The Importance of a Strong B2B Brand Identity for Manufacturers

Stifel Marcin has been working with manufacturers and industrial clients for more than 20 years. In that time, we’ve witnessed a dip in the industrial marketplace as well as a resurgence. These hard-working, growing companies have a great story to tell but often struggle to tell it; how they’ve delivered when competitors could not; how their products are superior; and how their capabilities directly meet unique client needs.

Therefore, it’s important to work with proven industrial marketing experts to develop a strong B2B brand identity to support your unique products and services.

The Importance of B2B Brand Identity in Demonstrating Manufacturing Leadership

A large number of our manufacturing and industrial clients provide customized parts and services. They either alter standard designs to fit unique requirements or create brand-new solutions. In these instances, the importance of having a strong B2B brand identity to communicate your company’s benefits and leadership capabilities is critical to ensure customers that you are the right group for the job. We work to market the complete package: your technology, equipment, engineers, experience, track record and company culture to demonstrate that your company will indeed deliver.

Promoting your company’s manufacturing leadership shouldn’t be confined to your mission statement. Your leadership needs to be consistent throughout all your marketing and sales efforts. Your brand image, website, advertisements, even your on-hold message, should speak to your well-developed brand message.

Marketing Manufacturing Leadership vs. Price

Demonstrating a company’s leadership and breadth of capabilities is integral to any manufacturer’s marketing plan. We work to highlight how your services and products make life easier for your customers.

There was a time when overseas manufacturing beat out a lot of bids, simply by price. Even with shipping, the cost per piece was the main factor driving decisions. But what people quickly realized was, that while the price per piece was lower, these vendors were often more expensive in the long run. Quality standards weren’t the same, materials were inferior, customer service was lacking, and hence more work was done to make the arriving order acceptable, increasing the overall price.

Demonstrating and marketing your company’s value-added services in this globally competitive marketplace is critical. It defines why they should choose you, no matter their main decision-making factor (price, service, etc.).

With the importance of B2B brand identity top of mind, to develop this essential brand messaging we learn about your company, and ask questions about your processes:

• Do you customize your products and services to make it easier for your customers?
• Do you provide solutions that streamline your customers’ operations – delivering solutions they might not have even considered?
• Do you use new technology so your parts and products are more accurate?
• Are you able to provide the engineering and design support to help customers understand that they are getting the best solution?

Defining your benefits and getting that message out is critically important when marketing for manufacturers, industrial and technological clients. We learn about your company, help to define your message, and work to market your leadership and capabilities across all your marketing and advertising.

Things to Consider When Marketing Manufacturing

Defining a marketing message is often more complex for manufacturers. Some of the techniques we use when marketing a manufacturing or industrial company include:

1. Gearing Marketing Messages to Your Audience – most often we are targeting engineers, designers and purchasing agents. We work to promote how your company delivers more than the competition, messaging that speaks directly to their pain points and needs.
2. Balancing General Info and Technical Data– we work to quickly provide information about your capabilities that potential customers are looking for when searching for a vendor, along with the data that an engineer needs when working on design, and the order details needed for the person who places the order. All of this is important and should be thoughtfully presented when marketing for manufacturing and industrial clients.
3. Providing Technical Resources – when educating your clients about the technicalities of your products and services, you create value and incentive to work with your company. Perhaps it’s design assistance, sometimes it’s online information about material considerations, or it can even be a blog post helping them to troubleshoot a problem. Demonstrating that you are ready to work with your customers and that you provide solutions to their unique challenges, develops good, ongoing relationships.
4. Considering Proprietary Information & Compliance – while as marketers we want to tell all the great stories we hear from our clients, we realize it’s just as important to know when we need to withhold. We also understand the critical value of proprietary information. We work with clients to help craft messages and PR opportunities that promote unique capabilities, while not divulging trade secrets. We work to ensure messaging is compliant with certification requirements – such as ISO or MIL – so the language is correct. We work to learn about your business, so we can help market your brand and your story, without telling too much.
5. Leveraging Technology & Media – we realize that marketing for manufacturing clients needs to be as innovative as the products and services you provide. We work to help manufacturing and industrial clients realize the value of innovative marketing technologies such as apps, and fresh marketing opportunities like social media marketing, to promote their message. We work best with clients when we can craft a complete strategic marketing plan.
6. Cross Selling – we work to ensure companies cross-sell their capabilities wherever relevant. Many of our manufacturing clients have expanded, offering new products and new capabilities. It’s important to consider the sales potential of existing customers, and tie-in to existing product and service messages.

We Speak Manufacturing

We understand the importance of B2B brand identity. Our technological and manufacturing website designs target the right audience. Our designers and search engine optimization copywriters understand the language of the B2B world. Often the audience is made of engineers and purchasing agents. Customers that need something very specific and want to be sure your company can deliver and can be trusted.

Stifel Marcin has worked with clients in the manufacturing, industrial, medical/life sciences and technological fields for 20 years. We offer a complete line of advertising and marketing services and work with you to become an extension of your company.

Give us a call or fill out the form to get in touch. We can talk about your business, the importance of B2B brand identity, and look at the ways Stifel Marcin can help position you for growth.

Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency

Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Our branding services will convey your brand promise and position to the right customers. Contact us today.

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