According to information released by the CBI last month, growth in UK manufacturing is at its lowest for the last two years. However, despite this seemingly gloomy forecast, many Yorkshire-based manufacturing businesses are bucking the trend.
So why are Yorkshire’s manufacturers upbeat? Increasing numbers of manufacturers in Yorkshire are embracing digital marketing thanks to partnerships with specialists in digital marketing who understand the manufacturing sector.
Yorkshire has a long and illustrious history of manufacturing and from the birth of the industrial revolution through to the region’s current positive outlook; Yorkshire-based manufacturers have never been shy about promoting their products. Whereas once word-of-mouth and newspaper adverts were sufficient, the language of advertising has changed evolved from radio and TV through to digital marketing.
Digital marketing has the potential to reach anyone anywhere and at any time. The search engines are used by customers to locate what they need at a speed which would have once been considered impossible. Marketing is no longer constrained by borders or time zones and so a manufacturer of cast aluminium products in Leeds can be contacted by a customer in Europe, United States or anywhere else in the world at the touch of a button.
However, although the world’s marketplaces have embraced digital marketing with great gusto, it comes as something of a surprise to discover that the manufacturing sector has lagged behind. Industrial marketers have failed to put adequate resources into online marketing strategies designed to help them engage and connect with their target customers. The flip side of this is the knowledge that technical professionals who are looking to buy the goods created by manufacturers are known to appreciate the internet as a valuable resource.
So what can manufacturers take away from this? The bottom line is that digital media is now being used by industrial buyers in almost every aspect of their jobs. The first port of call for customers of the manufacturing sector is the internet: this is not a flash in the pan concept – this is a trend that will continue.
Digital media presents a massive opportunity for the manufacturing industry and one which many in Yorkshire’s manufacturing sector are beginning to embrace. There is now no doubt that the majority of the research that takes place before business to business purchases is carried out online. Many of the Yorkshire manufacturing businesses who are enjoying positive growth despite the CBI’s gloomy forecast are working with specialist digital marketing companies who understand the sector and how to put them ahead of their competitors.
One such company is Bluehoop Digital Limited. Bluehoop have helped a number of Yorkshire-based manufacturers, including manufacturers in the healthcare sector, metal castings and specialist hi-tech components areas. Ian White, Director of Bluehoop Digital, said: “With the correct strategy we’ve helped a number of clients in the manufacturing industry to grow and reach new markets both in the UK or overseas. The internet offer huge potential to manufacturing firms, giving them the chance to offer potential customers more reasons to buy from them.”
