Marketing isn’t a four-letter word

Let’s be real. You probably don’t put much thought into your marketing processes.

In fact, you might not think about them at all. But marketing isn’t just for business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. Business-to-business (B2B) operations, like those working as part of larger supply chains or shops serving their local community, should include marketing in their overall business practices.

Like accounting and HR and everything else that happens off the shop floor, marketing is integral to your success as a business, and resources should be made available for it.

According to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a common B2B marketing budget is between 2 per cent and 5 per cent of revenue. As a comparison, B2C companies often spend between 5 per cent and 10 per cent.

Understandably, those of you who own/manage a shop typically are laser-focused on short-term needs like sending those important parts out the door and getting paid for them, rather than esoteric, long-term goals like marketing.

Manufacturers also are a very niche part of B2B. For many businesses, one of the most important KPIs is website traffic because its typically tied to e-commerce. Manufacturers, because they are a niche business, can’t expect vast numbers of website visitors. And while your website is a hugely important window into your operations, you may have to limit how much you share to fulfill non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or protect your existing client base.

What do you even sell, anyway? You sell your experience, your machining capability, and your capacity. You sell your reputation. But how do you even market that? A good place to start is taking a long, hard, honest look at the situation. That’s right … an audit.

If you can stomach an ISO, compliance, or dangerous goods audit, this will be a breeze. An audit essentially is a needs assessment and should be used to discover your target customers, competitors, brand attributes (reputation), and the differentiators you bring to the table.

Answering a few simple questions can get you moving in the right direction.

1. Who are we as a company and what is our message to our customers?
2. What do we know about the needs of our customers and potential customers?
3. How do our customers find us/how do we find them?

With this information you can create a marketing plan that is strategic and targeted. You may have a long sales cycle and sell very complex parts. Your marketing plan not only needs to reflect this, it needs to support the sales department in its task of selling.

Also, don’t be afraid to bring in outside help with a deep understanding of website content, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), advertising, trade shows, and social media. Set goals, track them, and track their cost.

Then you can get back to making parts.