Most forms of marketing bring challenges, but those pain points are often sector specific. In this article I look at the challeges that people in industrial and technical marketing are currently grappling with, and suggest some tips for dealing with them.
Challenges for industrial and technical marketing in the AI era
There are lots of these! For example:
Technical marketing is an extended process and lead times are often long
Technical marketing often means nurturing leads through the sales funnel via long, complex pathways strewn with regulation, compliance demands and a range of stakeholders. If you ever need proof of this, try selling to a public-facing UK-government entity. Extra points for stamina if it’s the NHS. It is very easy to ‘lose’ a lead when they have been in the funnel for months or even years. Sustaining engagement across that time is a big challenge and the more niche your product is, the harder it can become.
Industrial and technical marketing held back by incomplete digitalisation
Examples of this include: the business doesn’t operate in digitally-connected supply chains; marketing data is fragmented or absent; there are data management issues, e.g. lots of data but it’s siloed or the business has no practical way to analyse it for marketing purposes; the business is ‘traditional’ (translation: has little digital or computing capacity on site) and so it lacks the marketing-relevant insights and connections that digitalisation provides and disappoints more tech-savvy clients/potential clients.
It’s easy to see why this happens. The capex and contingencies that industrial firms already carry can make further investment impossible or terrifying. If you can’t prove ROI (and that’s problematic in marketing generally), the easier it is for the boss to say no to new software. Also, if your company, founded in 1850, is still using the gas-fueled pumps it bought from Crossley Brothers in 1879, and continues to turn a profit, then it can be tough to persuade people that ‘What we really need is some marketing SaaS’.
Industrial firms may not prioritise online engagement
Too many technical businesses overlook the value of a great online presence because they think it’s only relevant for direct-to-consumer sales. I can understand this – if you’ve had a stand-out reputation in your niche for 75 years, it’s not easy to imagine a world without that – but an online presence is vital to sustain a firm through unexpected crises, to manage the brand going forward and to ensure continuing success in the digital era.
Creating authoritative content that interests target audiences is tough
Obviously this is linked to the previous point, but it’s worth noting as a standalone. Finding a copywriter to write sexy copy about a new make-up range or sports car is fairly easy. Finding a technical marketing copywriter who can make the manufacturing of said lipstick, or the components that go into said sports car, fascinating and engaging for readers of all knowledge levels and in web, white paper and sales collateral formats is a different ball game.
AI for industrial and technical marketing – when, where and why
AI is widely touted as the marketer’s silver bullet, dangling the carrots of fast, free content (whether it’s content worth having is another question) and automation. Everyone is working with a tight budget these days, so it’s tempting to believe that AI can do swathes of your marketing quickly and cheaply.
And you know what? It can. Sometimes. But with Gartner predicting large-scale abandonment of plans to replace humans with AI bots in customer service, and The Register reporting on research that reveals fundamental shortfalls in AI ‘intelligence’, as well as potential for AI responses to expose companies to risk, AI is not simply a quick win. You need to apply serious consideration and risk assessment. That includes the risk of looking, feeling and sounding exactly like every other company in your sector that has decided, We can save a fortune by chucking a few instructions at a still-emerging technology and it won’t cost us a thing. What could possibly go wrong?
Tips for tackling pain points in industrial and technical marketing
- Be nice to your subject experts. Whether they are software engineers, machine operators, physicists, electricians or whoever, you need their co-operation. So be nice. Give them cake. If they don’t like cake, try coffee or chocolate.
- Consider how generative AI and automation can help you, but be very discerning. Research the pros and cons of each application. Don’t fall for hype and if you use AI to publish anything, ALWAYS make sure it’s checked and edited by a human. That’s not only because AI gets things wrong (although AI does get things wrong), but also because cybercriminals are clever and they are already using AI for their own purposes. You may well need to extend your cybersecurity measures to cover new AI applications.
- Know your audiences and differentiate marketing outputs accordingly. I’ve written a bit about this in my piece on customer profiles. Those customer profiles are very useful but so are meeting, personally addressing and interacting with people. Consider trade shows, podcasts, videos, phone calls and LinkedIn comments. People buy from people, after all.
- Yes, you do need social media. And a great website with SEO. Your online presence is a safeguard against reputational threat, vital for crisis management and for ongoing, long-term branding. Even if you only sell B2B. At least get on LinkedIn: you don’t have to be on TikTok doing silly dances to a thumping German industrial music beat if that’s not your thing. Although it might be fun to try. Also, it lets me namecheck Einstürzende Neubauten, which is the most pretentious thing I’ve written in a long time.
- Above all, be authoritative. Speak intelligently and add knowledge. Aim to be a legitimate leader in your field. That means original thought and creativity, which you simply cannot – by definition – source from AI. Authority demands that you also choose the right technical marketing copywriter. You can contact me here 😊
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