As the U.S. continues to prioritize the growth of its manufacturing industry, contract manufacturing is booming in the country.
The same is true for the growth of contract manufacturing around the world — one estimate puts the global contract manufacturing industry on track to reach $604 billion by 2030.
What does that mean for contract manufacturers seeking to grow their business in an increasingly competitive market? Deploying a clear marketing strategy can help companies build, maintain and scale their businesses. Here’s how to get started.
Creating visibility is key
While it may seem like an obvious first step, manufacturers should start by ensuring their business is clearly visible and reachable online, according to Adam Smartschan, chief strategy officer at B2B marketing group Altitude Marketing. That could be as easy as setting up a website that explicitly outlines the company’s services and includes an easy-to-find contact form.
This emphasis on creating visibility has everything to do with an evolution in buying habits, added Jeremy Knight, founder and managing director of contract manufacturing marketing firm Equinet Media.
“The internet and the social web have completely changed the dynamic of how we buy. We expect, all of us, to be able to find information and explore a few options online, way before we're ready to speak with anyone,” Knight said.
Without that information at someone’s fingertips, the company may as well not exist as an option.
Establishing that core visibility on the website is also a simple but powerful way to set up for success in a world where a manufacturer might not have that many opportunities to bid for business, Smartschan noted.
“Specifically in contract manufacturing, these are going to be highly motivated prospects and long sales cycles,” Smartschan said. “You will only get a bite at the apple once.”
That was the case for one major pet food brand that an Altitude Marketing client wanted to work with.
“Once they picked their CM, they were basically going to be with that contract manufacturer forever,” Smartschan said. ““It could [have been], at the very least, multiple years before that same thing [came] up again.”
“Specifically in contract manufacturing, these are going to be highly motivated prospects and long sales cycles. You will only get a bite at the apple once.”
Adam Smartschan
Chief Strategy Officer, Altitude Marketing
The importance of SEO
Creating visibility is a main tenet behind search engine optimization, the process of fine-tuning a web presence — whether that’s a site, a product description or a social media post — to increase its appearance on various search engines.
To get started with SEO, both Smartschan and Knight noted it begins with first aligning internally on how to position the brand online for success. That means asking the leadership team, “What really differentiates the company from the competition?”
Smartschan added that once decided on brand positioning, ensure the company’s web presence “tells a story.”
For a client of his, that included not only making sure the messaging on their website was clear and optimized for SEO, but also having their brand live in online directories and trade media. Contract manufacturers should also expand their presence to relevant social media platforms such as LinkedIn, all with uniform messaging.
That consistency is key, Smartschan said. “It’s data-backed, all built on proof points, and has the same message — all pointing back to a high-quality professional website,” he said. “Nothing disjointed, no one-offs. It’s all very tightly controlled and integrated.”
Using content marketing to generate leads
Taking advantage of many non-paid marketing efforts like SEO has worked well for PLZ Corp., a North America-based specialty product contract manufacturer of aerosol and liquid products.
“We have gone the traditional route with search engine marketing, social media and an SEO-optimized website to reach our current customers and to generate leads,” said PLZ Corp President of Cleaning & Food Solutions Kathy Elkey. “Lead generation has tripled over the last couple of years.”
Elkey added that she has also included paid advertising into the mix. The company found that the majority of its leads are found via the website’s contact form.
However, some in the industry are less enthusiastic about the use of paid ads today. Smartschan cautioned that while five years ago ads were great places to expand marketing efforts, times have changed in some cases.
“The advertising economy is so saturated. It’s incredibly hard to see ROI. At the end of the day, Google, and to a lesser extent Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo —that’s where your prospects go for information,” he said. “It’s just reflexive. It’s the first place you look.”
Content marketing is another option for a more creative strategy. This can include a variety of content forms, including blogs, newsletters, white papers, videos and podcasts.
“We create and curate blog posts to showcase our expertise, effectively positioning ourselves as industry thought leaders,” Elkey said.
The contract manufacturer’s marketing paradox
Knight acknowledged that raising a contract manufacturer’s profile might have historically felt counter-intuitive, given the “behind the scenes” nature of the industry.
“Contract manufacturers are expected to operate unseen, because the OEMs don't want their customers to know that the contract manufacturers are there,” Knight said. “It's completely understandable how it has been up until recently, almost entirely sales-led. It’s just that that doesn't work as well anymore.”
Elkey underscored this, noting that strategic marketing is now “as essential an ingredient to our success as the bottles and cans and formulas.”
“Customers now have the ability to research a multitude of options with a simple Google search,” Elkey said. “These are the realities of global competition and worldwide distribution. How you position your company is an intricate step in the growth and development of the business.”
