Does digital marketing work for manufacturing companies?
Yes. Industrial buyers research suppliers online long before they call, comparing capabilities, certifications and product specifications. Digital marketing puts your company in…
What should a manufacturer ask before hiring a digital marketing agency?
Quick answer
Ask whether the agency has B2B or industrial experience, how they would generate qualified RFQs rather than generic leads, who will write technical content, how they target decision makers on LinkedIn and Google, whether you keep ownership of accounts, and how they report pipeline value. Consumer-style social media agencies often struggle in manufacturing.
B2B and industrial experience
- Have you marketed manufacturers, engineering firms or industrial suppliers?
- What results did they see in RFQs, quoted value and orders?
- How do you handle long sales cycles?
Technical content
- Who will write product, capability and application pages?
- How will you learn our products, processes and standards?
- Will our engineers need to review content, and how much time will that take?
Channels and targeting
- How would you use Google Search, SEO and LinkedIn for our products?
- How will you target purchase heads, plant managers and engineers?
- Can you help with export markets and dealer recruitment?
Ownership and fees
- Will ad accounts, analytics and the website stay in our name?
- Is there any markup on ad spend?
- What exactly is included each month?
Lead quality and reporting
- How do you filter out job seekers, students and irrelevant enquiries?
- Will reports show qualified RFQs and pipeline value?
- Can you connect enquiries to our CRM or ERP?
Good signs
A strong agency asks about your best-margin products, capacity, target industries and existing customers before proposing a plan. It talks about RFQs and pipeline, not followers.
| Area | Key question |
|---|---|
| Experience | Industrial clients and RFQ results? |
| Content | Who writes technical pages? |
| Targeting | How do you reach purchase heads? |
| Ownership | Accounts in our name? |
| Reporting | Qualified RFQs and pipeline value? |
Key takeaways
- Prioritise agencies with B2B and industrial experience.
- Ask how technical content will be written and reviewed.
- Measure RFQs and pipeline, not followers.
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