Historically, manufacturing and other industrial companies have relied predominantly on word-of-mouth referrals for new projects. As a close-knit community of businesses often family-owned and operated, contractors have networked with and relied on other contractors for business development since the early ages. In the past two decades, however, internet search capabilities have expanded, making “word of mouth” “word of web” instead, and mastering these channels can be difficult for industrial companies that continue to leverage tried-and-true, albeit analog, marketing efforts.
Many industrial companies make earnest attempts to carve out their digital presence but often struggle with the complexities of the digital landscape. Whether it’s relying on a tech-savvy relative during the summer break who falls short of professional standards, or simply not having enough hours in the day to tackle digital marketing, the challenges are significant. This is where digital marketing agencies like VisualFizz come into play, helping companies across various industries to demystify and manage intricate digital strategies, including social media campaigns and SEO.
Unlike retail or service sectors, the industrial sector requires a specialized approach to digital marketing campaigns and services. For manufacturers and industrial companies, partnering with a digital marketing agency that understands and caters to the unique demands of the industry is crucial. Identifying the right agency involves recognizing several positive indicators that demonstrate the agency’s suitability and alignment with your company’s specific needs.
Why is it crucial for manufacturing companies to work with a specialized digital marketing agency?
Industrial companies face distinct challenges that differ from other sectors. A specialized digital marketing agency, like VisualFizz, can develop targeted strategies that effectively address these unique requirements, are more effective than generalized approaches, and ensure more impactful results.
What are the top positive traits to look for in a digital marketing agency?
Look for an agency that practices what it preaches with a robust online presence, clearly states its offerings to align with your business goals, and prioritizes responsive and clear communication.
Specifically, look for these Agency Green Flags:
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Well-Maintained Brand Presence: A digital marketing agency should practice what it preaches, maintaining a robust online presence through a regular posting schedule on their blog and active social media engagement. Relevant, industry-specific content is a strong indicator of their expertise.
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Clearly Stated Offerings: The agency’s services should be transparent, detailing how they can help achieve your goals, demonstrated by a clear, informative services page.
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Responsive and Easy to Contact: Accessibility and quick response times are crucial. Look for agencies with clear contact information, direct communication channels, and a customer-centric approach.
Positive Agency Trait #1: A Well-Maintained Brand Presence
This may seem like an odd place to look first, but a digital marketing agency with a well-maintained blog hub is clearly practicing what they preach. In order for websites to be successful, they need a regular posting schedule of quality content that is well promoted through social media and on their own landing pages. If a prospective digital marketer has a whole bunch of engaging content, then it’s likely they’ll be pretty successful with helping you build your own. Keep an eye out for blog posts that specifically apply to your industry as well.
Engaging blog posts like “VisualFizz’s Best Marketing Advice for Industrial and Construction Brands” give you the added advantage of checking out the agency’s in-depth understanding of your industry without even setting a meeting.
Evidence of the brand on multiple areas of the web is a good indication that they’ll successfully build your brand across the web, too.
If you find yourself in a wormhole of interesting reading on a potential agency’s blog, that’s a definite green flag and good sign.
Positive Agency Trait #2: Clearly Stated Offerings
When you’re looking to move into the digital marketing space, it can be difficult to find the words to express what you’re looking for. After all, if you don’t understand what SEO is or what SEM does, why does your business need them? Therefore, when considering digital marketing agencies, it’s crucial to understand what services they’re offering your business.
A good digital marketing agency’s Services Page will explain what options they offer but an excellent one will clearly show you how they will help you accomplish your goals.
For example, VisualFizz’s Services Page clearly outlines six different digital advertising services, including Interactive Web Development & Design, Sustainable Organic SEO & Content Development, and Social Media Advertising & Brand Presence. When a digital marketing agency is easy to work with before you’ve officially partnered with them, that’s a good sign and a green flag.
Positive Agency Trait #3: Responsive and Easy to Contact
Nothing is more frustrating than reaching out to a promising digital marketing agency, only to wait days or even weeks for a response. Even more aggravating is if the agency’s contact information is difficult to locate on their website, or if their social media information is out of date or seems neglected. Instead, keep an eye out for digital marketing agencies that seem to prioritize their communication with new and potential clients. Chat functions, secure and direct emails, and easy-to-locate phone numbers or addresses mean the agency is thinking about how to reach their own clients- which means helping you reach your own is a service they can be very helpful with.
A contact form like this one is detailed enough to help potential inquirers relay their specific inquiry, but only takes a quick minute to complete. Like any industry, quality customer service and excellent user experience are essential, but as these are the very services being offered by a digital marketing agency, top-notch experiences are definitely a green flag.
Tips for Choosing an Agency That Specializes in Manufacturing and the Industrial Industry
Once your company has a list of candidates, be sure to evaluate each digital marketing agency’s level of experience with projects like the one being proposed. As a construction, manufacturing, or industrial organization, it’s important to work with an agency that has experience marketing your particular industry’s goods or services. There are dozens of digital marketing agencies that claim to specialize in manufacturing marketing, but while they all may be qualified, they will not all be a great match. Here are some of the best tips for selecting an agency specializing in manufacturing marketing:
Tips for Choosing an Agency Specializing in Manufacturing
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Read the Case Studies: Evaluate the agency’s experience with similar projects through their case studies, which should provide detailed accounts of their strategies and outcomes.
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Read the Reviews: Online reviews can provide insights into the agency’s performance and client satisfaction, offering a modern take on word-of-mouth referrals.
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Do Due Diligence: Investigate the agency’s previous work, checking the online presence and functionality of their past clients to gauge the quality of their services.
Tips For Choosing Agency #1: Read the Case Studies
Digital marketing case studies are one of the best ways to learn more about an agency’s previous successes and experience level with projects that match your own. Take note of how diverse the case studies are, how in-depth they go, and if the agency provides measurable results of their work. For example, the VisualFizz Builds page makes five of their most recent construction and marketing related digital marketing case studies easily accessible for prospective clients. Detailed examples of past successes and previous experience can sometimes make all the difference when selecting a digital marketing agency to partner with.
View VisualFizz’s Case Studies
Tips For Choosing Agency #2: Read the Reviews
Digital reviews are the new word of mouth when it comes to digital marketing. Unlike a traditional verbal referral which may have a pass-through rate of a few friends and family members, online reviews as part of a case study have lasting power. When scrutinizing potential digital marketing agencies, be sure to make note of the feedback and reviews they incorporate into their own portfolio. Is there so much praise that you’re endlessly scrolling through, or are you searching deep for client feedback?
Digital marketing agencies that are transparent with their feedback tend to be more transparent when laying out achievable project milestones and realistic expectations and outcomes, and when clients have a lot of good things to say about their experience with an agency, they should let prospective clients know it. If you’re looking for a particular attribute or characteristic, like expert attention to detail, for example, reviews are an excellent opportunity to glean information like this before meeting with a digital marketing agency.
View VisualFizz on Clutch, Google, and UpCity
Tips For Choosing Agency #3: Do Due Diligence
When digital marketing agencies publish case studies and blog posts about their projects, it gives potential clients a clear view of what they can do. A quick Google search can show you how effective an agency is, especially if they’ve worked on SEO for the type of company you’re interested in. A good agency will have client websites that are easy to find and navigate.
Remember, some website features might be specifically requested by the client and are not up to the agency. You should look at things like the website’s speed, layout, and content quality to really understand an agency’s capabilities. Thorough research is key to finding the right digital marketing agency for your manufacturing or industrial company.
As industries like manufacturing and construction move more into digital marketing, they need agencies that can handle their specific challenges. This includes everything from getting new clients up to speed, training on new tech, and managing social media and website development.
Choosing the right digital marketing agency is crucial as industrial sectors embrace digital tools. Look for agencies that understand your industry’s needs and are committed to providing personalized strategies and responsive service.
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