Account Management in Manufacturing
Account Management | Manufacturing Industry
Managing a global manufacturing company requires an experienced team and a keen focus on understanding the global landscape and technology infrastructure.
The manufacturing industry is a key focus of ours here at DCC & it is far from an easy one. This industry is a fast-paced environment with several moving parts (literally and figuratively). Thus, having a strong account management team that becomes an extension to the client’s team is imperative. Connectivity and communication across departments including sales, engineering, finance, environmental, safety, and HR are critical touchpoints in developing a comprehensive, data-driven results-based marketing strategy.
Here are just a few keys to success for managing a global manufacturing client:
- Key stakeholder and internal departmental database across global locations
- A structured internal communication process that is recognized and utilized globally
- Robust timelines, budgets, and weekly cadence meetings—on-going communication and project advancement is imperative
- Prioritize initiatives annually and develop integrated marketing plans with on-going optimization, monthly presentations & reporting, quarterly analysis against sales, and comprehensive annual reviews
- Ensuring a cohesive brand and messaging strategy that is localized across the globe, across media and communication initiatives
- Industry trend analysis, by sector, by market
- Global communications, portal system(s) for consistency and cohesiveness
- Customer and prospect database with audience and geographic segmentation, continual updating and integration with sales teams and with connectivity across social following strategies
- Identified communication platforms for sharing and content development (for various manufacturing clients we use Facebook Workplace, WhatsApp, WeChat, Google Docs, 3Dx etc.)
- B2B Media channel strategies that integrate messaging and content strategy by overall brand, product, and department (lately, HR recruitment and culture have been a critical focus area). We see notable results with LinkedIn, Facebook / IG, Twitter, HubSpot with email journey mapping, tradeshows, webinars, podcasts, presentations, video production (various formats, styles and usage), PR, HR / recruitment strategies, sales support materials, website & landing pages
If we take for example our clients in the automotive and commercial vehicle market, we know the transportation eco-system is changing rapidly with a focus on electrification and sustainability and they are navigating today’s challenges with workforce recruitment, retention, logistics and supply chain barriers, and public policy laws. Keeping up with these industry trends is extremely important to ensure we are leveraging their opportunities as thought leaders in the industry & ensuring they are viewed as relevant to customers. As we develop comprehensive marketing and communications strategies, these insights can drive our decisions on voice, content, and channel approach. Building brands and delivering content that is targeted, relevant, and results-driven in a B2B global environment can take on a complex, layered approach. Being in-tune with global restrictions in media delivery, cultural adaptation, and communication preferences can be a challenging particularly because customers and conditions differ across countries. As much as we want to be centralized we have to integrate a localized marketing, communication and engagement plan into our global marketing strategy. What does that mean? It means working with our clients to develop and streamline a planning matrix where we evaluate across department, product segmentation, geographic segmentation, and marketing mix. We ensure we have champions at each location that can help us execute on global goal. This will help ensure brand cohesiveness with a results-driven strategy. It requires a dedicated and experienced team to work as an extension to the company—it’s a partnership that we value and an industry we are passionate about!
We hope this provides key insights into the marketing in manufacturing. Give it a go! And, let us know your thoughts, we are always here if you need help or have questions!