How Often Should Manufacturers Review Their Marketing Strategy?
25 - 06 - 2021

The first step to making sure that you meet your sales targets is to put an effective marketing strategy in place.

Get In Touch With Carl

However, you can't just sit back and watch the money roll in once you're done. Successful businesses review their marketing strategies regularly to ensure that they're using the latest marketing techniques and taking account of industry developments. So, how often should you review your marketing strategy?

When To Reassess Your Marketing Strategy And Why You Need To Do It Regularly

You might think your current marketing strategy is working beautifully, especially if you’re getting all the enquiries and sales that you currently need. All it takes, however, is for one of your competitors to launch an innovative product or for a new piece of machinery to be developed, and everything could change. If your marketing activities and materials don't show potential customers that you can meet their changing needs, they'll go elsewhere – and your existing customers may well do the same.

Therefore, when manufacturing companies ask me how often they should review their marketing strategies, I tell them that, in general, the answer is at least every two years. However, if they're working in a fast-moving sector, or one where technological development can suddenly turn the entire industry on its head, I advise them to do so far more frequently. If you haven't reassessed your marketing strategy for a while, make it a priority this year, especially as the pandemic has changed the investment priorities for many businesses – and marketing messages need to reflect this.

Reviewing Your Marketing Strategy – How To Get The Focus Right

Of course, your review will only yield optimal results if you approach it in the right way. That means considering your marketing efforts strategically, rather than tactically. Many manufacturing businesses prioritise the operational minutiae of marketing, such as whether their brochures need tweaking or how many social media followers they want to attract – and that's an expensive mistake to make. If you only focus on internal issues, you could miss new business opportunities. You could even find that the manufacturing world has changed, and you've been left behind.

Consider what's happening outside of your business. Examine the current trends and think about what the future could bring. What might your clients be searching for (on Google) in the months and years to come? Are there any opportunities that you could take advantage of? How would your business need to adapt to make the most of these? Use your answers to shape your business and marketing strategies, and then identify the perfect tactical approach to take.

Download My Free Guide

I call this concept looking down the "telescope" rather than the "microscope", and I discuss the subject in my free e-book, "The 7 Classic Marketing Mistakes Made by Manufacturers & How To Avoid Them!". To learn more about this approach, please download a free copy of my e-book today.

Get In Touch With Carl

7 Classic Marketing Mistakes Made By Manufacturers & How To Avoid Them - FREE  Guide

Image source: Unsplash