Why industrial CEOs need to stop treating marketing as ‘the fuzzy stuff’

In industrial companies, marketing is often dismissed. But for manufacturers, it's one of the most important drivers of growth, recruitment and reputation. Here's why leadership needs to take it seriously.

Say the word ‘marketing’ to an industrial CEO, and many will shrug and say, that's just fluff. They might call it a necessary evil, often without knowing why it’s necessary.

Seeing marketing as the 'soft stuff' or just the decoration on the cake, is holding many manufacturing companies back. Successful manufacturers know that marketing is not the soft side of the business. It's a serious commercial discipline. And it's becoming more important every year.

Really, it is the cake.

Why industrial CEOs sometimes write marketing off

The viewpoint of marketing as frivolous is understandable. Many industrial CEOs come from technical backgrounds, so their attention naturally goes towards areas like engineering, product development and testing.

Without a grounding in marketing, industrial leaders may not believe the ‘pictures and words’ part is important. Or they’ve seen too much bad marketing that likely valued aesthetics over message.

It’s true, the products you produce are the most important part of your business. But if no one knows about them, or why they’re good, or better than your competitors’ products, or how good it will be to work with you, you don’t have a business.

Problems often arise when companies hit a growth wall. They've expanded all they can in their local market, thanks to their technical capability and word-of-mouth reputation. They might even find that they struggle to recruit engineers since they're not visible in the market, and if they are, they look outdated and not appealing as an employer.

This is often when industrial companies come to us looking for help.

What industrial marketing should not be seen as

For industrial companies, marketing should be less about pretty pictures than perhaps any other sector. You’re selling to engineers, not the average consumer. You’re selling technical products that need explaining. It can be a mistake to rely on imagery to sell useful, but generally not aesthetically beautiful, products.

Industrial marketing is not about aspirational lifestyles, as B2C marketing might be.

Engineers also don’t like 'marketing'. They don’t want cheap marketing words or devices, and they spot manipulation fast. I’d argue you can drop the word 'marketing'. Call it communications, or visibility projects, or commercial expansion materials... But do take it seriously. It is the engine of your commercial success. It just has to be done the right way.

Industrial marketing is about message, not (just) pretty pictures

Industrial marketing is about showing people what you do, and why you’re the best at it, in the simplest way possible. It’s mostly (though not all) left-brain focused. It requires numbers, facts, logic.

• It makes complex topics simple to understand – while still diving deep into the detail engineers want
• It tells people what you do in carefully chosen, bitesize pieces, not all at once
• It shows a no-filter view of your factory floor and processes
• It builds trust by showing the people behind your operation
• It tells stories about why you exist and what you care about

Marketing is not dressing up anything in a false way. It’s telling the truth. It’s deciding what your truth is. It’s finding why your truth resonates more than your competitors’ story. It’s amplifying your truth in the marketplace.

And, increasingly, it's being found in an AI and online world. Which makes the text you put online more critical than ever – from AEO-friendly articles down to the alt tags and meta tags of your website.

What a marketing agency will do

Our job, or the job of marketing, is to first understand the market and your customers:

• Their minds and behaviour
• Where they spend their time
• Where they research, and understand your company’s unique position in the market
• Your offering
• Where you’re going
• What your opportunities are
• How you communicate and sell
• Your heart – the people who make up your company

Then it’s to package this up in a strong brand that will consistently inform everything you do – on LinkedIn, at trade shows, anywhere in the digital or real world.

And materials like a website, messaging or brochures should not be seen as the end point but the starting point. They're a foundation to build on into the future, and shouldn't go stale.

For example, AI search engines value freshness perhaps more than traditional online search like Google, so regularly posted content is essential. Both on your website and online platforms like trade news sites, AI also values detail, so the more case studies, product pages, and insights you have on your site that go deep, the better.

We've been told by customers that they came to us for an external perspective as it would have been impossible to get the level of energy, momentum and consensus internally.

Our job as an industrial/B2B marketing agency

In addition to the above, when working with manufacturers, we have a few extra jobs:

• Understand and talk about your processes
• Create first-class documentation, that engineers can find easily
• Provide support material for the long sales cycles - which can be 18 months long
• Profile your experts on your site, even down to the publications they've authored
• Capture your manufacturing as clearly and beautifully as possible, visually and verbally
• Create multiple, detailed case studies
  

What manufacturers can gain from getting their marketing right

By taking marketing seriously, industrial companies are set to benefit hugely. The right content in the right places, aimed at the right people makes you easier to find, safer to choose and more attractive to join. And the results show up in revenue. I'll write about KPIs and tangible results you can measure in another article, but for now, this is a good overview on marketing KPIs from reviews site, G2.

If your competitors aren't taking marketing seriously, with a little investment, you can stand out quickly and easily.

Grow internationally

Many companies we've helped are highly successful in one country but lack the knowledge to expand to other countries. For example, Carey Glass, operator of Europe’s largest glass processing facility, was finding its direct sales approach in North America wasn't working.

Maverick helped it move to 'the higher ground' of a polished, technical leader. That meant compiling a precise target list of architects and glazing contractors, a comprehensive guide to big glass in large buildings, and a nurture programme built around it.

In the first six months the campaign generated:

• 120 marketing-qualified leads
• 45 sales conversations

Within four years, North American sales made up more than 30% of Carey Glass’s commercial glazing sales.

See the Carey Glass case study

Increase your worth

This is also a common reason to come to an agency like Maverick. As they grow larger, manufacturers find that their positioning as a great product isn't enough anymore. To increase the value of the company, and be more profitable, they need to be seen as a premium solution provider, not just a maker of products.

For example, LSM makes waste balers and compactors. Its managing director, John Cummins, says: “We had to shift from a commodity/product position to a brand/solution position.” After a new positioning and global brand rollout, LSM reported:

• Better leads
• Shorter sales cycles
• Stronger distributor network

LSM turnover increased more than 200%. A follow-on campaign targeted best-fit distributors market by market, and LSM now has a footprint in 30 countries. Cummins describes the shift from “selling a commodity to selling a brand.”

See the LSM case study

Attract talent

It may seem less of an important reason to invest in marketing, but we find this is a critical one, especially in industrial companies. Engineering recruitment is a competitive environment and it can be hard to attract the talent you need to grow your business. According to this article by a recruitment agency, the shortage comes from: "mass retirements, fewer STEM graduates entering the field, rapid demand for specialized skills in AI and cybersecurity, and geographic mismatches between where jobs exist and where engineers live".

Our customer Ei Electronics is a good example of this. The Irish safety device manufacturer was growing fast, but its group brand had fallen behind the company. Peter Murphy, Ei's Head of Marketing, said the tired branding “was hurting us” when hiring engineers. Once Ei had a single purpose, protection, and messaging built around what its products do for families, it had a consistent story for customers and candidates alike. Maverick helped name employers 'livesavers' for a greater sense of purpose.

Peter’s said about their recruitment: “It would certainly have been a lot harder without this. In fact, it would have been impossible.”

See the Ei case study (coming soon)

The pattern is the same in each case. A clear, consistent story, told to the right people in the places they actually look, helps buyers arrive better informed, makes engineers want to join, and gives AI tools reliable content to cite when buyers research suppliers.

That outcome is repeatable. When a manufacturer’s story is clear and consistent across its website, its content and its on- and offline presence, several things follow:

• Buyers arrive better informed: they've already seen your expertise before the first conversation, so sales discussions start further along.
• Recruitment gets easier: engineers can see what the company stands for and why it is worth joining.
• The company's easier to cite by AI: Clear, consistent, detailed content gives AI tools like ChatGPT something reliable to draw on when buyers research suppliers.
• Leadership agrees on the message: everyone in the business tells the same story (important for trust.

Prioritise marketing in 2027 for greater commercial success

At Maverick we make a commercial plan before we start any marketing strategy. Marketing has to be grounded in real business objectives or it could indeed be just 'fluff'. And clear goals could save you money, by ensuring you're investing in activities that will genuinely further your business.

Maybe you don't need a new website, maybe you just need to write letters to key people. Maybe you don't need to go to so many trade shows, but need to rethink your mission.

If you're struggling to expand internationally, attract new prospects/hires, or position yourselves as a leader (even if you already are), maybe it's not your product that needs adjusting, maybe it's the way you're telling your story. Or maybe you're not telling your story at all.

I'd say that's something that needs to be taken seriously.

Tell your story with Maverick Communications

If you want to explore how marketing can fuel your industrial company's commercial growth, get in touch. Or maybe you need an outside perspective to crystallise who you are, and refine your communications. We'll help you understand the next steps, and work towards your business goals.