©2017GardnerBusinessMedia,Inc • AllRightsReserved
©2017GardnerBusinessMedia,Inc • AllRightsReserved
Overview
MethodologyHISTORICAL:• Surveyfoundedin2010;6th edition
• Startedasresearchonmediausageinmanufacturing;evolvedtoincludebuyingbehavior/vendorselection.
2016-2017:• 1,637responsescollectedbetween
10/24/16– 12/12/16
• Responseswerecollectedexclusivelyonline
• 60%respondentswereGardnerBusinessMediamagazinesubscribers/40%non-printmagazinesubscribers(events,webinars,web,social,e-newsletter,etc)
NEWTHISYEARAseparatesurveywasdeliveredtoequipmentsuppliersinordertoinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenenduserbuyingbehavior/mediausageandsuppliermarketingintentionsandperceptions.
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ObjectivesandTakeaways
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Objectives
Examinehowtoday’sindustrialbuyerisusingmedia?• Whatcontentchannelsaremostuseful?• Whatadvertisingchannelsaremostuseful?
Explorewhatmotivatesandimpactstheindustrialbuyersvendorselectionandpurchasingdecision?
• Whatdoestoday’sbuyingteamlooklike?• Whatmediaaretheyusing?• Whatconsiderationsmostinfluencedecisionmaking?
Whatdothefollowingtopicsmeantotoday’sindustrialmarketer?
• Brand• BuyingConsiderations• NextGeneration• DigitalMedia• TheIndustrialBuyingCycle
Takeaways
UnderstandingtheRelationshipBetweenPushMediaandPullMedia
PUSHMEDIAIntroducesconsumerstoinformationandproductstheydonotknowaboutordonotknowtheyneed.
PULLMEDIAProvidesconsumerswithinformationtheyknowtheyneed,butwerenotsurewheretofindit.
Amanufacturingprofessionalismostlikelytodiscoversomethingnewinsidethepagesofamagazineortheexhibithallofatradeshow(push)andthenconductdeeperresearchonaspecificsupplierorindustrywebsite(pull).
EXAMPLE
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TheIndustrialEquipmentBuyer– ThePeople
Age• 56%over50• 44%under50
JobTitle• 40%Management• 26%Engineer• 12%Owner
Observations
Surveyaudiencereflectstheprimarycapitalequipmentinfluencersandapprovers.
Audienceisrepresentedbybalancedmixofinfluencersover/under50andofvariedjobfunction.
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TheIndustrialEquipmentBuyer– TheCompanies
ObservationsSurveyaudiencerepresentsabalancedsectionoffacilitysizeandindustry.
Largestrespondinggroupsincludethedifficulttoreach,butlucrativesmaller,privately-heldmanufacturers.And,thelargerfacilitythattypicallyrepresentsalarger,morediverse,mid-levelbuyingteam.
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ObservationsCONTEXT:Theindustrialbuyerassignsuniquevaluetoadvertisingmessagesthatappearinindustrycontextandaresurroundedbycontent.Thisisevidentbythestrongperformanceoftradeshowsandbyindustrytrademagazinesandwebsites.
DISCOVERY:Industrialbuyersappeartoequateadvertisingusefulnesswithlearninganddiscovery.Topusefulnessreturnersarepushmediathatdeliverorpromotedirectlytothebuyerandprovidetheopportunitytolearnordiscoversomethingnew.
TakeawayIndustrialmarketersshouldmaximizebrandbuildinganddemandgenerationthroughleadingadvertisingvehicles.Thesevehiclesincreasevisibility,brandawarenessandincreasethevalueofpullinvestment.
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PleaserateeachtypeonhowusefulyougenerallyfindtheAdvertising init
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ObservationsWhensearchingforspecificinformation,industrialbuyersaremostlikelytoaccesspullmedialikesupplierwebsitesandsearch.
Thistendencyunderscorestheimportanceofbrandrecognitionasresearchersaremuchmorelikelytoselectsearchreturnsfromsourcestheyalreadyknowandbecausethenumberoneactiontakenfromadvertisingisvisitinganindustrywebsite.
TakeawayStrategicleveragingofpushandpullmediaisbecomingincreasinglymoreimportantasindustrialbuyersareconfrontedbymoreandmoreoptions.
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PleaserateeachtypeonhowusefulyougenerallyfindtheContent init.
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TheRelationshipBetweenAdvertising&Content
ObservationsPrintmagazinesrepresentthesmallestusefulnessgapasbuyersfindsimilaruseinthecontentandadvertising.
Mosttellingisthedifferencebetweenbuyersperceptionoftheusefulnessofvideoandsearchasacontentresourcecomparedtoanadvertisingvehicle.
Industryresources– like,magazines– print,industryconferences,industrywebsites,openhousesandtradeshows – representthebestbalanceofcontentandadvertisingusefulness.
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TheIndustrialBuyingTeam– SizeandFunction
ObservationsNearly70%ofpurchasingdecisionsareinfluencedbyteamsof3ormore.Managers,engineersandpurchasing/productionarethemostlikelydepartmentsrepresented.
TakeawayThesizeanddiversityofbuyingteamsnecessitateanintegratedmarketingstrategythatreacheskeyinfluencersanddecisionsmakersviacontentandadvertisingvehiclesthroughouttheindustrialbuycycle.Further,yourmessagingshouldappealdirectlytothebuyingconsiderationsofengineersandmanagers!
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ObservationsBuyerswantbenefits!Whenevaluatingvendorsandconsideringpurchases,buyersplaceapremiumonservice.
Whiletheobvioustakeawayistoincorporateservice-orientedmessaging,themoregeneralpointistofocusonthebenefitsofthebuyer.Theyarelookingforvalueandtheyseevalueinserviceandtechnology,first.Ofcoursepricematters.But,itmatterslesstodecisionmakersthanthevalueandimpactapurchasewillhaveontheirbusiness.
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Ratehowimportantthefollowingistoyourcompany’sbuyingdecision.
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ObservationsWhileindustrialmarketersarerightlyemphasizingtechnology,brandandsolutions,thereisacleardisconnectbetweenthepremiumabuyerplacesonservicecomparedtothesuppliersemphasisofserviceinsalesandmarketingmessaging.
TakeawayThereisagreatopportunitytoevolvemessagingbyincorporatingserviceanduserbenefitsintobrandanddemandbasedmarketing.Especiallyinmarketingthatappealstomanagerandengineertitles.
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Pleaseratethefollowingonhowimportantitistoemphasizeinyourcompany’sadvertising.
From2017IndustrialSuppliersMarketingSurvey
Pushadvertisingandbrandrecognitiondrivedemandgeneration.Threeofthetop5advertisingdriversarepushrelated.Theothertwo(searchandsuppliersites)arebranddependent.
ThePowerofPush+Pull
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TAKEAWAY#1– YourBrandisYourBusiness
Brandistheprerequisiteforindustrialmarketing.
93%ofindustrialbuyersindicatetheyaremostlikelytoselectsearchresultsfromcompaniestheyrecognize!
Yourbrandmessagingshouldspeaktoyouraudienceandshouldbebuiltonyourcommitmenttotechnology,serviceandsolutions
SUMMARY:Buildyourbrandthroughpush;buildyourbusinessthroughpull.
Themostpowerfulwaystobuildbrandarethroughprintadvertisingandeventdisplay
Asyoubuildyourbrand,yourwebsiteandcontentmarketingchannelsbecomeessential
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Buyerswantbenefits.Yourbrandisbuiltonbenefits.Focusonthem.
• Serviceisadifferentiator.It’stheprimarybuyingconsideration.• Servicemattersmosttoownersandmanagers• Technologyandsolutionsarealsoprimaryconsiderations.• Technologymattersmosttoengineers
SERVICE,SOLUTIONS,TECHNOLOGY
SUMMARY:Deliveryourmessagewhenandwhereyourcustomersandprospectsarelooking.
TAKEAWAY#2– BuyersWantBenefits
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TAKEAWAY#3– BuyersWantBenefits
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Yourbrandisbuiltonbenefits;focusonthem!
Service,solutionsandtechnologydrivepurchasingdecisions.
Serviceisadifferentiator.It’sthe primarybuyingconsideration.
Servicemattersmosttoowners+executives
Technologyandsolutionsarealsoprimaryconsiderations– especiallywhenmarketingtoengineers!
TheNextGenerationisComing,butthey’renotBuying.Yet!
SUMMARY:Seniorlevelprofessionalsstilldrivepurchasingdecisions.But,industrialmarketersshouldbelayingafoundationfornextgenerationdecision-makers.Muchliketheirpredecessorsandmentors,thenextgenerationisconditionedbypushmediaandcapturedbypullmedia. Specificareastoevolveareinvideoandwebsitedevelopment.
TAKEAWAY4:PreparefortheNextGenerationBuyer.
Nearly65%ofpurchasingapprovalsarefromprofessionalsover40withthebiggestpercentage(37%)residingwithtitlesover50yearsold.
Nextgenerationreliesmoreheavilyondigitalforresearch,butdoesn’twanttobeadvertisedtointheprocess.Especiallyinsearchandinvideo.
•Significantgapbetweenvideoandsearchadvertisingvs.contentusefulness•Investinsolutionsrich,searchandsocialfriendly,toolslikevideoandwebsitecontent
Nextgenerationtrustsvalidatedsources–events,industryoutlets,etc.
•Gravitatesmoretowardsindustrywebsites,industryconferences,industryshows
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TAKEAWAY5:WhatToDowithDigital
ContentisNumber1Digitaladoptioncontinuestoincrease,butitscontent-basedchannelsthataremovingthedigitalneedle.
ContentisalsoNumber2Investinyourwebsite,investinvideo,investincontent+investinsolutionsthatpushtoyourwebsite,featureyourvideo,amplifyyourcontent.
EngageMixinsocial,butasacomplement tonotasareplacementfor
AgeNextgenerationmaybemobileandtheymaybedigital,butthey’renotsocial(atleastnotforbusiness)
Observations:Socialranksinthebottomincontentandadvertisingusefulness– regardlessofage!
Buyersdonotexpecttocontactedafterengaginginnon-registrationdigitaltransaction.
YouTubeandLinkedIncontinuetobethestrongestsocialperformers.
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Takeaway6:WhatToDowithDigital
Newmarketingandanalyticstoolsempowertheindustrialmarketertomarketandremarkettouserswhopresumeanonymity.Thischartlooksatbuyersexpectationsregardingactivitiestheyexpecttobecontactedafter.
Takeaway
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SUMMARY
Thesizeandcompositionofbuyingteamsisbecomingmorevaried. Timescontinuetochange.Here’swaysyoucanevolvewiththem:• Buildyourbrand• Developcontent• Focusonsolutions
Don’tjustcountwhatyoucancount;countonwhatcountstoyourcustomer!Buyersdonotwanttobelookedasasetofdataorasalead.Theywanttobeeducatedandserviced.
HOW?Anintegratedmarketingprogramthatreliesonbuildingawarenessanddemandthroughthoughtfully-messagedpushcomponentsthatdriveprospectstosolutions-based,benefit-drivenpulldestinations.
Asaresult,it’sbecomemoreimportanttoreachinfluencersthroughouttheindustrialbuyingcycle.
Theavailabilityofdataisincreasing.
Thenumberofoutletsavailabletoreachbuyersisbecomingmorevast.
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