Industrial Marketing That’s Recession-proof: 4 Budget-friendly Tactics
Did someone say recession?! Don’t panic! “Recession” doesn’t have to be a dirty word. Think of it as a time to reevaluate your marketing budget and strategies. Even in a strong economy, there are plenty of recession-proof tactics that industrial marketers use all the time to grow leads and maintain their brands.
Try these budget-friendly industrial marketing tips to save money while keeping a strong presence in your industry.
1. Save resources by reusing and repurposing existing marketing assets.
Resharing content is a recession-proof way to maintain your social presence. If a social media post, blog post, or other piece of content is more than three months old and performed well in the past, reshare it. Your followers won’t notice or care that it’s a repost, and the ones who missed the post the first time will have another chance to see it. Doing this will save you resources because you won’t have to keep sharing new content.
CAUTION: Use this tip wisely. If you share the same content too much, your audience may get annoyed and unfollow you.
You can also update your existing blogs by fixing typos or adding new developments on the topic. For example, if you write a blog about choosing the right valve for an assembly, and later there’s a new, innovative valve line making headlines, update your blog with new information about that valve line.
Updating website content also boosts your search engine rankings. Google loves up-to-date webpages, and when you signal to them that you have “new” content, your Google site rating can go up. 
Joe Sullivan, founder of industrial marketing agency Gorilla 76, says you can also repurpose content into other mediums. For example, turn your blog content into videos:
“Go back through your blog archive and find one of your best posts – one that really speaks to the pains of your customers. Now interview a subject matter expert at your company over Zoom or Teams about the topic. Publish the video on YouTube, cut it up and use it here on LinkedIn. Stream it into that original blog post to make it media rich.”
2. Low budget? Skip the trade show booth.
Mary Keough, Senior Strategist at Gorilla 76, says marketing teams with a budget of less than $300,000 a year should focus on digital marketing instead of trade shows.
“That money is better spent defining and executing on a cohesive digital marketing strategy. THAT is one of the largest gaps I see working with industrial companies.”
Remember that you can still attend or speak at trade shows without spending money on a booth. Trade shows are an excellent way to meet industry peers face-to-face and learn about developments in your industry. However, if you have a low budget, just buy an entry badge.
3. Take care of your website.
Today’s manufacturing and architectural landscape is all about self-serve. Rather than contacting a sales department for product info, today’s engineers and designers prefer to do independent research online.
“Technical buyers spend more than half of the buying process online before engaging with sales, and those under 45 years of age spend even more time online than their older counterparts.” Wendy Covey, CEO and Co-Founder of technical marketing agency TREW Marketing, reported in the “2020 Smart Marketing for Engineers” report (conducted by TREW Marketing and IEEE GlobalSpec).
Therefore, your website is your number-one, recession-proof salesperson.
So, what does that salesperson look like? Do they speak clearly and naturally to customers, or do they use fancy, confusing jargon? Do they quickly give customers things they ask for like product data, or do they beat around the bush? Are they flexible to each customer’s needs, or do they provide the same experience for everyone?
Take care of your website, and it will do the heavy lifting, which is particularly helpful when a recession cuts your marketing and sales budget.
4. Use your product data as marketing content.
The product data sitting in your computer right now is your ultimate marketing tool.
When engineers and designers go to your website for info, they’ll want more than just company info. They need data. By making your CAD and BIM data available online for download, you can provide the product info your customers need while simultaneously turning existing assets into marketing content.
“Think of 3D CAD models and 2D CAD drawings…as supercharged content assets for moving leads closer to the RFQ stage much quicker than any other type of content resource,” Achinta Mitra, President of Tiecas, Inc. and Founder of Industrial Marketing Today, said.
When customers download product data from your website, you can use the downloads to capture qualified leads and segment those leads based on which models the prospects specified. Doing this enables you to send prospects relevant marketing emails and gives your sales team a reason to reach out.
Learn how to sell more products by providing 3D CAD models directly to customers.
Learn how to sell more products by providing BIM objects directly to customers.
If you implement these methods now rather than after a recession has already begun, you’ll be better prepared to deal with a slow economy and a slashed budget. Think of a recession not as a roadblock, but as an opportunity to make your marketing strategies and processes more efficient.
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Kelly Obbie
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