How Manufacturers Can Create Content That Connects With Their Customers

Let’s face it: If you can’t connect with your customers, they likely won’t choose your services or products.

And as a manufacturer, it can be even more challenging to convert technical, doldrum information into content that resounds with your audience—and ultimately results in valuable leads.

So how can you maximize your web content to reap positive business results? We dive into several helpful tips below.

1. Curate a list of customer questions—and answer them

Your customers and prospects are coming to your website with one goal in mind: to solve their greatest pain points.

So why not help them?

According to Marcus Sheridan in his book, They Ask You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer, it’s key to create a content strategy based on what your customers are thinking. As you begin brainstorming, sit down with your team and create a list of the most common questions you receive from your customers and prospects. Use that list to create content tied to answering those specific questions.

🔥Pro tip: Create a living document (we recommend a Google doc) to record customer questions in real-time. Give your entire team access to the document so they can add to it as they receive inquiries.

2. Compare and contrast products and services

Sheridan also points out in his book that not every person that enters your website is necessarily the best fit for your product. Use your website to filter out those customers and identify your ideal ones by creating comparison content for your products or services.

For example, if you manufacture hot air tools in the roof welding industry, you may create a list of the top tools a contractor may need across a series of applications, such as roof welding or floor welding. If a customer requires a floor welder, your company may not be the best fit. However, if a customer needs a roof welder, you’ve provided them with a reason to contact you.

In another example, Hynes Industries published a blog post comparing two types of metal fabrication processes. While Hynes only offers one of the two processes, the post (still one of its most popular today) both educates readers and establishes it as a thought leader in the metal fabrication space.

Source: Hynes Industries

🔥Pro tip: Always add hyperlinks to your products within your blog posts so readers can view them directly and immediately. 

3. Explain technical content

As a manufacturer, you likely have a plethora of technical pamphlets, documentation, and manuals that illustrate your products and services in depth.

While it’s important to use that content, also be sure to explain it. Simply copying and pasting the content may come off as robotic, but presenting it in layperson’s terms and addressing audience concerns ahead of time can add a layer of credibility.

For high-value technical content, publish a blog post centered around that topic and add a call to action linking to that specific resource. That way, you’ll know which prospects are truly invested in that product and are more likely to become customers. 

🔥Pro tip: Gating high-value content on a landing page can also help you filter out your top prospects—and gather information about them. 

4. Share human, expert advice

Your marketing team may be driving your content strategy, but is your entire team contributing? Creating Q&A or video content featuring company employees, from assembly line workers to CEOs, can help further establish your credibility and humanize your business.

Don’t silo these content opportunities, either. Use these interviews to share not only product or service expertise, but company values and community outreach efforts, as well.

🔥Pro tip: Repurpose quotes and information from these interviews for simple and effective social media quote cards.

5. Measure your success

You’re pumping out content, but are you seeing a return on investment? Use tools like HubSpot and Google Analytics to track metrics from website traffic to form submissions and everything in between. This data can help you determine which content resonates best with your audience, as well as the type of content you need to invest further in.

🔥Pro tip: With the sunsetting of Google’s Universal Analytics, learn the ropes of Google Analytics 4 and easily track the metrics you need to help shape your content strategy.

Create marketing content that drives revenue

Competition for customers in the manufacturing and industrial sector is fierce, which is why you need content that stands out. Download our new guide for 15 key ways to attract, nurture, and win new customers with your marketing strategy.