Industrial Marketing – Definition, Strategy and Characteristics

Industrial marketing is a business-to-business marketing practice that is used to promote the goods and services of one business or enterprise to another. It is generally used amongst producers, suppliers, OEMs, buyers, etc. A wide range of strategies are used in industrial marketing like-

• Using informational websites with language directed at other enterprises
• Making customized presentations to the management staff of potential clients
• Designing product samples to demonstrate confidence in the quality of the product
• Making online videos displaying products, service providers and sales staff, etc.

What Is Industrial Marketing?

Definition: Industrial marketing is a marketing plan that one business utilizes to sell industrial products or services to another business, generating leads and optimizing B2B conversions.

Industrial marketing revolves around industrial manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers, plus its channelization is associated with large orders and long-term relationships, as the sales process in industrial marketing may take months or even years.

It is a more complex form of marketing due to its specialized industrial products. An industrial product or service helps produce the end product from the raw materials. Establishing long-term relationships between the producer and customers is a prerequisite for an industrial marketing program.

Key Takeaways

• Industrial marketing is a business-to-business (B2B) activity that promotes goods and services from one company to another. It includes buyers, sellers, OEMs, and producers.
• To encourage people to buy, it uses websites with information, personalized presentations, product samples, and online movies.
• The process mainly involves finding corporate buyers, suppliers, and manufacturers and getting them to buy and do business with each other.
• In industrial marketing, sales are based on big orders and long-term ties. Deals can take months or even years to finish.
• It is hard to understand because industrial goods and services are very specific and must turn raw materials into finished goods.

Why Is Industrial Marketing Important?

Industrial marketing is very important because it meets manufacturing customers’ unique needs and expectations. These customers care most about getting full product information, learning about a company’s history, finding out where they do business, and reading reviews to see proof of trustworthiness. In this digital age, they want content that is easy to reach on various devices, interesting, and visually appealing.

These things should be true about a company’s online profile to do well in the competitive market. The move toward digital marketing has sped up, especially since COVID-19. For example, 12% more makers use their websites to reach more customers. This change shows how important digital avenues are for connecting with clients well.

Because of this, companies that want to do well need to understand and use strong industrial marketing strategies. Companies can significantly improve their customer engagement, keep up with the changing needs of their target audience, and eventually boost sales in the tough industrial sector by having a strong online presence.

Who should use an Industrial Marketing Strategy?

Industrial marketing is useless to a company that targets its products at individual customers. However, a company that makes large-scale manufacturing machinery can use industrial marketing.

For instance, many companies making the large-scale manufacturing machinery would never sell their products to an individual customer. Hence, they should use industrial marketing activities to promote those types of equipment to other companies that might have the resources and need to use them.

So, a mass-market OEM would purchase such machinery to create a thousand units of the same equipment each year. In the same way, furniture manufacturers might use industrial marketing practices to promote their business products to different businesses that need furniture for their business offices.

Nature & Scope of Industrial Marketing

The nature of industrial marketing is relatively easy to understand, but the process is complex. Selling to customers directly is easy. The business serves a limited number of products to its customers. In B2B marketing, the business sells its products to other sellers, who sell to end customers.

In B2C marketing, the business needs to know the tastes and preferences of a smaller group of people, and with good salesmanship, it can quickly seal the deal. However, if the business engages in B2B marketing, it must know a large group of diverse people across various locations.

Its nature incorporates inbound marketing strategies to pull in businesses as potential customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them, boosting lead generation, and optimizing conversions of qualified leads.

Industrial marketing has a broader scope as it deals with customers indirectly. This means it needs to consider the middlemen and the customers when marketing its products. The focus will constantly be on marketing to other brands first, which allows the business to specialize in a specific field.

What are the characteristics of Industrial Marketing?

As it is clear that the buying processes of industrial marketing are associated with targeting, connecting, and converting other enterprises or businesses, the following are the key features associated with the whole process-

1. Fewer yet Larger Markets

Buyers are way fewer than consumers, but these buyers buy in bulk.

2. Well-established Relations

The relationship between buyers and sellers is much closer than between consumers and sellers. This is because changing sellers costs a lot of time, money, and effort once a relationship is formed.

3. Complex Process

The entire buying and selling process is extremely complex. A lot of approval is needed from various officials.

4. Derived Demand

The demand for industrial goods is derived from the demand for the final product sold to consumers. If the demand for the good consumer increases, so does the demand for the industrial good and vice-versa.

5. Inelastic Demand

The demand for industrial goods and services is not affected by changes in the price of the product or service. This is the notion of inelastic demand. It is especially applicable in the short run.

6. Fluctuating Demand

The demand for industrial goods and services is more volatile than consumer goods and services.

7. Professional Buyers

Industrial goods are often purchased by professionally trained agents who thoroughly know the products they are trying to purchase. Customer marketing does not always have to consider the customer to be a well-informed bargainer. This is a unique feature of the industrial markets.

3 Stages of Industrial Business Marketing

The stages are explained from both the buyer’s and marketers’ points of view. Let us have a look at these three stages here and now-

Stage 1: Research

The buyer initiates their search process regarding what they want to buy. The seller must try their best to be discovered as early as possible. The buying process in this industry is more complex and more prolonged. Getting discovered first gives the marketer a more significant influence on the buyer.

Stage 2: Evaluation

The research leads the buyer to develop a list of products and services they can choose from. This helps them make a more informed buying decision. In this stage, the marketer must prove to the buyer that their business should be their choice.

Stage 3: Purchase

The buyer in this stage, finally decides what they want to buy. Of course, by now, the marketer should have done their job.

Industrial Marketing vs Consumer Marketing

The buying process incorporated in industrial marketing differs from consumer marketing as industrial marketing is directed towards businesses while consumer marketing is directed towards the customers or end-users.

Because of the specific behavioral patterns of the industrial buyers, the associated marketing strategies are also quite different. Some of the key ways through which industrial marketing is different from consumer marketing are-

1. The Industrial Buying process has Specific Needs

Mass marketing does not work for industrial marketers as the buyers have particular needs. In addition, the products are generally technical and need a much more targeted approach.

2. The Role of Research Is Greater in Industrial Marketing

Again, as product marketing is technical, the marketer must fulfill the buyer’s needs. The buyer, too, engages in extensive research. The marketer must ensure that the product or service meets the buyer’s expectations.

3. Purchase Leads to Partnership

A B2B purchase often results in the forming of a partnership. The sale of such products or services is an especially long process. Earning the trust of the industrial buyer is an essential step in making a purchase. If the buyer wants to make a similar purchase later, they may not want to go through this ordeal again. As a purchase leads to buyers and sellers working together for months or even years, it leads to forming a partnership.

Benefits of Industrial Marketing

Industrial marketing is essential for businesses that deal with other businesses. It has many benefits that help with sales and relationships immediately and set the stage for long-term growth and market difference. You can use it fully if you know about all the benefits of industrial marketing. One more time, let us look at the main benefits:

• Holistic Business Growth: Industrial marketing requires more than product sales and business environment management. Every component of your organization, from product development to customer service, works together to achieve a goal. A machine seller may worry about quality, after-sales service, and support to build their business.
• Long-Term Competitive Advantage: Industrial marketing can keep you ahead in a world of competitive advantages. Knowing what customers want and finding creative ways to deliver it can help companies create a unique value offer. Imagine a company that makes eco-friendly industrial packaging. This could distinguish it from competitors and attract an eco-conscious market.
• Internal Efficiency: A successful industrial marketing plan unites all departments, improving production and workflow. When marketing and manufacturing teams know the market and how to match client expectations, a company is faster and more effective. If the goal is to become the top aircraft precision tool provider, each department will work hard to achieve the right certifications and standards, boosting performance.

Industrial Marketing vs Consumer Marketing

When comparing industrial marketing to consumer marketing, it is important to understand what each is all about so you can make good business decisions. Both methods are aimed at different groups of people, have different strategies, and require different considerations. Let us look more closely at their differences to clarify these ideas and get a full picture of what they mean.

1. Understanding the Customer’s Needs

• Industrial Marketing: Imagine a company that makes things by buying many machine parts. People do not buy these things immediately; they carefully consider their technical specs and how long they will last. Each business client has specific needs that need to be met by a marketing plan made just for them. For instance, a company that sells industrial pumps would carefully examine and meet the unique operational needs of a chemical processing plant.
• Consumer Marketing: Consumer marketing, on the other hand, focuses on individual buyers whose choices are often influenced by feelings, trends, and brand loyalty. When a new smartphone comes out, the marketing focuses on appealing to a wide range of people by emphasizing features like camera quality, design aesthetics, and user experience instead of getting too technical.

2. The Crucial Role of Research

• Industrial Marketing: In the B2B sector, the path to a purchase agreement is slowed down by much study and evaluation. Imagine that companies spend weeks or months checking out heavy equipment makers’ reputations, product quality, and customer service after the sale before making a deal. This level of strictness shows how important it is to have useful information online and why companies should spend money on detailed product paperwork and case studies.
• Consumer Marketing: Conversely, consumers make decisions more quickly and with less scientific analysis. A customer might buy a new line of sneakers after seeing a bright display ad or hearing about them from an expert. Here, the attention is more on immediately making an emotional connection with the product.

3. Cultivating Business-Customer Relationships

• Industrial Marketing: The manufacturing market wants business relationships that last and can be counted on. Imagine a building company that picks a steel supplier only after much research. Usually based on trust and past performance, this choice will probably lead to a long-term partnership. This shows the importance of keeping leads interested and strong client relationships.
• Consumer Marketing: Although customer loyalty is also important in B2C, the way things are done is more fluid and different. Brands try to get people interested in them through loyalty programs, regular new releases, and social media exchanges. They want regular buyers to become brand advocates.

Industrial marketing strategies must be tailored to corporate clients’ complex needs. Success in industrial marketing depends on emphasizing product technical superiority and trust. Consumer marketing, on the other hand, involves creatively and personally appealing to buyers.

7 Steps of Industrial Marketing Strategy

The following are the steps involved in implementing successful industrial marketing strategies to generate new leads and customers.

Step 1: Evaluate Your Current Marketing Strategy

Determine your new strategy by first understanding your previous strategies. Next, look at how well you have met or not met your previously determined goals. Another aspect of analyzing is the work of your competitors. Analyze what they are doing and find ways to do it better than them.

Step 2: Determine Your Target Audience

Your target audience determines almost all the motivations behind your actions and strategies. Although the target audience may be a fictional concept, it needs to be thoroughly professionally researched to represent your ideal customer.

If your promotional or educational content is planned per your target audience’s inclinations, it will lead to higher conversion rates. Specific content targeting specific buyers can as easily do the trick. As mentioned earlier, mass marketing is not an option for an industrial marketer.

Step 3: Establish Your Metrics and Goals

Data is essential to any marketer. Why continue the same marketing strategies if you are not meeting your required ROI? First, you need to determine your goals. Set SMART goals (Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).

Next, analyze your performance and ensure the metrics you analyze meet your goals. Any difference between the goal and the result determines your future marketing strategies. Some of the metrics you may track are website traffic, landing conversion rates, cost per lead, bounce rate, etc.

Step 4: Know your Digital Marketing Efforts for Industrial lead generation

From website design to regularly updated blogs to keyword research, paid advertising, and using Google Analytics, there are wide ranges of digital marketing endeavors that a business today might use to optimize its industrial marketing campaigns. Some of the key online marketing efforts you might try are

1. Social Media Platforms

Industrial marketing does not have to be boring. Social media marketing can also be used in industrial marketing. Social media is a tool to connect to people worldwide. It is a common tool in marketing to consumers but can be used for industrial marketing, too.

2. Blogs

Blogs are popular marketing tools. This form of marketing requires extensive research due to the technical nature of the products, so marketers can use blogs to disseminate relevant information.

3.Videos

Successful B2B marketers create and use videos as a powerful marketing tool that provides visual information.

4. Microsites

A microsite is an individual web page, or it can also be a small cluster of web pages. It can have its URL and is a great industrial marketing tool.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is an enormously powerful marketing tool that has proven its worth over the last few decades. It is a great tool to personalize and disseminate relevant information to buyers.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is one of the key ways to rank on search engines. By doing primary keyword research and channeling SEO efforts to optimize your business presence in front of your target businesses, you will be able to make the most of your industrial marketing campaigns.

7. A/B Testing

A/B testing can be used in industrial online marketing practices to determine the best performance across a website, blog, email, etc. Some industrial marketing materials you may AB test are Copy length, Subject lines, Imagery, Colors, Form location, etc.

Step 5: Do Collaboration of Your Industrial Marketing With Sales

Though the aforementioned steps would help you get the leads, your sales team must make efforts and develop relationships to convert those leads. You can manage them in the sales funnel via Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools.

CRM will enable your sales team to evaluate new prospects by using a scoring system, sending tracked emails, and making calls to the best leads.

Step 6: Budgeting and staffing for your Industrial Marketing Efforts

There are three possible routes any business can opt for when making budgeting and staffing decisions.

1. Continue with your existing staff

You can use your existing staff to develop your marketing strategies. An advantage of this method is that you do not have to splurge on staffing. However, your staff members may not be experts in this field. As a result, they may divide their time and focus across various projects.

2. Hiring an internal marketing employee

Hiring an internal marketing employee saves you time in finding the right agency and agent to fulfill your marketing needs. A disadvantage, however, is additional salary costs, benefits, payroll taxes, etc.

3. Partnering with an Industrial Marketing Agency

Hiring an outside agency can allow you to exploit the benefits of the agency’s experience and expertise. However, this is not free of cost. You need to invest your time and money to find the right agency. Furthermore, this partnership will be relatively long-term. You need to form a trusting relationship with a third-party company.

Step 7- Measuring Industrial Marketing Success

Various metrics are to track to determine the success of industrial marketing endeavors. You need to set goals for revenue, total new contacts, sales-qualified leads, website traffic, visitor-to-lead conversion, etc.

By setting benchmarks, you can measure the results of your marketing campaigns against those benchmarks.

What is an Industrial Marketing example?

1. Intuit Infographic

 

Intuit creates industrial marketing content to add value to the lives of its audiences. The example shared above suggests the growing trend of work from the home system in the UK and how it has affected the work culture there.

2. Litmus

Litmus is an e-mail testing and analysis platform that creates unique, creative, and appealing email campaigns. Instead of using static text, they use eye-catching GIFs and eye-catching colors to make readers feel like they are browsing a professionally designed website.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite utilizes engaging videos to highlight the personality of its clients in each case study. You can notice this on their YouTube channel.

What Are Industrial Marketing Ideas To Grow Your Business?

Content Marketing and Video Integration

Rich content that attracts industrial buyers can make your website a sales machine. Like IntePro Innovations’ elegant, technology-driven visuals and walkthroughs, your digital footprint should highlight goods, specifications, and company milestones and use multimedia-like videos to communicate. By including how-to tips and beginner-friendly blog content, you can attract visitors looking for simple answers.

• Use multimedia like product demos to reach more people.
• Updating your website with SEO-optimized content keeps it visible and relevant.

SEO to Drive Targeted Traffic

Strong SEO is the foundation of your online presence. Use industry-specific keywords like “heavy-duty hydraulic pumps in the Pacific Northwest.” To attract engineers and customers:

• Use performance statistics and pricing to optimize product pages and advanced search.
• Local SEO can entice nearby businesses by using region-specific keywords.

Online Product Catalog Enhancement

A comprehensive online catalog may set your brand apart in today’s customer-focused market. Use an interactive product catalog to provide detailed product information and ease purchasing. SigmaSwitches’ real-time inventory updates and eCommerce connectivity make selecting easy.

• Use an interactive product catalog to facilitate searching and purchase.
• Maintain an accurate product database and eCommerce integration for 24/7 sales.

Targeted Advertising Campaigns

To reach a targeted audience, diversify your marketing with search, display, and social media ads. Advertising should target broader, more targeted niches to boost content marketing and SEO.

• Advertise in many ways to boost brand awareness and support other marketing efforts.

Strategic Email Marketing Campaigns

Strategic email marketing converts interest into purchase. Promote new products and resources to subscribers to move them along the sales funnel.

• Create informative and valuable email campaigns to engage and advance non-buying leads.

Interactive Website Chat Functionality

Advanced Molding Technologies’ technology uses website chat to answer questions for tech-savvy customers immediately. This streamlines information collection and portrays you as a resourceful, customer-centric solution provider.

• Provide live chat on your website for instant, tailored client interactions and lead acquisition.

A clever blend of content, SEO, online catalogs, and digital communication tactics boosts visibility, engagement, and business success.

Conclusion

On a concluding note, industrial marketing is a branch of marketing, advertising, communications, and sales that promotes the goods and services of one business to other businesses instead of targeting specific customers.
It generally revolves around large orders and long-term relationships between a manufacturer and client. How effective do you find industrial marketing practices for the B2B businesses? Please share your opinion with us in the comment section below.

FAQs

What Is Industrial Marketing Also Known As?
Industrial marketing is simply called marketing between businesses. It’s also called B2B Marketing, Industry Marketing, or Business Marketing.

What Is Industrial Marketing With Example?
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing, also known as industrial marketing, sells goods or services directly to other businesses, not individuals. For example, a paint business might sell its goods to a furniture company that needs paint for its furniture. Another example is a software company that makes custom programs for businesses or schools.

Is Industrial Marketing the Same as B2B Marketing?
Yes, Industrial Marketing is just another name for B2B (Business-to-Business) Marketing. This means marketing activities that take place in a business-to-business environment.

What Is the Difference Between Industrial Marketing and Consumer Marketing?
When a business sells its goods or services to other businesses instead of regular people, this is called industrial marketing. Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketing is another name for this. It is called Consumer Marketing or B2C (Business-to-Consumer) marketing when a business sells to regular people like us.

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