Marketing for Industrial Companies: What Are Your Options?

As Managing Director, you have recently decided to invest in marketing to achieve even better commercial results. With this choice, you are immediately confronted with another decision: who will you have to work on this particular form of marketing? Who should you approach for this, and what do you need to pay attention to?

In this article, we present the options and the pros and cons of each.

There are three different ways you can go when it comes to marketing for industrial companies. You have to ask yourself:

1. Do I hire an employee?
2. Do I work with a marketing advertising agency?
3. Do I go looking for a specialist? (technical marketing agency)

All three options have their pros and cons. The questions will help you get a clearer picture.
 

Marketing for Industrial Companies Option 1: The Employee
 

Cons

• Given the current labor shortage, finding someone will be difficult.

• How will you assess whether that person is competent if you find someone? Your company may lack marketing knowledge, so assessing their competence during application and employment will be difficult.

• And then there is the question of whether they will understand your business. And will they find the work enjoyable, initially and in the long term?

• The tech industry is wildly interesting (to those who understand it) but is not often seen as sexy. Marketers are more likely to choose a more appealing brand and product range.

• Who will you bring on board? Will they be a thinker (strategy) or a doer (implementation)?
  Finding someone with both competencies in the sufficient measure could be next to impossible.

• Marketing for industrial companies is rarely a full-time job, but part-time is also not ideal given the results you want to achieve.

• An employee will be temporarily or permanently on your payroll with all the associated obligations. Of course, there is also the possibility they will resign.

Assessing competence with limited knowledge
can be difficult. Who do you hire?

Pros

• You have full insight into your employees' time when they work at your location.

• The lines of communication are short, and you can have them change direction quickly.

• An employee becomes integrated with the team. They can settle in and understand your needs, and over time they will become increasingly invested in the company.

Marketing Industrial Companies Option 2: The Advertising Agency
 

Cons

• Their focus is mainly on branding and brand awareness, primarily revolving around the beautiful things that are made. And when it comes to marketing for tech companies, lead generation is only a small part of the whole. 

• A marketing advertising agency often works for diverse clients, from local retailers to construction contractors. The scope of their B2B portfolio is usually broad and not specialized, with marketing for industrial companies or marketing for tech companies being just one segment.

• Because the scope is broad, their knowledge of any one type of business is often superficial. In other words, the agency knows a little bit about everything. So, chances are you will need to supply the agency with facts, current news, and ideas on an ongoing basis.

• The difference in culture and mentality is often vast. The industry is practical and no-nonsense while, in general, agencies tend to be trendy and outspoken. The chance of a mismatch is high.

The difference is often vast; trendy and
outspoken vs. practical and no-nonsense.

Pros

• Everything is under one roof: creation to implementation, advertisement to a brochure.

• The variety of clients enables an agency to think out of the box, so they may come up with ideas that surprise you. 

• An agency doesn't simply walk away.

Marketing for Industrial Companies Option 3: The Specialist
 

Pros

• A specialist has specialized knowledge and experience. At TEUN, we have been applying marketing for manufacturing for years now. We have now done this for companies across the entire chain, from supplier and OEMer to manufacturer.

• A specialist speaks the language. At TEUN, two words are often all we need. We are familiar with terms such as predictive maintenance, contract manufacturing, and revamping.

• A specialist combines the best of both worlds. As an industrial marketing company, TEUN oversees both strategy and implementation. We know exactly how to use marketing for manufacturing, apply it and get results.

• A specialist provides personalized services. At TEUN, we tailor all of our efforts specifically to your business and objective.

• A specialist knows the mindset of the industry. TEUN is a team of down-to-earth thinkers and doers with a no-nonsense mentality: transparent, process-oriented, knowledge- and data-driven.  

“At TEUN, they know exactly how to
reach our potential customers.”

Jan-Frederik Kalee, SERO EMS Group

Working with a specialist only has pros, no cons. After all, industrial marketing has become a specialty. From experience, we now know what does and doesn't work.

Conclusion

You believe in the strength of marketing for industrial companies, and you have decided to boost your commercial results with industrial marketing.

With that choice comes another decision, which is: who are you going to turn to? An employee, the marketing advertising agency, or the specialist?

The choice is yours.

For your convenience, here is a table that summarizes the pros and cons of each:

Wondering what industrial marketing can do and how to choose the right approach? Make an appointment. We will show you how it works and what results it leads to.