9 Advertising Ideas For Industrial Companies to Grow In 2024

Effective marketing for industrial companies is first and foremost relational. Relying on removed, digital advertising strategies alone in the industrial and manufacturing sector will result in poor ROI and high client and business partner turnover. Due to industrial companies critical connection and partnerships with manufacturers, trust and word-of-mouth marketing methods are supreme. 

However, digital marketing strategies still play a pivotal support role in successfully advertising industrial companies to their target market and should not be ignored. 

This article provides 9 advertising ideas–digital and traditional–for strategically marketing industrial companies through the end of 2024. 

1. Create a Referral Program

A referral program is when a company offers a reward to referrers when their referral becomes a customer or takes a valuable action with the company. For example, a business could offer referrers a 10% off coupon if they successfully incentivize two new prospects to provide their emails to the business. 

Industrial companies can leverage this strategy in several ways. Here are a few ideas:

• Offer referrers a free quote on their next project after they successfully refer a new customer to a specific service.
• Offer referrers a discount on a service or goods bundle if they provide 5 new email addresses or phone numbers.
• Offer referrers a new reward each month when they refer a certain number of new customers or prospects. 

Because marketing for industrial companies is most successful when it’s relationship-based, referral programs are highly effective as they rely on established trust between friends, family, coworkers and other community connections. 

When creating your industrial company’s referral program, ensure it offers both your business and the referrer real value. 

2. Build a Loyalty Program 

A loyalty program is when a company creates an ongoing system of reward for their customers’ repeated business. While a referral program is focused on acquiring new customers and prospects, a loyalty program’s goal is to increase profit and value from a business’s current customer base. 

Industrial companies and manufacturers rely on each other to provide helpful products and innovate in their respective spaces. By creating a loyalty program, your industrial company can solidify existing and new business relationships by consistently rewarding your customers and business partners when they choose to do business with you. 

Loyalty programs also provide grounds for trust to strengthen and for industrial companies and manufacturers to truly get to know one another and find new ways to help one another grow. 

Here are a few ideas for building a loyalty program for your industrial company: 

• Offer manufacturers or other business partners exclusive looks into new technology, services or products.
• Offer a standing discount on certain goods or services every time they work with you.
• Gamify the loyalty program by incorporating a points system that earns freebies or discounts. 

As with the referral program, ensure your industrial company’s loyalty program benefits both your company and your customers.   

3. Attend and Establish Networking Events, Expos and Conferences

Attending networking events, expos and conferences within the industrial and manufacturing sector creates opportunities to make valuable face-to-face connections with prospects and close deals that otherwise would have been difficult or out of reach.

In addition to gaining new customers and business partners, networking events, expos and conferences can offer your industrial company fresh advertising ideas and even new services and products to provide in the future.

Here are a few established industrial and manufacturing conferences and expos:

• International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS)
• Fabtech
• Advanced Engineering
• Composites and Advanced Materials Expo
• Advanced Manufacturing Expo
• Semicon West

In addition to participating in these conferences and expos, consider starting your industrial company’s own expo, conference or trade show. Creating your own event builds industry authority and credibility. It will also give your industrial business invaluable connections with potential business partners and information on how to best market to them.

4. Leverage Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Preferred Vendor Relationships

Word-of-mouth marketing remains the most cost-effective form of marketing for almost any industry–including industrial companies. Word-of-mouth marketing can spread your industrial company’s reputation like a wildfire and it sparks by offering your customers consistently excellent service.

Word-of-mouth marketing for your industrial company is an advertising strategy that your business can be working on day in and day out. One avenue of word-of-mouth marketing not often considered is businesses’ employees. A positive company culture and work environment can make employees feel more loyal and more likely to recommend the company to their connections.

In addition to word-of-mouth marketing, establishing preferred vendor partnerships with current business connections can be an effective way to market your industrial company and secure long-term business.

Creating a list of preferred vendors to send customers to when your business can’t fulfill their need and requesting to be a preferred vendor with your business’s partners creates a virtuous cycle where everyone benefits and keeps customers in-house.

Preferred vendor partnerships can also incentivize your industrial company to niche down and become the expert and go-to provider for specific goods and services.

In addition to traditional marketing methods, the following digital marketing strategies can act as a strong support and supplemental avenue for generating more business.

5. Launch Search Ads

Search ads are designed to capture internet users who are actively searching for what your business offers. Search ads are displayed at the top of relevant search results, followed by organic (unpaid) results.

Your industrial company can create search ads to be served to your target market at various stages of the sales funnel: research, consideration and decision. A combination of targeted keywords, geofencing and compelling ad copy can ensure that your industrial company’s ads are served to the right users at the right time.

Search ad campaigns can run on all major search engines including Google and Bing. With Google making up the vast majority of online searches, launching a search ad campaign on the Google Ads platform is the best way to get started.

6. Run A Display Ad Campaign

Display ads are served on websites connected to the Google Display Network (GDN). They are different from search ads as they are most effective in the research and awareness phase of the sales funnel; they are designed to alert new customers that your business exists and to introduce them to products and services they might be interested in. Display ads appear on websites as images, gifs or animated images in the header banner or side panels of web pages.

Your industrial company can run a display ad campaign for a new product launch, a networking event, to showcase your brand, to advertise innovative tech and more. As with search ads, it's important to target your display ads to the appropriate audience based on your advertising goal.

7. Create Social Media Ads

Social media paid advertising is different from organic social media advertising. Ads run on social media won’t appear on your company’s profile and can be more specifically targeted than organic posts.

Creating organic content is an important piece for a holistic digital marketing strategy; however, paid social media advertising offers your industrial company targeted reach and lead capturing.

Here are a few details to keep in mind when creating a social media ad campaign:

• Develop the ads to resemble organic posts as much as possible.
• Ensure the ad itself adds value to the viewer instead of simply advertising the value your business offers.
• Tastefully implement trending social media elements like audio, font, length (if video) and camera framing.

8. Build Out Email Campaigns

Email campaigns are invaluable to any industry’s advertising success, including the industrial sector. Email campaigns are cost-effective and offer direct access to in-market leads.

Here are some ways to make your industrial company’s email flows valuable for subscribers:

• Offer exclusive content on industry trends and innovate technology.
• Periodically include discounts or freebies.
• Humanize your brand and work by sharing employee and happy customer testimonials.
• Provide micro-learning moments about different aspects of what your industrial company does for avid learners.

Remember to collect email addresses via clear opt-in methods to avoid unsubscriptions and violating user privacy.

9. Record a Podcast

Podcasts are an excellent avenue to establish industry authority and create valuable industry connections. Recording interviews with industry experts, discussing industry trends and answering customer FAQs are just a few content ideas for a podcast.

Ensure your industrial company’s podcast is optimized for podcast platform algorithms so that it reaches the right listeners.

Podcasts–like blogs and video content–build trust with potential customers and offer a high ROI over time.

Advertising your industrial company with a relationship-first approach will yield significant results and establish an accessible and compelling brand. By implementing these 9 traditional and digital marketing strategies, you will set up your industrial company for long-term success.

Venveo is a marketing company specializing in helping building materials companies. If you want to take your building materials company to the next level with expert, industry-specific marketing tips, browse our other resources. Learn how Venveo’s team can turn your building materials company’s marketing into a growth machine by contacting us today.