Published on 11/08/2016 | Market Sizing
Is the industrial automation industry behind the curve when it comes to the latest digital marketing strategies, new media tactics, website optimization options and social media marketing tools? That seems to be the conclusion of a new report that echoes earlier findings that a significant number of businesses operating in the industrial automation and manufacturing space have been slow to adopt new online marketing practices.
The study, conducted by the digital marketing firm Authentia, randomly selected 100 U.S. and Canadian control system integrators and reviewed their online presence. Despite the continuing disruption of traditional marketing methods and the displacement of print media vehicles, the report suggests industrial marketing is just not keeping pace with other B2B industries. Though the findings make it clear that important business opportunities are being missed, the result also mean forward-looking companies can capitalize on the report’s findings and recommendations to quickly move ahead of the competition and realize the benefits of the digital marketing revolution. More about that later.
A version of this post was published at ISA Interchange, the official blog of the International Society of Automation.
The report was authored by Jon DiPietro, a digital marketing consultant who started his career designing, implementing and supporting industrial automation systems and technologies. For the study, Jon developed a digital marketing effectiveness ranking scale based on 32 separate criteria. He analyzed websites for applications of best practices in current marketing strategies, assessing use of new sales tools and strategies for attracting business prospects and nurturing existing customers, as well as applications of inbound marketing, search engine marketing and content marketing.
There’s been a long-held perception that automation and control has lagged behind other industries in terms of the adoption of new media marketing strategies. This despite the increasing evidence that traditional outbound marketing practices are less effective and on the decline. The marketplace has built up a resistance to methods that rely on one-way communications and the positioning of selling as the prime objective, versus the new digital marketing approach that rewards companies that engage with customers and deliver value by offering high-quality content. In the new paradigm of digital marketing, the sale of a product or service is the outcome of a relationship, not the primary objective.
