Technical Marketing: The 5 Most Critical Succes Factors

Marketing is an umbrella term. Much of what you hear and read about it does not apply to technical companies. In fact, 80% of marketing advice is fruitless for companies providing complex products and services. Technical marketing is a field of its own that requires a different vision and approach.

If deployed for the right reasons, technical marketing can yield great results. But first, it is important to know what works and what does not. That is the knowledge we will share in this article about the five success factors of technical marketing.

 

Technical Marketing - Factor 1:
Choose an attainable goal

“We want to improve our brand awareness.” A common answer when we ask management or the sales department of a manufacturing company why they deploy marketing. Marketing for the technical industry is often perceived as just ‘promotion’.

Promotion to improve awareness of the company in the market. That is what many manufacturing companies’ marketing managers are mostly occupied with these days.

The question is: at what point can you say that you have enough brand awareness?
 

Niche market

The general marketing principles for B2C and B2B do not apply to technical companies. These principles mostly focus on ‘visibility’ and aim to reach as many people as possible.

But as an industrial manufacturer, this is utterly useless to you.

Technical companies usually serve a niche market. Reaching as many people as possible should not be a priority at all. After all, the number of potential clients is limited for technical companies that produce specific products and services.

So, the goal of technical marketing? To get in touch with potential customers.

Technical marketing serves only one purpose: to get in touch with potential customers.

Long-term vision

In technical marketing, it's not about reaching as many people as possible, but about reaching the right people, at the right time and with the right information. All of this with a focus on the long term.

This is especially important because the average B2B customer journey takes about 192 days, and within the industry, it can even take 1 to 2 years.

Technical marketing is not about quick wins, but about achieving sustainable success.

TIP: As a technical company, only invest in marketing when you have a concrete and achievable commercial goal in mind.

Technical Marketing - Factor 2:
Engage in measurable actions

The average technical manufacturing company does not have an in-house marketing department or marketer. If a marketer is appointed, they will usually focus on marketing in the broadest sense of the word, as laid out above. Full of enthusiasm, they will make sure you have a slick brochure, or an eye-catching booth at a conference.

But what noticeable results do these time-consuming activities deliver?
 

Alignment

Without a clear goal, no measurable and noticeable results. The key to successful technical marketing is alignment between technical sales and marketing. In the process, marketing creates new sales opportunities that sales eventually manages to capitalize on. Ideally, actions are linked, with one leading to the other.

“Marketing is not a trick. That's why TEUN deliberately seeks the connection with sales.”

Joost van Aaken, ARODO

Technical marketing consists of a series of goal-oriented marketing activities. Various measuring points reveal the results as well as a wide range of data, allowing for potential improvements to be identified. This is how analysis leads to optimization.

TIP: Align targeted marketing actions in advance, document them, and make both results and areas for improvement transparent.

 

Technical Marketing - Factor 3:
Focus on the right person

Another characteristic of technical marketing and the B2B procurement process in the industrial market is the presence of the DMU, the Decision-Making Unit. This is the group of people who partake in decision-making regarding a specific purchase.
 

Opportunities

This DMU makes the buying process longer and more complex, but at the same time also offers several opportunities to influence and direct the buying process with technical marketing.

It takes more than the general information or technical specifications to affect this buying process.

Nobody will be persuaded by such generic information.
 

Lubricant

So, who is part of the DMU? Who takes the lead? What are their needs? Each DMU has a different composition and dynamics. This is why it's truly important to map out the DMU.

Each DMU has a different
composition and dynamics.

Ensuring that the right information is geared towards the right person in each buying phase will work as a lubricant. Without proper lubricant, the machine will surely grind to a halt. Something you are all too aware of.

TIP: Map the DMU and tailor your communication to provide the right person with the right information at the right time.

Technical Marketing - Factor 4:
Discuss problems first

In the B2C market, a purchase is often driven by emotion. In industry and technology, the reason to buy has a more rational character. For example, a new purchase should contribute to increased capacity or better quality. This need is always based on a specific problem, driven by developments in the market.

Nevertheless, no purchase is 100% rational, even in the technical industry.

The purchasing process is influenced by emotions more than you probably suspect.

Making the 'wrong' decision regarding a supplier can jeopardize your company's image, not to mention possible financial consequences or the impact on your own position.
 

Recognition

Of course, trust is especially important in the technical industry, because suppliers engage directly in the customer's operational process. Potential customers want to experience, and ultimately feel assured, that you understand their business and recognize and acknowledge their challenges.

That's why ‘talking about problems’ is an important part of marketing for industrial companies.

New customers need to be able to trust that your truly understand them.

Connection

By talking about relevant problems first, your potential customers get the sense that you really understand them. By doing so, you pave the way to later tell them how your product or service will end these problems.

So you first make the connection between people involved. You can do this with the use of technical marketing, but it actually starts with your company brand. For companies that want to be successful in the long run, establishing a connection is crucial.

No connection means no trust.

TIP: Establish a real connection and gain trust by discussing your potential client's problems first to propose solutions later.

 

Technical Marketing - Factor 5:
Explain what you make possible

General marketing for products and services can easily capture the imagination. Beautiful TV commercials allow you to dream about that amazing car, sunny holiday or the latest technical gadget. And a discount, makes it very tempting to buy immediately.

The buying process for a technical, complex product is much slower.

The average website of a technical company provides an extensive answer to the question ‘what the machine or system’ can do. It is all about features, specifications, production numbers, and so on. In short: the focus is on technology.

Not surprisingly, ask an employee on the job, and they will tell you all about it. But ask them what the product makes possible, and they will fall silent.

A missed opportunity if there ever was one. 

But if ‘technology’ should not be the focal point, then what should?
 

One message

The simple answer is that potential clients listen to one message only: how does it help me? A clear answer to this question is a key success factor in technical marketing.

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

Jan-Frederik Kalee, SERO EMS Group

The perfect message is one that triggers potential clients in the right way. With the message: ‘lower your maintenance costs by over 80%’, you are guaranteed to grab their full attention.

TIP: Don’t only tell potential customers what you make, but more importantly, what you make possible. In the end, clients want an answer to the question: how does it help me?

Conclusion

Now you know that technical marketing for companies operating in the technical industry is another beast to tame.

Thanks to research and applied knowledge, we now know in great detail how marketing for the manufacturing industry breeds success.

Here are the tips at a glance for you again:

• As a technical company, only invest in marketing when you have a concrete and achievable commercial goal.

• Align targeted marketing actions in advance, document them, and make both results and areas for improvement transparent.

• Map the DMU and tailor your communication to provide the right person with the right information at the right time.

• Establish a real connection and gain trust by discussing your potential client's problems first to propose solutions later.

• Don’t only tell potential clients what you make, but more importantly, what you make possible. In the end, clients want an answer to the question: how does it help me?

Wondering what technical marketing can do and how to choose the right approach? Contact us, and we will show you how it works and what result it leads to.