Let’s state a simple fact: Going to a conference is a disruption. You need to leave your daily routine for a few days, and it will cost you time and money. But “disruption” can be a very good thing for business — and for you personally.
Industries have been getting digitally disrupted for years. Manufacturers have made the shift in many operational areas. Unfortunately, they lag behind when it comes to sales and marketing, where their efforts have traditionally been focused on trade shows and cold-calling.
Those tactics have become less effective as prospects spend more and more of their time searching for solutions online. The 2024 Industrial Marketing Summit will show you how to adapt to current buying trends — despite the fact that many manufacturers seem to be ignoring them.
Manufacturers aren’t keeping up with changing buying habits
According to Gartner research, 80% of sales interactions will occur in digital channels by 2025, and nearly 60% of the customer journey is completed before a meaningful interaction with a salesperson.
But the recent Content Benchmark Report indicates that the industry as a whole isn’t reacting to the changing customer mindset. The Content Benchmark Report is a collaboration between Winbound, MNI, and Polymath Marketing+Research. The report, published by Winbound, includes a review of over 400 manufacturing websites.
We wanted to see if manufacturers were actively publishing content and generating an online presence. Our findings showed us:
- Only 33% of manufacturers – and this includes some of the country’s biggest – had regularly updated top-of-funnel content, which is typically found on blogs, YouTube channels, or social media.
- Only 47% had middle-of-funnel content, like white papers, guides, or checklists.
- Only 20% had bottom-of-funnel content, such as case studies, testimonials, and pricing.
The majority of manufacturers are ignoring the digital disruption that’s affecting sales and marketing. The smart ones are not. They’re disrupting the status quo approach, and the people at the summit will show you the best ways you can do the same.
Whether you’re engaging in digital marketing or not, here’s why the Industrial Marketing Summit will help
Whether you’re caught up in the status quo or you’re forging ahead with new marketing initiatives, here are three ways you’re going to encounter “positive disruption” at the Industrial Marketing Summit.
1. You will learn something new via serendipity instead of search
Think about how we learn new things every day. It’s usually the result of a search. You are curious about a topic, so you go to your search browser and look for an answer.
With a conference, you discover new things through serendipity, which occurs by chance. You will stumble upon an insight or a topic you were unfamiliar with, something that wasn’t even on your radar. That doesn’t happen when you’re sitting at your desk.
Whether it’s the latest on AI in marketing, or new research on today’s technical buyers, you’re going to run into something new and likely unexpected. It’s that kind of kismet that can take you to the next level.
2. You are going to return home seeing further
“If I have seen further,” Isaac Newton once wrote, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
By attending IMS, you’re going to stand on the shoulders of some giants from the world of manufacturing marketing. I have closely followed these folks on LinkedIn and have met with them one-on-one on numerous occasions. Each time I’ve encountered them, I’ve learned something new.
There’s a ton of marketing conferences out there, but this is a rare opportunity to get highly specific insights on marketing from a manufacturing perspective. Don’t underestimate what these speakers are bringing to the table.
Check out the speaker lineup and you’ll see what I mean.
3. You are going to connect the dots to your own situation
You’re going to hear some of the best approaches to marketing in the business. But not all of them will fit exactly with your needs.
No, the value will be in hearing about these approaches, and then applying them to your situation. Each successful marketer’s approach is usually an amalgam of proven strategies and tactics from other marketers.
The goal here isn’t to literally take someone else’s approach and assume it will work for you. It’s to take their success and make it your own.
And if none of that happens, at least you’ve got this …
The inaugural Industrial Marketing Summit is the result of a collaborative effort between the industrial marketing teams at CADENAS PARTsolutions, TREW Marketing, and Gorilla76.
The summit was originally a segment at Content Marketing World for a couple of years. But Adam Beck received a lot of feedback that industrial marketers wanted more speakers and content — basically more of everything that had a manufacturing focus.
He got together with agency owners Wendy Covey and Joe Sullivan, and they decided to launch an event dedicated solely to manufacturing marketing.
I personally have met many of the people who are going to be presenting and in attendance at the summit. Besides the event organizers, I’ve also met Curt Anderson, Nikki Gonzales, Meaghan Ziemba, Chris Luecke, Eddie Saunders Jr., and Jake Hall.
I tell you this not to name drop. I tell you this as a personal testimonial: These people are fun.
So, if the Industrial Marketing Summit doesn’t positively disrupt your life professionally and personally, at least you are going to laugh, smile, and have a helluva time in the amazing city of Austin. That alone will be worth the price of admission.
I will see you there!
PS – Please connect with me prior to the summit. Let the serendipity begin!
Greg Mischio is the founder and CEO of Winbound, a manufacturing marketing agency.