The Marketing Maven: Industrial Marketing Blog & B2B Marketing Tips

The New 3 “R's”: Helping You Maximize Your Marketing Dollars

Allocating your marketing budget is a real challenge in today's changing environment, and GlobalSpec can help you identify where and when to maximize your expenditure.

The latest industry information you need is in the 2010 Economic Outlook Survey, and you can download a complimentary copy now.

The new 3 “R's?”  Recovery, Re-purposing and Re-allocating.

Recovery: The white paper shows you which of your best prospects are riding high in today's economic climate, as well as those that are lagging. Catch the right wave and reap the rewards.

Re-purposing: Engineers tell us that they're trending toward projects that save energy, reduce waste and increase productivity – and that's a clue for you to emphasize those advantages in the products and services you're offering to them.

Re-allocating: Just as industrial professionals are moving more and more to online resources for information and conducting day-to-day business, it's time for their suppliers to follow suit and go where the action is.

The report provides additional insight into your prospects’ thinking that will help you get even more mileage out of every marketing dollar – attitudes and practices that are leading to longer production cycles, for example, demonstrating the need for you to be where they can see you when they need you.

Read all the valuable information.  Download your complimentary copy of the Economic Outlook for 2010 Survey now, and you'll have the primer for successful marketing for your company.

Five Ways to Improve E-mail Marketing in 2010

Even though social media gets a lot of attention these days, e-mail marketing remains a strong and proven performer in the industrial space. But to continue getting results and a return on your investment from e-mail marketing, you must keep up with changes in your audience’s behavior and advances in technology. Here are five ways to improve e-mail marketing in 2010.

By Definition: Keywords are Key to SEO Success

What is the reason for all of the mixed messages surrounding SEO? The tactics required to achieve high search engine rankings are complex and ever-changing. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of identifying and using the right set of keywords in your SEO efforts.

According to our 2010 Economic Outlook Survey, your prospects and customers use the Internet to do research, request price quotes, purchase parts/products, compare suppliers and perform other work-related activities. More and more, you need to get your online presence ready to attract attention and rank higher on search engines.

None of this may be news to you. There is plenty of buzz today around online marketing terminology such as SEO, keywords, web crawlers and search engine ranking. What most of us don’t understand is what this boils down to in terms of commitment, tactics and what the trick is to actually getting results.

There's Still Time to Register For Frost & Sullivan Webinar on Marketing to the Industrial Sector

It's not too late to join us on Tuesday, August 24^th at 11:00am EST for the Frost & Sullivan webinar "Marketing to the Industrial Sector: Building a Better online Strategy".

The webinar will cover the industrial buy cycle, how the Internet has affected buying, how the industrial space is a unique audience to address with online marketing, and what leading-edge best practices can bring marketing outreach in the industrial space to the next level.

Register now!

Reminder! Register Now For Frost & Sullivan Webinar on Marketing to the Industrial Sector

There’s still time to join us on Tuesday, August 24^th at 11:00am EST for a webinar focusing on how to market to the industrial sector.

This Frost & Sullivan sponsored webinar will cover the industrial buy cycle, how the Internet has affected buying, how the industrial space is a unique audience to address with online marketing, and what leading-edge best practices can bring marketing outreach in the industrial space to the next level.

Register now!

Interview with Avnet on the Importance of Employee Engagement

One of the world's largest distributors of electronic parts, enterprise computing and storage products and embedded subsystems, Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT) provides a vital link in the technology supply chain. The company has more than 15,000 employees and is ranked number 142 on the Fortune 500 in 2010 and is number one in its industry on Fortune magazine's Most Admired Companies 2009 and 2010.

The Marketing Maven spoke recently with Avnet Chief Communications Officer Al Maag about the company’s employee engagement strategy.

What are the Best Practices for Marketing to the Industrial Sector?

No one would argue that the Internet has changed the very fabric of life, not to mention business-to-business marketing. But you can’t simply market to the industrial and manufacturing sector that way you would other industries. This space has its own set of challenges and demands.

So how do you approach marketing to this audience?  Join us on Tuesday, August 24^th at 11:00am EST for Marketing to the Industrial Sector: Building a Better Online Strategy.  This webinar  will focus on online marketing and how it relates to industrial markets.

Specifically the presentation will cover the industrial buy cycle, how the Internet has affected buying, how the industrial space is a unique audience to address with online marketing, and what leading-edge best practices can bring marketing outreach in the industrial space to the next level. Register today!

How the Economic Outlook Impacts Supplier Marketing

Your prospects are re-focusing, some industries are receding while others are recovering, industrial customers are re-evaluating how and where they get their information, and they're even re-thinking some of their top projects.

All of this information, and more, is contained for your marketing benefit in our 2010 Economic Outlook Survey report.

As for re-focusing, engineering, technical and industrial professionals tell us that they're spending more time on projects to save energy, reduce waste and increase existing production capacity. And that's your clue to match your message to their current needs.

This industry trends and research report will tell you which segments are slow to recover and which are starting to surge, so you can re-allocate your marketing efforts to where you are likely to reap the most rewards.

It's no secret that more and more of your customers show an increasing preference for online information over traditional media. We show you why having a website isn't nearly enough, and what you can do about it, economically.

Your prospects are interested in the new: markets, product design and development, and technology research, and that, in turn, leads to long-term spending.  Frequency is becoming even more important for marketers who want top-of-mind awareness at the right stage of the buy cycle.

You can read the entire report for practical advice about how to maximize your efforts in today's changing and challenging economic times.  Download it now – it just might be the most rewarding part of your entire day: 2010 Economic Outlook Survey report.

2010: Where Time, Effort and Spending are Focused

Industrial professionals are re-focusing their efforts – spending more time, attention and expenditures on going green, saving green and growing production capacity, all at the same time.

That's a clue for you to re-focus your existing marketing tools to fit in with their new objectives.
And that's just one of five strategies you can read about in the 2010 Economic Outlook Survey that will help you reap the rewards of savvy marketing.

You'll also learn more reasons to re-purpose your existing marketing materials, as well as where and why to reduce efforts while re-allocating your marketing dollars for maximum results.

For example, your customers are also spending more time using online information sources for work-related matters, and that's another key reason for you to re-evaluate your marketing plan.

And, there are other indications, also gleaned from the 2010 Economic Outlook Survey that your potential customers are focusing on new markets, new product design and development and new technology research, resulting in longer spending and buying cycles.

You can read the complete details in our 2010 Economic Outlook Survey, available for download right now.

Making a Good Impression: Eight Tips for Better Industrial Video Productions

GlobalSpec provides a number of ways for suppliers to leverage video content to engage engineering, manufacturing, and technical professionals, whether through directory representation (in Product Announcements or on a dedicated company Videos page), or by exhibition in one of our many online events.  These programs provide GlobalSpec with a unique vantage point from which to see what works best in terms of industrial video productions.

Eight tips for producing quality industrial product or service videos:

1. Start with an idea or storyboard—a written plan for your production. Consider the audience that will view the final product and write it with their needs in mind.

2. Use a tripod with your camera.  One of the most common detractors to video quality is picture shake, so minimize camera movement.

3. Make sure that your subject matter is adequately lit. The best way to visualize what you are shooting is to use a monitor as you shoot so you see a better representation of what your true output will look like.  Add and adjust lighting as needed.

4. Always keep in mind where the final video will run and how large the final output will be.  For a smaller viewer, it is better to stay with close ups because details in long shots may be lost.

5. Get to the point!  Cover your key points and wrap up quickly in order to maintain audience engagement.

6. Select strong visuals.  Visuals and graphics should be carefully chosen in terms of how they support and tell your story.

7. Use an appropriate narration “voice” to convey your message.  For example, a strong male voice might be more appropriate for a metal stamping machine than a soft female voice.

8. Pay attention to audio quality.  For best results use a direct wired mic to the person doing the voice over (rather than using the camera mic).  Adding a music bed under the voice can also greatly enhance the audio presentation.

Taking steps to ensure that production clarity and quality is good will pay off by presenting your company and its products and services in the best possible light to prospective customers.

Share your tips and best practices for producing outstanding quality videos?