The average B2B chemical or composite manufacturing company spends only 8% of their revenues on marketing, according to The CMO Survey by Deloitte. What can it get in return for such a modest investment? With a clear understanding of effective tactics and channels and a solid marketing plan in place, quite a lot.
The chemical and composites industry is certainly not a one-size-fits-all sector. It comprises a vast network of interdependent companies and suppliers, making an integrated marketing strategy essential for success.
The biggest challenge in chemical and composites marketing is that it used to be a sub-function of sales and used “old school sales” techniques focused on building relationships. This helps explain why the chemical and composites industry ranks at the bottom in terms of the adoption of digital technology across its business practices, including marketing and marketing automation.
Chemical and composites manufacturing companies that have not re-invented their marketing approach for the digital age are losing ground to new competitors that are embracing content marketing activities and inbound-based marketing techniques. Led by these innovation-friendly first-movers, marketing has taken a more prominent role in lead generation and nurturing — and it couldn’t come soon enough!
How do you identify and market chemical and composites products to a very specific and hard to reach audience? Product engineers, researchers and others participate in the sales cycle yet are rarely found in the same place using the same marketing channels. As well, the B2B sales cycle is a long one, anywhere from six months to five years. This is partially due to the long periods of consulting, product development and testing that need to take place before significant marketing efforts are even considered.
With so many people involved in such long cycles in companies that may be resistant to change, what is a marketer to do? Account-based marketing (ABM) has emerged as an effective technique in the space. It combines the best of old school relationship building with modern marketing tools such as SEO, PPC, PR and a website design focused on B2B customers’ unique needs.
The chemistry and composites industry does have one distinct marketing advantage: companies producing products that need a large amount of chemicals or composites are easy to identify. Targeting those companies can accelerate top line growth and get the biggest return on investment for your marketing dollars.
At Elevation Marketing, we see rewarding opportunities for chemical and composites companies that are ready to embrace the full potential of modern marketing. Our marketing agency offers:
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