A Role on the Rise Why Marketing Matters More Than Ever PMA 2014 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A Role on the Rise

Why Marketing Matters More Than Ever

PMA 2014 Sales & Marketing Conference September 17, 2014

New Realities. New Opportunities. New Challenges.

Have industrial manufacturers finally given up the “Yeah, but?”

• Business strategies are changing

and winning looks different

• The world is too big for feet on the

street strategies alone

• Relationships are the key to success
• We’ve got good stories to tell but no
• ne’s telling them
• Customers are armed with

information

• Call me once. Call me twice. Call

me 9 times.

It’s the

• pportunity

we marketers have been waiting for. But is it?

2

Are You Ready?

Marketing is about winning. Not talking about it!

• Make big decisions
• Be a strategist, not a tactician
• Work in real time
• Do things you’ve never done before
• Bridge silos inside your company
• Leverage data and technologies
• Surround yourself with people who

know more than you do

And you must accept these elevated expectations with limited resources and shrinking timelines.

The Good News for Marketers

Marketers who demonstrate a direct connection between marketing activities and business results earn a more prominent seat at the table. 78% say that marketing’s influence on corporate strategy is greater today, and 56% say they spend more time in front of the company’s board where final strategy decisions get hammered

• ut.

Forrester 2013 Research

You have an unprecedented

• pportunity to

use marketing to solve business problems, helping both you – and your company – succeed.

What’s the Method to the Madness?

The easy way is hard enough

• Keep your eye on company

strategy, not just on campaign tactics

• Use “getting more obsessed about

customers” to foster alignment, break down silos and build bridges internally

• Get the right people on your team

and empower them

– Hire the right staff. The right agency. The right service providers

• Have a plan. Work the plan.

Absent a strong game plan, the end result of doing more with less is ALWAYS burnout.

You’ve Got Problems. We’ve Got Solutions

There’s lots of competition, more everyday

Create meaningful differentiation

Sales is reaching less than 50% of the market

Make marketing an integral part of the sales team

The sales cycle is so long, our sales team loses interest

Move marketing from lead generation to lead nurturing

Sometimes I think we’re the best kept secret

Step out and own the leadership position

We can’t find the talent we need

Become a destination employer

We’re too dependent on too few customers

Enter new markets. Expand globally

Let’s Make it Real

Create Meaningful Differentiation

Avoid Common Branding Pitfalls:

• Basing your brand on the category

you’re in

– Forging, stamping, fabrication, machining – Precision Metal Fabricators

• Staking your claim to entry level

attributes

– Solutions provider – Exceeding customer expectations – Commitment to quality

• Relying on internal perceptions of your

value

• Mimicking what your competitors do

and say

– Be different. Not the same – Find out what competitors have to say. Say something better

Build Your Brand

External research validated that Haumiller’s customers relied on their equipment in mission critical situations to transform inherently risky endeavors into predictably successful outcomes.

Position Your Company for Success

Gallagher is committed to evolving its business alongside its customers, continuously expanding engineering technologies and manufacturing capabilities to meet the demands of a dynamic marketplace – today and tomorrow.

Storytelling to Set Your Company Apart

• Say something important about

how you help customers

• vercome challenges
• Showcase what’s better about

your approach

• Be a thought leader in your

company, your industry, your community

• Give people a reason to

remember you and to want to engage in a conversation

• Connect personally. Create

emotional connections.

Let me repeat myself - Do NOT be boring.

Create a Meaningful Connection

Donnelly is committed to delivering short-run success every day. It’s an ability that simply can’t be matched – and they’ve built this reputation by using a public relations- driven program.

Create a Meaningful Connection

Leveraging a robust online environment – including a news room that showcases the company’s thought leadership – Donnelly shares its reputation with customers and prospects.

Own a Leadership Position in Your Niche

Park Bank is committed to creating long term relationships with customers to help individuals and businesses accomplish their goals.

Share Your Expertise Gladly

With a six part series in Plastics Today, Trefoil Group shared key insights into how marketing can help business leaders solve their biggest problems.

The Ground Rules of Effective Thought Leadership

57 Channels and Nothin’ On

• Share valuable ideas

– Gladly give this expertise away – Avoid irrelevant information that focuses on you

• Get involved

– Do something important – in your company, your industry, your community – Advocate real reform

• Challenge your own assumptions

– Bring thought leaders in to shape new dialogue – Create an environment where new ideas and real innovation can take hold

• Don’t just be a thought leader. Be a

thoughtful leader

– True thought leaders have a genuine humility – They know their own insufficiencies and acknowledge others’ contributions

To be a thought leader, you have to be out there.

If You are Dismissing Digital Marketing, Rethink That Decision Digital is where it’s at.

• Engineering’s in Michigan.

Manufacturing in Mexico. Purchasing in Wisconsin.

– They attend different conferences and use different media – They are all online, searching for solutions to their problems

• Websites, social media, SEO, content

marketing can all work together to provide a platform to tell powerful stories and make meaningful connections

• Let’s be clear. The world doesn’t need

any more crappy content.

• Don’t dismiss strategies and channels

because you don’t understand them

The channel works well…if not for you, then for your competitors.

Launch New Products Holistically

Starting with a comprehensive web environment, Frigel launched their newest technology to a global market with a holistic campaign that included PR/content, supporting advertising and collateral leading up to a global trade show.

Going Once. Going Twice. Going Global.

More and more manufacturers, including smaller B2B companies, are entering global

• markets. Companies like Frigel are taking advantage of opportunities to do so successfully.

Bottom Line: Nobody Cares About What You Do

They only care about what you can do for them

• People are looking for solutions to

their business problems

• For new ways to increase customer

penetration

• To enter new markets where the

competition is fierce

• To grow amidst tremendous

competition

• To attract like-minded customers

and talent

• To sleep at night knowing that

someone else has the ball

For marketers and for companies, there will be winners and losers. Which one will you be?

Thank You! For more information, contact Mary Scheibel, principal. (414) 270-3513 www.trefoilgroup.com