{"id":139553,"date":"2023-02-28T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=139553"},"modified":"2025-05-14T13:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T18:31:24","slug":"a-complete-guide-to-digital-marketing-for-manufacturers-10-must-have-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/a-complete-guide-to-digital-marketing-for-manufacturers-10-must-have-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"A Complete Guide to Digital Marketing for Manufacturers [+ 10 Must-Have Tools]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Buyers across every industry need information to make the best decisions, and according to Gartner<\/a> B2B buyers spend the largest chunk of their buying time doing online research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As your prospective clients are increasingly reliant on online research to help them determine which companies to work with, it’s essential to prioritize digital marketing in order to stay top of their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having worked closely with a number of manufacturing companies at Vital, we understand that you have unique challenges when it comes to attracting customers. Your marketing has <\/em>to <\/em>be tailored to an intended audience that is often looking for specific, niche products\u2014which means it has to be especially targeted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That takes a lot of fine-tuning, which is why we\u2019re sharing advice from our expert team about all the tools you need to build relationships with your clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Vital<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vital<\/a> has been building websites and crafting winning digital marketing strategies for over 20 years.  A WP Engine Agency Partner<\/a>, Vital has worked with hundreds of brands in diverse industries including manufacturing<\/a>, technology, higher education<\/a>, and more to build online presences that help companies meet their business goals. Vital\u2019s team of talented web and graphic designers, content strategists, branding professionals, and inbound marketers love sharing their knowledge about how to leverage WordPress to build sites that do more than just look good\u2014they serve as the foundation for digital marketing with dramatic return on investment (ROI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following post was written by Vital Director of Digital Marketing Chris Getman<\/a>, \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Importance of Digital Marketing for Manufacturers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Establishing and maintaining relationships in manufacturing sales will always be important, but your next generation of buyers is spending less time calling or traveling and more time Googling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millennials and Gen Z are \u201cdigital natives,\u201d which means using online technology is second nature to them. As they continue to move into decision-making roles in business, the start of their B2B buyer\u2019s journey will be entirely digital. In fact, research indicates that up to 70% of their journey is completed before the first contact with a salesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your best way forward is to make it as easy as possible for these buyers to conduct research and find what they\u2019re looking for on your website pages, on your social media channels, and through any downloadable assets or on-demand videos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That way, they\u2019re able to educate themselves and make their own decisions\u2014but in a way that enables you to control the message. And you need to be proactive, because if your digital presence<\/a> isn\u2019t telling the story of your value\u2014be assured that your competitors are filling in that space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Manufacturers Need to Know About Digital Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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We could write an entire book about what you need to know about digital marketing (to be honest, we\u2019ve already written several<\/a>). Thinking about manufacturing specifically, there are a few high-level concepts that we can share with you\u2014especially as these are things we walk through with all of our clients (as you\u2019ll see).
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Know how to build a digital marketing strategy. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You have to start somewhere, and taking the time to build a strategy will save you a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of headaches. It’s important to understand that this is a large undertaking that will take time to execute properly, though if we had to summarize the process, here are the fundamentals: 
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