2017工业品营销趋势（英文版）_21页_1mb

2017 Trends in Industrial Marketing Summary

Core Content Overview

This white paper presents the findings of the IEEE GlobalSpec Media Solutions 2017 Industrial Marketing Trends Survey, which gathered insights from 503 professionals in the engineering, technical, manufacturing, and industrial sectors. The report outlines the current marketing goals, challenges, strategies, and budget allocations of industrial marketers, while offering actionable recommendations for improving marketing effectiveness.

Main Goals and Challenges

• Primary Marketing Goal: 42% of respondents list customer acquisition as their main marketing goal, a consistent focus over the past six years.
• Secondary Goals: Demand generation is the second most common goal, followed by brand awareness and customer retention.
• Key Differentiator: 54% of companies cite product/service quality as their main differentiator, with fewer emphasizing customer service or price.
• Top Challenges:
  • Limited marketing resources (people, time, money)
  • Generating high-quality leads for sales
  • Increased competition

Industrial marketers also face challenges in driving more customers to their websites, improving ROI, and enhancing content marketing effectiveness.

Marketing Channels and Tactics

• Top Channels in 2017:

  • Email marketing using in-house lists
  • Trade shows
  • Social media
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Online directories and websites

• Marketing Mix:

  • 50% use both push/outbound (e.g., email, direct mail) and pull/inbound (e.g., website, online catalogs) tactics.
  • Only 25% are satisfied with their current marketing mix, indicating a need for diversification.

• Social Media Use:

  • Branding (65%) and content delivery (59%) are the primary uses of social media.
  • Only 30% use social media for lead generation.
  • 25% are satisfied with their social media efforts, while 29% are dissatisfied.

Content Marketing Trends

• Content Marketing Importance:

  • 58% of companies are increasing spending on content creation and distribution.
  • 34% are just starting with content marketing (down from 39% in 2015).
  • Only 12% can demonstrate how content marketing contributes to sales.
  • 28% have a content strategy in place, and 34% repurpose content across different formats and channels.

• Recommendation:

  • Develop a content marketing strategy with specific, measurable objectives.
  • Focus on content for all stages of the industrial buying cycle.
  • Create a content-publishing calendar and track customer engagement with content.

Marketing Budget Trends

• Budget Stability:

  • 79% of companies are spending the same or more on marketing in 2017 than in 2016.
  • Marketing budgets have remained fairly steady since 2011.

• Online Marketing Spend:

  • 39% of companies are increasing their online marketing budget.
  • 45% indicate that their online budget portion is unchanged.
  • 16% are reducing online marketing spend.

• Areas of Increased Spending:

  • Company website
  • Content creation and distribution
  • Search engine optimization
  • Email marketing using in-house lists
  • Social media, video, and webinars

Recommendations

1. Mix it up

• Industrial marketers should diversify their marketing mix to better connect with technical professionals.
• Consider using a variety of digital channels and tactics to optimize reach and engagement.

2. Improve Content Marketing

• Develop a strategic content marketing plan that aligns with business objectives.
• Focus on creating and distributing relevant, educational content.
• Track customer engagement and use analytics to refine content strategies.

3. Solve the Resources Challenge

• With limited resources, marketers should consider partnering with expert media solutions.
• A trusted media partner can help optimize marketing budgets and improve campaign performance.

Marketing as a Profession

• Biggest Challenges:
  • 29% of marketers cite lead generation as their biggest challenge.
  • 25% mention measuring ROI of marketing efforts.
• Headcount Trends:
  • 70% of marketing departments have no change in headcount.
  • 22% are increasing their staff.
  • Only 8% are decreasing headcount.

Conclusion

Industrial marketers are increasingly focused on the customer, with customer acquisition and satisfaction being key success metrics. Despite stable marketing budgets, they face significant challenges in resource allocation, lead generation, and content effectiveness. The report emphasizes the need for a diversified marketing mix, improved content strategies, and leveraging expert media partners to enhance marketing outcomes. Social media is primarily used for branding and content delivery, and online marketing continues to be a priority.