How Well Do You Really Know Your Customers?
Did you know that the average business-to-business (B2B) buyer reviews 10.4 sources in a typical buying situation?
Or that, according to recent research, most customers are 57% of the way down the path to a decision before even performing an action on a website?
These and more revealing stats help make up what Advance Ohio’s Digital Marketing Strategist Jason Plavic, writing for Metalforming Matters in late 2016, calls “The Evolution of B2B Marketing.” The new normal: Buyers are more empowered, and more knowledgeable, than ever before.
And now that buyers have upped the ante, it’s imperative for sellers to do the same. Sales and marketing departments in the manufacturing realm must evolve and embrace the changing, increasingly digital landscape in order to survive and thrive.
One way to do just that is to embrace the most ubiquitous buzzword in all of business: data. A recent survey of metalformers conducted by the Precision Metalforming Association (2017 Sales & Marketing Report) found that about half (49%) utilize some form of formal market research (34% conduct their own research in-house, while 15% purchase market research).
Strategic incorporation of data into sales and marketing operations can allow for smarter application of company initiatives. The success of marketing plans can be evaluated objectively, and the same mass-informational analysis that customers now are applying to purchasing can be used to understand the root causes of customer behavior. Utilization of data can help you know your customers better than they know themselves!
Want to know more about the changing landscape of manufacturing sales and marketing? Attend PMA’s Sales & Marketing Summit in Milwaukee, WI, September 26-27. Expert speakers will present on the ways that technology and other trends are changing the “industrial buying process,” and how you can respond. To register or find more information, visit www.pma.org/salessummit.
Or that, according to recent research, most customers are 57% of the way down the path to a decision before even performing an action on a website?
These and more revealing stats help make up what Advance Ohio’s Digital Marketing Strategist Jason Plavic, writing for Metalforming Matters in late 2016, calls “The Evolution of B2B Marketing.” The new normal: Buyers are more empowered, and more knowledgeable, than ever before.
And now that buyers have upped the ante, it’s imperative for sellers to do the same. Sales and marketing departments in the manufacturing realm must evolve and embrace the changing, increasingly digital landscape in order to survive and thrive.
One way to do just that is to embrace the most ubiquitous buzzword in all of business: data. A recent survey of metalformers conducted by the Precision Metalforming Association (2017 Sales & Marketing Report) found that about half (49%) utilize some form of formal market research (34% conduct their own research in-house, while 15% purchase market research).
Strategic incorporation of data into sales and marketing operations can allow for smarter application of company initiatives. The success of marketing plans can be evaluated objectively, and the same mass-informational analysis that customers now are applying to purchasing can be used to understand the root causes of customer behavior. Utilization of data can help you know your customers better than they know themselves!
Want to know more about the changing landscape of manufacturing sales and marketing? Attend PMA’s Sales & Marketing Summit in Milwaukee, WI, September 26-27. Expert speakers will present on the ways that technology and other trends are changing the “industrial buying process,” and how you can respond. To register or find more information, visit www.pma.org/salessummit.
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