As a manufacturer, how can you effectively develop and promote a case study for your business? About 42% of B2B marketers plan to increase spending on business case studies this year. Therefore, it is important to focus on the specific benefits of having a case study for a marketing strategy, what part of the industrial buyer's journey a case study is most beneficial for, the steps to developing it, and how to promote a case study.

A buyer used to ask a colleague who they trusted for a certain part or service, and that recommendation carried more weight than any brochure or ad. That habit has not gone away. It has just moved. Today the same question gets typed into ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI-generated answers, and the AI tool responds the way a trusted colleague would: by pointing to what other sources say about a company, not what the company says about itself.

A sourcing manager at a mid-size OEM opens ChatGPT and types: "Who makes custom aluminum castings under 10 lbs in the Midwest?" A list of company names comes back. Yours isn't on it. The buyer calls the first name on the list. This is not a hypothetical. It is happening right now, in purchasing departments across the country, and most small manufacturers have no idea it's occurring, let alone what to do about it.

In our previous article on search in the age of AI, we explored how AI search tools and zero-click results are disrupting traditional web traffic and SEO. In this piece, we'll shift from the "why" to the "how," laying out a practical framework for showing up where buyers actually begin their journey.

For industrial marketers, the rise of AI and the zero click search mean more competition for attention, and a need to rethink both organic and paid strategies. But while the search game has changed, the opportunity to get in front of buyers is far from over. In this article, we'll explore how AI is reshaping search behavior, what it means for website traffic and paid advertising, the risks and challenges it poses for manufacturers, and the practical strategies industrial businesses can use to stay visible and competitive.

Are you trying to figure out how to capitalize on the positive news in the industrial market? According to the Fed, interest rates are projected to fall throughout 2025-2026. Easing interest rates combined with a weakening dollar, are likely to support manufacturing and the industrial market as a whole. What can industrial sales teams do to ensure more deals come your way?

Brand recognition might be commonly associated with consumer markets, but in the modern-day industrial sphere, it's an increasingly powerful asset--one that can make or break your business. A critical element for staying competitive, fostering customer loyalty, and attracting top talent, brand recognition has truly evolved beyond "nice-to-have" status. But what makes brand recognition so powerful in the industrial world? And how can science-backed strategies help you strengthen your brand's position in the marketplace? This article will take an in-depth look at the concept of brand recognition, the science behind it, and steps you can take now to start building a strong, recognizable brand.

Have you ever visited a website and been so confounded by it that you hit the "back" button and return to the search results hoping to find what you're looking for in a better site? That's what's called a bounce. It can be death for your website and fuel for your competitors. If your bounce rate is high, the search engines notice and push your site lower down on the search-engine results page (and push your competitors up). Not only that, but as the first point of contact between you and your potential clients, if your website confuses visitors--if they can't find what they're looking for or are not quite sure what the next step is once they do find what they're looking for, you lose out on conversions. Yet with a well-designed site, you can not only avoid the dreaded bounce, but also drive conversions on your site.

With the shift in B2B purchasing habits to online experiences, are manufacturers keeping pace with today's buyers? To find the answer, Winbound, a digital sales and marketing agency, collaborated with MNI and Polymath Research to create the "Manufacturing Content Benchmark Report."

Thanks to new regulations and practices from tech giants, tomorrow's internet will be a more private place. One of the major changes that will improve privacy is the end of third-party cookies. However, this change will deprive advertisers of valuable data. It is time for manufacturers to rethink how they target and segment users.

In today's competitive market, having a strong online presence is essential for any manufacturing business that wants to attract and retain customers, increase brand awareness, and generate more leads and sales. However, creating an effective website and establishing a solid online presence is not a simple task. It requires careful planning, strategic execution, and ongoing maintenance. In this blog post, we will explore the fundamentals of building a strong online presence for manufacturers and provide a step-by-step guide to help you achieve your online marketing goals.

Marketing is a crucial aspect of any business, but not all marketing strategies and solutions are created equal. Depending on your goals, target audience, budget, and industry, you may want to use different types of marketing to reach your potential customers. In this article, we will explain the difference between outbound and inbound marketing, and how MNI's industrial solutions can help you supercharge both your inbound and marketing efforts.

In today's dynamic economic landscape, manufacturers face a myriad of challenges as industrial companies grapple with weakened demand and shrinking manufacturing activity. To navigate these uncertain times successfully, manufacturers must adapt and seize every opportunity to stay ahead of the competition.

By now, we've all heard the term "reshoring," but reshoring is not just a buzzword, it's a reality for many U.S. manufacturers who are moving their production back home -- and new data shows the reshoring trend is accelerating. Don't miss our exclusive report on how reshoring is fast reshaping the U.S. manufacturing landscape.

When you think of branding, you might think of consumer-facing businesses that rely on catchy logos, slogans, and packaging to attract customers. But branding is not just for B2C companies. It's also a vital element of B2B marketing, especially for manufacturers. In this blog post, we'll explain why branding matters for manufacturers and how you can create a strong brand identity that sets you apart from your competitors and resonates with your target audience. Whether you're a new or established manufacturer, you'll discover how branding can help you increase your visibility, credibility, and profitability in the market. Read on to learn more.

If you have ever wondered how to write an industrial blog that will generate interest in your company, this article is for you. Read on to discover tips on planning topics, choosing content, and simply getting started.

If you've heard that your website needs more backlinks for SEO and you're not quite sure what that means, you've come the the right place. As a part of our Industrial Marketing 101 series, this article will cover the topic of backlinks and deep links, why your website needs them, and how you can get them.

Letting customers know that your products are made here in America is an important part of any marketing strategy. You will be able to capitalize on several aspects of American customer behavior, which can give your company an advantage in the post-lockdown economy.

For manufacturers, having reliable lead sources and surefire lead generation methods that encompass both inbound and outbound is what keeps your company competitive in the fast-paced industrial market. But are you using all the tools at your disposal? Read on to discover some tried-and-true strategies manufacturers can employ to generate quality leads for their business.

In a digital world where B2B purchasers spend only 17% of their decision-making time meeting with potential suppliers, content marketing for manufacturers is indispensable. Potential buyers conduct more rapid and far-ranging research on mobile devices and computers than ever before. As a result, the sales rep no longer holds the informational reins.

With the number of unfilled jobs rising, manufacturers are dealing with unprecedented labor challenges, but using some key hiring strategies for manufacturing can make a difference. The manufacturing sector continues to recover post-COVID, but there are more unfilled positions than ever. Experts believe this trend could worsen and result in as many as 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. It is time to turn the tide and explore new hiring strategies for manufacturers, starting with the way people perceive this sector. Marketers have a crucial role to play in changing candidates' perceptions of manufacturing jobs.

Building a new website for your business or redesigning your current website can strengthen your online presence and turn your site into a channel that will drive conversions and sales. For B2B marketers, the switch to a digital-first approach accelerated during COVID-19. Focusing on digital interactions opens new possibilities for scaling up and reaching out to a larger audience, but things like an outdated website can hold vendors back. So a new website is a crucial step toward delivering an optimal user experience and embracing digital sales.

Every year, over 30,000 new products come to market. Unfortunately, 95% of them fail to make a successful launch. Leaping the hurdles to put an industrial offering into the hands of purchasers takes meticulous and exhaustive preparation. Following the recommendations given here will increase the odds in a seller's favor.

The importance of digital marketing cannot be understated for manufacturing businesses, as more and more B2B professionals flock to digital channels. The radical change in personal interaction due to COVID-19 responses has dictated that more B2B interactions use virtual, online and remote practices as much as possible. With the pandemic slowly fading, that change is here to stay and marketers are doubling down on digital in 2022.

At its simplest, influencer marketing uses a person with a large social media following to promote a product. Often, the influencer is either paid for the testimony or offered free product in exchange for the testimony. While some larger manufacturers take advantage of this phenomenon with celebrities, for many SMEs this approach would be a bit of a tall order. So is influencer marketing beyond the reach of SME manufacturers? Not quite. There are avenues many SME manufacturers can take to benefit from this growing marketing trend.

As fallout from the pandemic continues to snarl supply chains, manufacturers are confronting severe supply shortages. As a result, we've seen a significant rise in traffic to IndustryNet as millions of buyers flock to the site in search of hard-to-find materials at the best price. Everything from chemicals and castings, printing and plating, tubing and tools are seeing a massive surge in interest. This has prompted a significant increase in quoting activity on IndustryNet. In fact, the number of quote requests sent and received has doubled in the past year.

Statistically speaking, leveraging video marketing reaches more customers than other forms of industrial marketing. In fact, Smart Brief notes that 96% of Americans have watched videos explaining how to effectively use a product or service, resulting in fewer calls to customer service. Videos provide a powerful way to differentiate a company's product within an industry and clarify its value proposition. By combining personalization and video, marketing departments can present a powerful product draw - just take a look at a few of these companies and how they took advantage of video marketing to rejuvenate their business models.

Google dominates the search engine world, commanding 87% of the U.S. search market, and its predominance has only intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. As volume continues to grow, many business owners are complaining that costs for the search terms they rely on have shot through the roof, landing them in an uncomfortable Catch-22: in a pandemic you're looking to cut costs wherever you can, but without Google, how do you drum up new business? There's no other option than to pay up, right?

As part of a continuing series on industrial marketing in the age of COVID-19, this article will focus on the importance of high-quality backlinks to boost your website's SEO. Industrial marketing is competitive because it is almost exclusively B2B in nature. Content is often geared towards companies rather than individuals. However, smart marketers know that every company is made up of individuals and will ensure that content is created with this fact in mind. A unique voice and engaging content can help a company stand out in a crowded field of competitors. While this can help keep people consuming your content, it does not draw them to it in the first place.

Modern content marketing is a radical departure from traditional 20th-century marketing methods. The old method was to blindly distribute information about your manufacturing capabilities or products, hoping the right people would find it. With content marketing, that message is targeted to specific potential customers. Content marketing can be so effective that interested individuals will actively seek out and engage with the content you produce.