Benefits of Marketing Automation for Manufacturers

The digital era has left no industry untouched. Marketing automation tools offer firms powerful data insights, improved reach, better scalability, accelerated response times, and more control in the online-first, buyer’s world we now live in. Even in manufacturing — a traditionally sales-dominated space — marketing automation can no longer be ignored.

Manufacturer marketing campaigns have often flown under the radar in the public mindset. After all, it’s the business-to-consumer manufacturers — think fashion or lifestyle brands like automakers and sneaker companies — that tend to get the most marketing attention (and to see marketing as most critical to their growth).

B2B-focused manufacturing firms traditionally view lead generation as a core role of the sales department. The inside and outside sales professionals are the ones performing direct, account-based outreach with potential customers on the phone, at trade shows, and in the office, supplemented by tightly targeted advertising in niche, industry publications.

Yes, Manufacturers Need Marketing Automation

Why would a manufacturer in a historically sales-dominated B2B space benefit from a robust marketing automation platform? The truth is there’s just less time for labor-intensive strategies (trade shows, direct mail, physical collateral, or catalogs) that hold less sway over buyers than they used to.  We live in an increasingly digital, buyer-centric world. Most of the buyer’s journey now consists of independent (often internet-based) research on the part of the buyer themselves, without any input from a salesperson. This is where effective marketing does its best work.

Thomasnet laid out this excellent breakdown of the long and complex modern buying cycle for B2B manufacturers:

• The buyer identifies their need for a product or service.
• The buyer researches different solutions to collect more information.
• If creating a new design, the buyer researches product data.
• The buyer evaluates potential suppliers for their desired solution.
• The buyer makes a shortlist of the best suppliers.
• The buyer purchases from the supplier they deem the best fit.

Source: Thomasnet

It’s been widely reported that 67% of that journey is now done digitally. Furthermore, your buyers will have access to more quality information (without your help) than ever before, and the now-mid-30s Millennials are highly skeptical of sales reps, to begin with.  These manufacturing marketing trends make effective and strategic digital marketing for manufacturers even more critical.

Against this backdrop, marketing managers for many B2B manufacturers work solo or with small teams to handle the enormous task of engaging with Big Data and reaching your high-value target audience on the internet. Manufacturer marketing automation empowers a small team to achieve big results in every way.

Research from Aberdeen found that firms using marketing automation improved their performance across a wide range of metrics:

• +107% lead conversion rate
• +40% average deal size
• +20% higher attainment quotas
• +17% forecast accuracy

Today’s competitive environment demands not only that manufacturers invest more effort in the marketing side of things but in sophisticated marketing automation processes that streamline tasks, enhance insights, drastically improve the capacity of a small team, and accelerate real results.

Let’s take a deeper look at several key advantages of manufacturer marketing automation.

Impact of Automation on Marketing Processes and Efficiency in Manufacturing

Marketing automation has fundamentally reshaped how manufacturers approach their marketing processes. From lead nurturing to customer support, automation can improve workflow efficiency, simplify routine tasks, and enhance overall performance. Traditionally, manufacturers have relied on manual workflows for tasks like email follow-ups, prospect segmentation, and customer relationship management. Today, however, marketing automation offers streamlined solutions that allow manufacturers to focus on strategic initiatives while handling routine tasks more efficiently.

One major benefit of automation is its ability to handle repetitive tasks seamlessly. With marketing automation, manufacturers can set up campaigns that automatically engage leads at different stages of the buyer journey, providing relevant content at the right time. For instance, marketing automation examples include setting up automated workflows to send follow-up emails to prospects who downloaded a product brochure or viewed specific product pages. These campaigns help manufacturers nurture leads more effectively, resulting in higher conversion rates.

Content marketing automation plays a significant role in streamlining the creation and distribution of targeted content for prospects. It ensures that the right materials reach the right audience at the right time. Many content marketing automation strategies are integrated into broader marketing workflows to improve efficiency and engagement.

Marketing automation examples are commonly seen in lead nurturing workflows, where specific behaviors trigger personalized messages. For example, downloading a whitepaper or requesting a product demo can initiate targeted follow-ups. Such marketing automation examples demonstrate the value of automation in streamlining communication and improving engagement.

Email marketing automation is another key area where manufacturers benefit significantly. Automated email campaigns help deliver timely, personalized messages, such as product recommendations or event follow-ups, based on user interactions. Using email marketing automation ensures consistency and efficiency in maintaining customer communication.

Another impactful aspect of automation is improved collaboration between marketing and sales. Automation enables seamless handoffs of qualified leads to the sales team, ensuring that no potential opportunities are missed. Through lead scoring, marketing teams can identify and prioritize the best leads, enabling sales to act quickly and efficiently. This alignment ultimately enhances the pipeline, boosts lead-to-conversion rates, and increases the return on investment (ROI) for marketing efforts.

Inventory management automation can also enhance marketing processes for manufacturers by ensuring accurate stock levels are communicated during campaigns. For instance, promotions can be timed precisely with inventory updates, creating a better overall customer experience. Businesses relying on inventory management automation reduce errors and delays in their marketing strategies.

4 Benefits of Marketing Automation for Manufacturers

1. Improved Resource Efficiency

A sales and marketing CRM, such as the completely-free-forever CRM offered by HubSpot, is the core of any marketing automation suite. When you trade manually-maintained spreadsheets for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, your resources suddenly stretch a lot further. The CRM will:

• Free up time for your team to focus on higher-value activities than organizing direct mail and other mindless lists.
• Simplify frustrating runarounds in search of accurate, current info.
• Eliminate any redundant data entry “busy work.”
• Offer full visibility into your marketing funnel and sales pipeline in real time.
• Enable cross-team transparency (sales, service, marketing, leadership) in a shared, fully synced database of prospect and customer information. 
• Integrate automatically with marketing campaigns and streamline manual processes.

It’s hard to overstate how many hours your team can save by using a robust CRM software to trigger events and marketing flows automatically while maintaining consistent, updated information on all of your contacts.

2. Smooth Supply Chain Relationships

The supply chain will operate more smoothly with the benefit of an automated tool that helps you manage complex channel partner relationships with minimal effort and maximum clarity.  Manufacturer marketing automation supports communication from multiple angles:

• Track (and segment) many conversations easily, based on priority.
• Improve responsiveness and prevent oversights with automated reminders or alerts that trigger on predefined conditions.
• Automatically maintain profiles with current info on every partner.

It’s also easier to coordinate marketing efforts with upstream and downstream partners with the help of an automated marketing platform that leverages relevant information and resources from up and down the supply chain, all in one place.

3. Stay Top of Mind in a Long Buying Cycle

Email marketing, in particular, is a critical component of manufacturer marketing.  The buying cycle can be long and include many layers of decision-makers. Customers are juggling their options, conducting internal discussions around priorities, managing their daily operations, and more. You must stay fresh in your audience’s mind.

Marketing automation for manufacturing will prevent slow-developing leads from falling through the cracks simply because one side lost track in the long series of touchpoints. Some of the tools you’ll have available include:

• Email marketing newsletters that show up periodically in the inboxes of your captured leads to get them thinking about your product again.
• Automated drip campaigns! Keep new leads warm after they’ve downloaded a whitepaper or provided their email address at a trade show with a carefully planned sequence of nurturing emails over several weeks or months.
• Custom workflows and triggers based on predefined actions. For example, when a lead submits a contact form, downloads a spec sheet, or opens an RFQ response but fails to get back to you in a given period.
• Automated email surveys to solicit customer feedback, follow up on a relationship or purchase, and reveal trends in customer needs. 

Email automation is all about getting the right message to the right people at the right time, all while simplifying the process of tracking every touchpoint. It’s a time-saver that improves consistency, accuracy, conversions, and even your response time for inbound leads. Check out some of these best practices for industrial emails from Thomasnet.

4. Powerful Data Insights

This may be the most impactful upgrade of switching traditional, small-scale, manual marketing processes over to AI-enhanced manufacturer marketing automation. An automation platform not only collects vast amounts of data from your contacts (and their digital behaviors) but empowers you to turn that data into something useful.

Use your marketing automation to:

• Access real-time analytics with live, up-to-date figures (rather than waiting for quarterly reports).
• Create custom reports that show you precisely what you want to know and nothing you don’t.
• Prove ROI from trade show contacts lists, automated direct mail campaigns, digital search ads, email marketing, and more. 
• Score leads based upon custom criteria that will automatically highlight time-sensitive opportunities and the most likely leads to convert.
• Track prospects throughout the funnel to reveal gaps and exit patterns (so you can address them).
• Identify the verticals and job roles that are producing the best leads so that you can create more nuanced and targeted buyer personas.

These insights will help you tweak your strategy, improve your bottom line, optimize the customer experience, and improve customer satisfaction — especially through digital channels.

How to Incorporate Marketing Automation into Manufacturing Processes

Successfully integrating marketing automation into a manufacturing business requires careful planning and alignment with existing workflows. Here is a step-by-step guide to implementing automation for lead nurturing, sales support, and customer service.

1. Evaluate Current Processes and Identify Opportunities for Automation

Start by analyzing your current marketing and sales processes. Identify repetitive tasks, workflow bottlenecks, and areas where automation could improve efficiency. Common targets for automation include email marketing automation, lead segmentation, and inventory management automation. By mapping out these workflows, you can identify specific areas where automation will have the greatest impact. Tools supporting a seamless marketing automation workflow are essential for achieving optimal efficiency.

Marketing automation workflow tools help structure these repetitive processes into effective sequences. From customer follow-ups to detailed reporting, these workflows ensure smooth execution. Implementing a marketing automation workflow enables businesses to achieve scalability without sacrificing personalization.

2. Select the Right Automation Tools

Choosing the right automation platform is essential for success. Many popular options, such as HubSpot, Marketo, and Pardot, offer robust tools for B2B marketing automation examples. These platforms support features like lead scoring, CRM integration, and automated analytics. Ensure your chosen tool integrates seamlessly with your existing CRM and meets your business objectives. Using robust marketing automation tools ensures consistency and scalability in implementing these processes.

The success of automation depends heavily on the marketing automation tools used. These tools should provide features like real-time data tracking and easy integration with existing systems. Selecting effective marketing automation tools is a crucial step in achieving optimal results.

3. Design Targeted Lead Nurturing Campaigns

Lead nurturing is crucial for manufacturers, where the buying cycle can be lengthy. Automation allows you to segment leads based on engagement, industry, or purchasing stage, ensuring that your messaging is targeted and relevant. An example of marketing automation in this context is setting up automated workflows to send follow-up emails based on a lead’s behavior, such as downloading a whitepaper or visiting specific product pages.

Marketing automation strategy is a foundational step in developing these campaigns. Businesses must identify their audience segments, content needs, and key customer touchpoints to maximize impact. A strong marketing automation strategy provides the roadmap for long-term success.

4. Automate Sales Handoffs and Follow-Ups

Once a lead reaches a certain score, automation can seamlessly transfer them to the sales team, complete with context and engagement history. These marketing automation campaign examples ensure no leads fall through the cracks, while automated reminders help sales reps maintain timely follow-ups.

5. Enhance Customer Support through Automated Responses

Automation streamlines customer service inquiries by setting up automated responses, FAQs, and ticketing systems. For example, a chatbot can instantly acknowledge customer inquiries, route questions to the appropriate department, or offer automated answers to frequently asked questions, improving response time and customer engagement.

Customer engagement is significantly enhanced through personalized, automated touchpoints. Automation allows manufacturers to stay connected with prospects and customers through timely, relevant communications. Increasing customer engagement is often one of the primary goals of marketing automation.

6. Monitor and Adjust Automation Campaigns

Automation is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Consistent monitoring and refining of campaigns are necessary. Track metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and lead conversion rates to measure performance. Leveraging content marketing automation ensures that personalized, engaging materials are effectively delivered, maximizing the campaign’s impact.

Mistakes to Avoid in Marketing Automation for Manufacturing

While there are many successful marketing automation examples, there are also common pitfalls to avoid.

1. Over-reliance on Automation

Over-automating can make interactions feel impersonal, which is particularly harmful in B2B relationships. To avoid this, maintain a balance between automation and human interaction. For example, while email marketing automation is beneficial, ensure that a salesperson follows up with personalized outreach.

2. Data Quality Neglect

Automation relies on data accuracy, and poor data quality can lead to ineffective campaigns. For example, sending duplicate or irrelevant emails can alienate leads. Regularly clean and update your database to ensure high-quality, accurate data.

3. Incorrect Lead Scoring

Not all leads are equal, and failing to set up accurate lead scoring criteria can result in wasted resources on unqualified leads. Customize scoring criteria to align with typical customer behavior patterns, ensuring that the best leads reach sales teams for direct engagement.

4. Lack of Clear Goals

Automation without clear objectives can lead to scattered results. Before launching a campaign, set specific goals and KPIs. Whether you aim to increase lead generation, boost customer engagement, or improve conversions, defined objectives are essential to evaluate campaign success.

5. Ignoring Campaign Feedback and Optimization

Automation is not a one-time solution. Continual optimization is necessary for sustained success. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your automated campaigns and make adjustments based on performance data. Many B2B marketing automation examples show that consistent campaign refinement improves long-term results.

Don’t Hesitate to Upgrade Your Manufacturer Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing has been taking off for years, but especially for manufacturers, and especially recently — even since the outbreak of COVID-19.  The 2020 Thomas Industrial Survey revealed a 12% increase in manufacturer and industrial website usage in just the months since the onset of the pandemic.

The limitations on in-person sales interaction have only further accelerated digital marketing and the value of digital automation for manufacturing firms. Automation will help your sales department, too, by streamlining lead capture at trade shows, post-event follow-up, quote and bid communication, e-commerce actions, the baton pass of leads to the right direct sellers or channel partners, and more.

There are automation technologies out there that cater specifically to the needs of the manufacturing space, too. As a HubSpot partner (and huge fans of their comprehensive and unified product line), we recommend taking a few minutes to explore the features that HubSpot uses to help manufacturers while you’re evaluating your options.