Marketing To Industrial Professionals

A G L O B A L S P E C W H I T E P A P E R F O R
E N G I N E E R I N G , T E C H N I C A L A N D » I N D U S T R I A L M A R K E T E R S
Marketing to Engineering, Technical, Industrial
and Manufacturing Professionals:
What's Working Best Today g l o b a l s p e c w h i t e p a p e r »
IntroductionThe Internet has completely transformed the relationship between buyers and sellers in the business-to-business (B2B) world. Today, any company that markets and sells to engineering, technical, industrial and manufacturing professionals must have a robust and effective online marketing strategy - not just a company Web site. Business professionals who once spent hours at work reading catalogs and magazines, researching in libraries and attending tradeshows now stay put at a desk and use the Internet to research products and vendors. The Internet is now the number-one resource for finding product information. Marketers must evaluate their current investments and re-allocate budget to include online marketing strategies that will extend, enhance and outperform their traditional marketing programs. But with many online options to choose from, creating the right marketing mix to match your objectives can be a challenge. This white paper will show how your customers and prospects use the Internet today and how you can meet their needs online. It will help you evaluate the online marketing options available to you and help you choose programs that will increase your company's visibility and generate qualified leads and interested prospects for your products and services.
Marke ting to Engineering, Technic al, Industrial and Manufac turing Professionals: What 's Working Best Today ©2008 G lo b a l s p e c , i n c . 2 g l o b a l s p e c w h i t e p a p e r »
How Do Your Customers and Prospects Use the Internet? Engineers and other technical professionals almost universally have adopted the Internet for work-related purposes. Recent surveys show:. 90% have used the Internet to find components and suppliers. 85% go online to obtain product specifications. 74% use the Internet to conduct research. 68% use the Internet to search for technical application ideas
For which of the following have you used the Internet?
What's more, 19% of engineers spend over 12 hours per week on the Internet for work-related purposes; 31% 1spend over eight hours.
How much time during the week do you spend on the Internet for work purposes?
Marke ting to Engineering, Technic al, Industrial and Manufac turing Professionals: What 's Working Best Today ©2008 G lo b a l s p e c , i n c . 3 g l o b a l s p e c w h i t e p a p e r »
These statistics demonstrate that more and more of your customers and prospects are looking for you - and your competitors - on the Internet, and less and less are looking in magazines, catalogs, directories, and other conventional places. Printed directories are close to extinction. Readership of printed trade publications has been declining for years. Why? Online is the first place that engineering, technical and industrial professionals go. The Internet has changed the behavior of your customers and prospects in other ways as well. Buyers demand and have come to expect 24/7/365 availability, com-plete and up-to-date product information and sophisticated search mechanisms that return meaningful results to their queries. As part of their work process, they use multiple online resources to find what they The top five resources used are looking for. The majority uses more than one search engine for work. In addi-by engineers researching a tion, the top five resources used by engineers researching a work-related purchase work-related purchase are are all online - from search engines and company Web sites, to online directories 2all online. and online trade publications. The company that is stuck in the "Stone Age" of the Internet - still posting static product catalogs with limited searching capabilities, still relying only on their company Web site as their online presence - may fall behind. Your customers expect more. If they don't find what they are looking for from you, they can quickly find other potential vendors on the Internet.
The Measurable Advantage of Online MarketingThe evidence is clear that marketers must use the Internet as a major component of their marketing mix to reach... [download for more]