grand challenges marketing to engineers ceramics...

Grand Challenges Marketing to Engineers

CEOandCofounderTREWMarketing

Author,SmartMarketingforEngineers:AnInboundMarketingGuidetoReachingTechnicalAudiences

Engineering Grand Challenges

National Academy of Engineering www.engineeringchallenges.org

Materials Research

Transportation

To Do Their Jobs…To Innovate…To Solve…They Need

products they can use

services they can employ

Information they can trust

The optimist: the glass is half full. The pessimist: the glass is half empty.

The engineer: the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.“ ”

If You Remember Nothing Else:

Engineers Think Differently. So…

Our Marketing Must Be Different Too.

“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”

Charles Kettering Founder, Delco

Head of Research, Ford, 1920 - 1947

63%ofthebuyingprocessiscontrolledbyyourprospect–beforeasalespersonisengaged.

--DharmeshShah,HubSpotCo-Founder“ ”

The Engineer’s Buying Process is <Mostly> Online

Inthinkingaboutthispurchasedecisionprocessthroughtheresearch,considera;on,anddecisionstages,whatpercentageofthisprocessoccursonlinebeforecommunica;ngdirectlywiththevendor

company(e.g.,visitstotheirwebsite,emailcommunica;on,aCendingawebinar,etc)?

A combined 63 percent spend over 60% of the buying process online before talking to sales.

Less than 50 percent 11%

About 50 percent 26%

>60 percent 23%

>70 percent 21%

>80 percent 19%n=254

Smart Marketing for Engineers & Scientists Survey, TREW Marketing & The Linus Group, August 2016

……….

If You Remember a Second Thing: Marketing has changed.

To progress, we need to change how we market.

Annual Revenue

25%

7%

25%

43%

<$1M-$5M $5M-$10M $10M-$20M >$20MGenerating Awareness, Right Message

Defining the Customer, Generating Demand

Marketing Investment, Planning & ROI

Bandwidth, Internal Support

Biggest Marketing Challenges

About You

Marketing PlanDo you have a documented marketing plan?

n=28

29%        14%        7%        50%       

Yesandwerou5nelymeasureprogress

Yes,butwedon’tmeasureprogress

Yes,buthavenothadbeenabletoputtheplanintoac5on(no5me,otherbusinesspriori5es,etc)

No,wedonothaveadocumentedplan

Your 2nd Biggest Challenge: Planning, ROI• Proving that $ spent on marketing will generate ROI

• Tracking ROI on Advertising Campaigns

• Data collection

• Deciding how much to spend on what

• Establishing a comprehensive plan with measurable outcomes and process to get there

• Knowing more about the most effective approaches for our industry or market

• Assessing whether we are getting results

• Determining the results of paid media/advertising

• Marketing a new technology

Marke&ngAc&onPlan

Marke&ng Planning

Workbook

6 Grand Challenges in Marketing to Engineers

#1 Let Them Find You

Definition: Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing, a.k.a. “push” marketing, uses communication channels to interrupt prospective buyers with your message. This commonly done by placing ads, exhibiting at trade shows, sending direct mail/email, and purchasing lists to push your message out to communities where your target audience congregated.

Outbound MarketingAdvantages 1. Bursts of results 2. Quick time to outcomes 3. Pay for others to create

targeted communities (trade shows, magazine readership, lists, etc)

Disadvantages 1. Expensive: cost-per-lead

($150+) 2. Hard to measure 3. Leads stop when $$ stops 4. Still requires a strong

foundation (website, clear positioning, content)

5. Countless missed opportunities by not being present in search

Dominates!

How Do You Search For and Use Engineering Information?

Smart Marketing to Engineers Survey 2015, ENGINEERING.com and TREW Marketing

In thinking about high-quality work-related content you’ve viewed online in the last six months (such as white papers, web or blog pages, videos, etc), how did you find them?

n=506

Most Valued Content Sources

60%

47%

36%

22%

21%

19%

16%

14%

10%

9%

5%

27%

37%

43%

44%

42%

42%

42%

41%

35%

22%

13%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Search engines

Supplier/vendor websites

Trade publications

Trade publication websites

Industry association websites

Trade publication e-newsletters

Industry association e-newsletters

Supplier/vendor e-newsletters

Independent e-newsletters

YouTube

Social media

Very valuable

Moderately valuable

Marketing to Engineers Survey 2014, CFE Media and TREW Marketing

n=874

How valuable are the following content sources when seeking information on the latest engineering technologies, trends, and products?

“#1 Most Important Marketing Investment You Can Make:

Your Website”

- - Rebecca Geier

WebsiteHow would you rate your company’s website overall?

n=28

11%        46%        32%        11%       

Excellent Strong Fair Weak

Definition: Inbound MarketingInbound marketing refers to marketing activities that bring visitors in, rather than marketers having to go offline to get prospects' attention. Inbound marketing earns the attention of customers, makes the company easy to find, and draws customers to the website by producing interesting content.

Inbound MarketingAdvantages 1. You have control, not reliant

on 3rd parties to create communities you pay to tap into

2. Consistent, long-term results 3. Leads are highly correlated

to publishing high quality, optimized content

4. Affordable (cost-per-lead: <$100)

5. Easy to measure the entire funnel, even predictable

Disadvantages 1. Requires foundational

investment: web, positioning, content

2. Forces prioritization of positioning, messaging

3. Takes time to see results – lots of competition on Google

4. Forces marketing-to-sales SLA (when leads increase)

5. It will not work without a commitment to content

Engineers Are Relentless Researchers

92%

Industry data by Chitika Insights found that 92% of all traffic on Google occurs on the first page of search results.

Engineers Are Relentless Researchers

5% 28% 25% 15% 21% 6%

Pagedepth

1 2 3 4 5 to 10 More than 10

Marke&ngtoEngineersSurvey,March2014,CFEandTREWMarke&ngChi&ka,92%ofalltrafficonGoogleappearsonpage1(5%onpg2)

n=705

92%

5% 28% 25% 15% 21% 6%

PageDepth1 2 3 4 5to10 Morethan10

n=705

W O W !

#2 Prove Your Expertise

Distinctly Position & Message Your Company

pr0ve your expertise

attract positive personas

Be Credible

repel negative personas

Your #1 Biggest Challenge: Messaging• Our target audience doesn’t know about our product

• Expanding into non correlated markets

• Lack of brand awareness

• Knowing what to market about our products

• Explaining exactly what we offer due to the diversity of capabilities

• Market Research: identifying market size/needs new product marketing

• How to time message with new materials development

• Communicating the advantages of our products to people who don't think they need it

• Awareness (new products - new audience)

• Clarity of our brand and message

• We are the mom and Pop to the 800lb Gorilla

• Our target audience doesn’t know what to do with our product

• Marketing to a very diverse customer base

• Applications are not within a specific industry or type of business

• Expanding into non correlated markets

• Some of our products are only bought on price, so it is difficult to market our strengths to purchasing agents

• Advising customers on what they REALLY need vs what they want

• Having the ability to show new and engaging information on our news releases / white papers, etc.

• Integrating our messaging across a wide portfolio of products and services

• Conveying product benefits to key personnel

50 Words - Including Company Name

How NOT To Convince Your Customer You’re The Best

“Our company is a leading, customer-focused global provider of innovative solutions supported by cutting-edge innovations designed to empower organizations with different-in-kind sources of broad-based value creation at their most critical moments of need. And oh, by the way, we’re green.”

—The Challenger Customer

Silex Brand MessagingAt Silex Technology, our expertise is built on more than 40 years of hardware and software connectivity know-how and IP, custom design development experience, and manufacturing capabilities. With relentless attention to quality, exclusive access to Qualcomm Atheros expertise, and strategic partnerships with leading real-time operating system (RTOS) and semiconductor providers, we are the trusted leader in reliable Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Value of Differentiated

Messaging

Differentiated from your competition

Unique, memorable and

distinctive

Foundational for all of your segments

and marketing deliverables

Visionary and future-focused

#3 Quality REALLY Matters

Quality Really Matters

83%

58% 62% 48%

39% 28%

11% 15%

36% 32% 42% 43% 43%

34%

2% 5% 5% 9% 15% 22%

36%

0% 1% 1% 1% 2% 6% 17%

0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1%

It's technically accurate

It includes detailed diagrams and images

It's current It's easy to read It's professionally designed

Sources are well-cited

It includes quotes or testimonials from

users, vendors or industry

leaders

Contentquali,es

Highly important Moderately important Relatively unimportant Not important Don't know

Howimportant(helpful)toyouarethefollowingaspectsofcontent?

Marke&ngtoEngineersSurvey,March2014,CFEandTREWMarke&ng n=705

Diversity REALLY Matters

55%

37%

27%

25%

30%

28%

23%

26%

21%

11%

12%

9%

5%

32%

41%

47%

49%

42%

41%

40%

35%

38%

33%

31%

27%

17%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Product information

White papers, best practices, etc.

Trade publication articles (print)

Trade publication articles (online)

Case studies, application stories

Webcasts/webinars

Product demo videos

How-to videos

e-Books, e-guides

Surveys, industry trend reports

Online communities, forums

Infographics

Blogs

Very valuable

Moderately valuable

How valuable are the following types of content when researching engineering technologies, products and services?

Marke&ngtoEngineersSurvey,March2014,CFEandTREWMarke&ng

n=705

Example Content Plan Mapped to Personas & the Funnel

Inbound & Content Marketing is Hard

ContentHow often do you publish content such as white papers, case studies, and webinars?

n=28

• Only 2 companies are publishing content monthly • Only 3 are publishing quarterly

7%        11%        25%        57%       

Atleastmonthly Atleastquarterly Semi-annually Lesso:en

• Over 80% are publishing content twice a year or less often

Average Google Searches Per Day

http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/

0

1,000,000,000

2,000,000,000

3,000,000,000

4,000,000,000

5,000,000,000

6,000,000,000

1998 2000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Annual Number of Pages Indexed by Google

0

5,000,000,000,000

10,000,000,000,000

15,000,000,000,000

20,000,000,000,000

25,000,000,000,000

30,000,000,000,000

1998 2000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

5.75 B

1.75 B

30 T

1 T

#4 Engineers Want to Hear From Engineers

What Sources Do You Trust Most?

4.51

4.32

3.90

3.71

3.06

2.16

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Engineeringexpertatavendorcompany

Industryanalyst

EditorialpieceinanindustryprintoronlinepublicaAon

Onlineormagazineeditor

SponsoredstoryinindustryprintoronlinepublicaAon

Anonymoussourceatavendorcompany

Rank your level of trust in content that is written or published by the following (1 is lowest level of trust, 6 is highest).

Smart Marketing to Engineers Survey 2015, ENGINEERING.com and TREW Marketing

n=501

4 Steps to Getting Your Engineers Writing

Match your Sme with a strong writer

Repurpose. repurpose. repurpose.

have a plan including optimization

https://www.trewmarketing.com/smartmarketingblog/turning-your-engineers-into-writers

Topic1 Optimize WhitePaper

Social Media&BlogAmplification

TechnicalBlog#1 Social Media&BlogAmplification

TechnicalBlog#2 Social Media&BlogAmplification

Webinar Social Media&BlogAmplification

CaseStudy

Video Social Media&BlogAmplification

Social Media&BlogAmplification

Infographic

Amplify, Repurpose and Repeat

Writing Phase. SME ~5 hours.

Repurposing Phase. SME ~5 hours.

4 Steps to Getting Your Engineers Writing

Match your Sme with a strong writer

Repurpose. repurpose. repurpose.

have a plan including optimization

Measure and reward successhttps://www.trewmarketing.com/smartmarketingblog/turning-your-engineers-into-writers

Content = Competitive Differentiation

Marke&ngtoEngineersSurvey,March2014,CFEandTREWMarke&ng

Nearly 75% Agree/Strongly Agree

19% 55% 21% 4%

Stronglyagree Agree Noopinion Disagree Stronglydisagree

“Youaremorelikelytodobusinesswithacompanythatregularlyproducesnewandcurrentcontent.”

n=705

Marketing InvestmentRank the following channels according to your current investment (largest (#1) to smallest (#6)):

n=28

0.0        1.0        2.0        3.0        4.0        5.0        6.0       

Mywebsite–upda8ngcontent,images,features,op8mizingcontent

Tradeshows

Adver8sing(online,print,paidsearch)

Content(casestudies,whitepapers,webinars,video,etc)

Emailmarke8ng(enewsleLers,segmentedemails)

PR(pitchingnewsorwri8ngcontributedar8clesforprint/online)

“#1 Most Important Marketing Investment You Can Make:

Your Website”

- - Rebecca Geier

Example of Inbound Success

13%Revenuefrominbound

marke3ng

80%Budgetspentonoutbound

marke3ng

82%Leadsfrominbound

0%Revenuefrominbound

marke3ng

80%Budgetspentoninbound

marke3ng

0%Leadsfrominbound2011

2016

Success Story:Outbound to Hybrid to Inbound

Overthelastseveralyears,we’veinvestedinourmarke6ngfounda6onandshi9edourinvestmentfromamostlyoutboundapproachwithaheavyfocusontradeshowstoamoreinboundapproachfocusedonwebandcontentmarke6ng.Asaresult,ourcompanyhasgrownover50percent,and,today,themajorityofourleadscomefromonlinesources.

–Ma%EurichPresident,WinemanTechnology

“”

Web Traffic Up 61% Since Going Inbound

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Experimented with outsourcing content to non-engineering specialists

16%

37% 30%

17%

WTI2012WebVisitsbySource

Direct

Organic

Paid

Referring

13%

47%

30%

10%

0% WTI2014WebVisitsbySource

Direct

Organic

Paid

Referring

SocialMedia

14%

55%

14%

16% 1%

WTI2015WebVisitsbySource

Direct

Organic

Paid

Referring

SocialMedia

22%

63%

2%

9% 2%

2%

WTI2016WebVisitsbySource

Direct

Organic

Paid

Referring

SocialMedia

emailmarketing

Long-Term ROIBlogs from 2012 and 2013 Driving Majority Traffic Years Later

Blog Topic Views

Top8WaystoDealwithNoiseinDataAcquisitionandTestSystems–December2013 72%

AvoidingRaceConditionswithLabVIEWProgramming–December2012 22%

3ReasonstoReuse,NotReplace,YourLegacyTestSystems–October2013 3%

Top3ConsiderationsforBuildingaVariableValveTestStand–February2014 2%

TheImportanceofCreatingDetailedRequirements–July2014 2%

#5 Prove You’re Low-Risk

The Chasm Contradiction

Technology Adoption Lifecycle from Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

Case Study Tips• Ask for customer testimonial at time of contract

signing • Ask customers to join you at events/webinar

• Then translate into written case study

• Consider a good/better/best approach to “Create Your Herd”

Create A Herd

Best “Branded”

• Customer is named

• Includes customer quote & application images

Better “Branded Lite” • Customer is

named • No quote or

application images

Good “Unbranded”

• Customer is not included by name

• Short overview of challenge/solution

#6 Don’t Bother Them

Wait for the buying signs

A combined 63 percent spend over 60% of the buying process online before talking to sales.

Gather Intelligence

Without Interrupting

Nurture with Context,

Measure Along the Way

know when the time is right

Wait for the buying signs

A combined 63 percent spend over 60% of the buying process online before talking to sales.

Over 80% prefer to search on multiple vendors’ websites before talking to sales.

I want to talk to a sales person early in my research 15%*

I want to search online on multiple vendors’

websites and read available information about their

products and services first before talking to sales

83%

n=65

* A third choice “Other” garnered less than 2% from each respondent group.

Smart Marketing for Engineers & Scientists Survey, TREW Marketing & The Linus Group, August 2016

Ready to Talk to Sales

Q: When you are in the buying process for a significant purchase of a product or service for work, in moving through the research, consideration, and decision stage, which best describes your preference?

66% say they have 3-7 interactions with a vendor before communicating directly with them.

Smart Marketing for Engineers & Scientists Survey, TREW Marketing & The Linus Group, August 2016

Number of Pre-Sales Interactions

1-2 times 30%

3-4 times 50%

5-7 times 16%

8+ times 5% n=64

Q: In thinking about your purchase decision process for a significant product or service purchase for work, how many interactions do you typically have with the vendor before communicating directly with the company (e.g.,

visits to their website, email communication, visiting their trade show booth, attending a webinar, etc.)?

Score Leads Automate Alerts & Pass

to Sales

Marketing AutomationWhat marketing automation software do you use? (check all that apply)

n=27

15%        0%       4%       0%        70%        11%       

ConstantContactorMailChimp(foremail) HubSpot Pardot Marketo Wedon'tusemarkeDngautomaDonsoFware Other(pleasespecify)

Multiple selections were allowed

CRMWhat CRM (customer relationship management) software do you use?

n=27

22%        0%       4%       0%        59%        15%       

Salesforce Deltek Dynamics Excel HubSpot Wedon'tuseCRMsoFware Other(pleasespecify)

“Your Next Marketing Hire May Be Software”

- - Rebecca Geier

Right context

Right time

Wait for the buying signs

Stop Selling…Keep Helping“ ”

Marketing InvestmentWhat percentage of your company’s gross revenue is spent on marketing?

n=28

57%        25%        7%        4%        7%       

0-2% 2-5% 5-8% 8-10% morethan10%

What percentage of your company’s gross revenue is spent on marketing?

Marketing Investment

n=28 • Smallest spending the most…but may not be the right channels• Largest companies spending the least percent on marketing

How Much Traffic and Leads Do I Need?

TREW Client Funnel Example

Traffic

Leads

MQL

SQLs

Opportunities

DesignWins

20,670Visits

2%

86SQLs

413Leads

132MQLs

32%Conversion

65%Conversion

20Opportunities24%Conversion

2DesignWins

10%Conversion

Lead GenerationHow well is your website performing in terms of lead generation?

n=28

0%        25%        25%        0%        50%       

We’reexceedingourwebsiteleadgoals We’reontrackwithachievingourwebsiteleadgoals

We’reachievingslightlylessthanourwebleadgoals We’renotachievingourwebleadgoals

Wedon’thaveleadgoalsdefined

Remember…

If You Remember Nothing Else: Engineers Think Differently

The optimist: the glass is half full. The pessimist: the glass is half empty.

The engineer: the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.“ ”

If You Remember One Thing:

Engineers Think Differently. So…

Our Marketing Must Be Different Too.

……….

Get Found

Website

Content

If You Remember a Second Thing:

Marketing has changed.

To progress, we need to change

how we market.and sell

Grand Challenges of Marketing to Engineers 1. Let Them Find You

2. Prove Your Expertise

3. Quality REALLY matters

4. Engineers Want to Hear from Engineers

5. Prove You’re Low-Risk

6. Don’t Bother Them

Solve Your Grand Challenges

Study the Data Download TREW research studies

trewmarketing.com/resources

Read the Book

Book Signing

Attend Webinars and

Workshops

May 2017 Web Data-

Driven Design

info@trewmarketing.com

Subject: Webinar Notice

Talk to TREW

Approach Services Pricing

Thank You (group photo time)!

CEOandCofounderTREWMarketing

Author,SmartMarketingforEngineers:AnInboundMarketingGuidetoReachingTechnicalAudiences