An Introduction to Digital Marketing for Manufacturers in India

   
•     Team Digitofy
   
•     September 25, 2023

As the Indian economy is taking one leap after another, it is opening a window of opportunities for the Indian Manufacturers as well. But to benefit from these opportunities, Manufacturers need to be visible online. Whether it’s Channel Partners, Dealers, Institutions, or Government agencies, they go to the Internet when they search for a manufacturer. And only one Search Engine dominates the Internet, and that is Google. Google has become so popular that it has become a synonym for ‘search’. According to various survey agencies, Google has a more than 90% search share in 2023.

Google has become so big and important that it controls how Digital Marketing businesses work worldwide. Google has become so popular that it has become an entryway to the internet. Every business owner wants his website to rank on top of Google’s Search Engine Result Page (SERP). This is because Google receives Billions of search queries every month, many of which are business queries.

So, how do websites rank on Google?

Google uses a ‘set of conditions’ to decide which website is most relevant to the query placed by a user. These conditions are called Algorithms. So, to rank on top of Google’s SERP, a website has to be optimized to make it compliant with the conditions laid by Google. This website optimization process, according to Google Algorithms, is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. It is done by trained professionals and generally takes 3 to 6 Months before giving results.

It is one of the most important Digital Marketing strategies, offering long-term benefits for your digital assets. SEO not only optimizes your digital assets, but it also helps in keeping them up-to-date and relevant. SEO boosts your digital presence by optimizing your digital assets like Website, Social Media Profiles/Pages, Landing Pages, etc.

How does ranking on Google’s first page affect a business?
Ranking on Google’s front page is important because, according to various studies and surveys.  It has been found that users do not visit the second page of Google in most cases. More than 60% of traffic share is taken away by the website ranking on the top of the first page, and most of the remaining traffic is taken away by the website ranking on the second and third websites. This leaves little to no traffic for the sites ranking below the top 5 websites. So, the higher the site ranks on Google’s SERP, the higher the traffic it receives. And higher the traffic a website receives, the higher the chance of lead generation.

Ranking on the first page of Google not only matters technically, but it has other benefits as well. For example, a website that ranks top of Google SERP is perceived as more authoritative, trustworthy, and reliable. So ranking on top of Google’s SERP helps your business by boosting Website Traffic, Brand Awareness, Authority, and Trustworthiness among both the search engine and the users.

How can Indian Manufacturers benefit from Digital Marketing?

The major benefits that Digital Marketing offers to Indian Manufacturers are as follows:
– Increase in the number of Relevant Business Leads
– Channel Partner Network Growth
– Export Opportunities
– Brand Awareness
– Brand Authority
– Social Recognition
– Branding
– Product Promotion

What Challenges can Digital Marketing help Indian Manufacturers overcome?

– Growth and Maintenance of Channel Partner/Dealer/Distributor Network.
– Business Expansion
– Building Trust and Credibility
– Advertisement and Promotion
– Footfall on outlets
– Finding Vendors and Service providers
– Market Research
– Product Feedback
– Recruitment

Challenges faced by Manufacturers in Implementing Digital Marketing Strategies:
– Finding the right digital marketing agency or employees with the proper skill set.
– Getting accurate estimates in terms of Time and Money.
– Getting through with the contract terms.
– Not having complete knowledge about the technical challenges.
– Not having a backup plan.
– Inability to communicate the expectations.
– Setting reasonable Milestones for the project.
– Taking follow-ups at regular intervals.
– Inability to decide the right direction for the project amidst the bombardment of random suggestions from friend circle and 
  the internet.
– Creation of content such as Graphics, Videos, Blogs, Articles, etc.
– Quality Assurance.
– Getting familiar with new platforms.
– Having no idea when to scale up the project.
– Monitoring the results.
– Creating content guidelines, strategy, and content statement that resonates with the business goals.

Some Digital Marketing Statistics about Manufacturing Businesses?

• Around 77% of manufacturing marketers have noticed increased conversion rates because of digital marketing. 

• 98% of manufacturers are generating qualified sales due to digital marketing.
  
• Having strategic landing pages helps 68% of B2B businesses acquire new leads, according to small biz genius.
  
• 59% of manufacturing marketers say that fresh web design and mobile optimization have drastically improved their businesses after just one year, with 82% saying it was due to the enticing web content.
  
• 40% of industrial buyers make decisions based on their opinion of your website.
  
• More than 70% of B2B buyers pay attention to your site as they request more information.
  
• 47% of manufacturing websites say they publish 3 or more blog posts per month.
  
• Organic traffic generates the most leads for manufacturing companies at 69%.
  
• 84% of people searching for services in the manufacturing industry say that they use the internet as their starting point in finding a company, components, and services.
  
• While 57% of B2B marketers think SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative
  
• 94% B2B Buyers research online before making any purchases.
  
• 70% of industrial professionals say that they compare suppliers online.
  
• In 2022, 84% of manufacturers planned on increasing their marketing spend.
  
• They also believe trade shows and email are their best performing tactic, with print ads and podcasts being the least successful.
  
  (Source: Sixthcitymarketing.com)
  
• 84% of industrial marketers surveyed deemed websites as an essential marketing channel to attract new customers.
  
  (Source webfx.com)