5 Key Stats & 5 Critical Steps To Hit Your Revenue Targets

In preparation for the coming year my next two blog posts are going to outline some important data and a series of questions to answer as you plan for the year ahead. Just yesterday the Wall Street Journal talked about the slowdown in manufacturing and industrial production in the US, are you ready for a slow year? Are your marketing and sales priorities in line with the new realities of B2B buying behavior?

industrial-marketing The same old marketing, if you even do much marketing at all, and sales strategies are not working and will be even less effective for revenue growth.

If you acknowledge and deal with these new buying environment realities you can build a repeatable, reliable marketing engine that will power your success.

Here we go:

Stat 1: 93% of B2B purchases start with an Internet search¹

Step 1: Get found online by creating amazing content and establish your thought leadership on how your product or service helps your customers better serve their buyers.

Stat 2: 74% of buyers choose the company that is first to add value as they are defining their buying vision²

Step 2: Provide your B2B prospects with solution-based content like application stories, case studies & white papers that help them do their jobs better.

Stat 3: 70% finished - B2B buyers are up to 70% of the way to their purchase before they speak to a sales rep³

Step 3: Change your focus from selling more to marketing more. Attract more people that need your help and once you have helped them then you earn the right to sell. Balance your staffing and spending on sales vs. marketing. Marketing is carrying more of the load now so marketing and sales need to be in alignment.

Stat 4: 61% cheaper - the cost of leads generated through “inbound marketing” vs. traditional advertising⁴

Step 4: Adopt an inbound marketing mindset, teach your team how they can all be marketers, and incorporate inbound principles in your daily work.

Stat 5: 400% | 500% | 600% - B2B companies with at least 400 website pages generate 4X the leads of sites with less than 100 pages | those that publish 15 new articles/month generate 5X the leads of those that only publish 1 | those with 40 landing pages generate 6X the leads of those with 10 or less⁵

Step 5: Forget your traditional “website” - instead recognize that your company's digital footprint is its primary revenue growth engine. Nurture, refine and invest in it accordingly - but only based on sound strategy.

Dig deeper into manufacturing marketing.