Marketing in manufacturing is expected to face new great challenges. The particularity of the market and the target to which it refers require challenges to bridge the gap between other vertical sectors, such as Retail. In an increasingly global context, then, aligning with new trends becomes necessary in order not to lose ground against international competitors.
Priorities must be reviewed, the customer definitively placed at the center of the strategy, marketing processes rethinked with the help of technology and, lastly, the entire flow of interaction with one’s target audience should be made more efficient and optimized.
Salesforce takes care of rearranging ideas with its State of Marketing 2023 report. The State of Marketing is the survey that this year involved more than 6,000 industry leaders in 35 countries, including Italy, which contributed 250 managers. In particular, 600 manufacturing managers in 32 countries were involved, including ours.
Despite the strong prevalence of the sector of medium-sized companies (53% of the total survey sample) and of a B2C business model (48%), it is also useful to take into account the data provided by large companies (29%) and by who operate in a B2B2C context (30%). The answers of the interviewees made it possible to identify five priorities for marketing in manufacturing and as many challenges to face, without wasting time. First among the priorities is the need to regain customer trust followed by the implementation of new strategies and the modernization of technological tools.
In the first three places among the challenges to be overcome for manufacturing are the correct attribution of the ROI of marketing efforts and a better use of tools and technologies, above all with a view to interacting better with the end user.
Fortunately, the interviewees are aware that cultivating the customer experience (better) is a discriminating factor for competitiveness. 77% of the sample think so but, at the same time, 82% think that the challenge is increasingly difficult. The data relating to Italy does not differ much from the global ones, except in the priority of regaining customer trust. In first place globally, in Italy this does not appear among the priorities. Can the data be considered a competitive advantage? Depends. Only if regaining customer trust is not perceived as a priority because it has already been achieved or, simply, because there are other more urgent ones.
With a certain optimism, one can opt for the first possibility, given that in Italy those who turn to B2B and B2B2C first of all want to experiment with new strategies, improve ROI and attribution and, lastly, find a balance between providing an experience personalized to the user and not make it too invasive.
What are marketers doing in manufacturing
After the experience of the last two years, manufacturing has attempted a reaction, and the sector has convinced itself that it must be definitive. One out of two companies has changed the business model, and considers the business to be permanent. Some have expanded their offer and geographical presence, others have invested in virtual events, others in new collaboration tools and in attacking new market segments.
With regard to the good intentions of the future, it is important to underline that 72% of the sample wants to continue investing in the digital experience for the end user. And the same share intends to introduce more product distribution options. Good intentions also follow for process automation and investment in new technologies. The lack of direct interaction with customers has prompted manufacturing marketers to experiment with new ways to communicate, which they intend to stay. We are talking about video livestreams, up 44% from 2021 to 2022, interactive content (+60% from one year to the next), influencer marketing and user generated content.
It goes without saying that the discovery of new communication formats such as video corresponds to the interest of the channels that exploit those formats. Salesforce research shows strong growth in Media TV/OTT (Over the top) with 22%, followed at a certain distance by generic channels for the distribution of digital content.
Reorder data and optimize processes
As the channels of interaction with users grow, the number of data sources grows. After the jump from an average of 15 in 2021 to 20 in 2022, Salesforce expects it to reach 23 this year. This requires a significant effort in reordering data sources. In particular, skim data that is not immediately useful for business strategies and select them according to importance. It follows that measuring ROI and determining attributions is the primary challenge. What does it mean? This means that it is essential to understand which channel has had the greatest influence on the purchasing process, especially in relation to the investments made in that channel.
Which data is most interested in? Salesforce respondents state that they mainly use transactional data, i.e. data deriving from commercial transactions. It is also useful to solve the problem of standardizing digital identities, i.e. identifying the user who manifests himself in different ways in the different channels. At the same time, there is the need to protect user privacy, working on anonymous but still targetable profiles. Finally, marketers in manufacturing find themselves, like their peers in all vertical markets, having to do without so-called third-party data. For this reason, it is essential to make the most of the technology that works on data and information acquired from the application platforms present in company systems.