is a great start – Social Media is a strong second.
Interesting to hear Joe Biden talking recently about the job creation possibilities of a green agenda and of making medical care more widely available. It used to be said that what America does today we will do tomorrow – so let’s hope the government can get on board with this program for job creation in UK manufacturing industry where we promote with industrial PR.
