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Four members of the WebStrategies Team traveled to Chicago for Pack Expo 2022 and it did not disappoint. Howard, Kristin, Sean, and Preston were blown away by the turnout as there were over 44,000 attendees and 2,222 exhibitors in 19 product categories.

We regularly update this article with the latest information pertaining to marketing budgets for manufacturers. Last update: November 2022 Based on industry-provided research and our own experience, we’ve identified a realistic marketing budget calculation for manufacturing companies who are ready to more fully leverage the internet to generate business.

Marketing personalization has evolved far beyond using someone’s name in an email promotion. When credit unions have access to member information and the ability to retrieve data from a CRM, customized campaigns can target an individual’s current situation and reach that person at the time the need is real. A survey by Epsilon reports that 80% of consumers are more likely to engage with a company that personalizes experiences. Achieve higher rates of return by reaching the target audience when they are more likely to engage with an offer. 

Listening to potential customers and tracking their inquiries is beneficial to manufacturing marketing for many reasons. A primary benefit of documenting questions (by phone, form submission, email, and chatbot) is to gain ideas for future content but it also shows how the content that marketers created attracts new prospects or reveals opportunities to enhance (or pivot) the approach.

B2B manufacturer marketing is not flashy because unlike B2C it is not about new trends and selling an irresistible product to people with disposable income. In B2B, there has to be a justifiable business need for someone to seek out products or services and since the investment is usually large, the buyer has no room for purchasing errors. That means the buyer needs a lot of clear, organized information that instills confidence that the product or service will work well in their process, integrate with the existing system, and solve their problem.

The US regained a sense of normalcy in 2022, until inflation became the primary concern - causing interest rates to rise and the volume of loans to decline for the financial sector. In the ever-changing economy, it was more important than ever for WebStrategies to conduct the newest edition of our annual survey pinpointing how credit union marketing dollars are being spent and what digital tactics reflect the strongest return on investment. Our survey found marketers are still growing digital marketing efforts into 2023 but as in-person events are returning, marketing dollars are also increasing to offline channels such as events and sponsorships.

Producing content about your products and services is the most effective way to leverage organic search through an inbound marketing strategy (also known as content marketing). People such as engineers and plant managers searching for manufacturing equipment, typically experience a buyer’s journey that includes three phases: awareness, consideration, and decision. To leverage the power of inbound marketing for manufacturing equipment, content should be created or optimized for each of these stages in order to attract, engage and delight customers. 

When B2B manufacturing marketers promote a new product, reaching the target audience takes an organized plan of attack and someone dedicated to managing the project. The frequency of product releases is different for every manufacturer so whether it is something that happens every few weeks, every few months, or every few years, keeping a documented playbook handy makes the process smoother for everyone involved. It also ensures no channel is overlooked and over time marketers hone the digital strategy that yields the best results.

We regularly update this article with the latest information pertaining to Digital Marketing Budgets for Credit Unions. Last update: September 2022 

The theme of HubSpot's annual conference, INBOUND 2022, was "Connections". This was accurately named after the return of the first in-person INBOUND conference since 2019. After two years of an entirely virtual conference, HubSpot’s 2022 INBOUND conference offered an unmatched in-person experience in addition to a digital option for those who couldn’t make it to the land of HubSpot in Boston, Massachusetts.