Effective Lead Generation Techniques for Manufacturers

Manufacturing companies are always looking for new ways to generate leads. Read on and we’ll share some actionable lead generation tips.

Effective Lead Generation Techniques for Manufacturers

Regardless of the business they’re in, all manufacturing companies are always looking for new ways to generate leads for their business. Sales leads are the lifeblood of a healthy sales funnel, and you’ll need to continually add new leads to the funnel to keep business moving and achieve your revenue goals.

The manufacturing industry isn’t without its fair share of challenges and caveats. Although lead generation in this sector may be more difficult, there are plenty of smart ways for businesses like yours to optimize your manufacturing lead generation efforts and begin filling your pipeline with qualified leads.

With optimized lead generation, manufacturing quality prospects for your sales team is easier than ever before. Read on, and we’ll share some actionable tips to help you optimize your marketing strategy by generating more inbound leads that ever before.

The Anatomy of Lead Generation

Before we get into the tips that will help you optimize your lead generation efforts, let’s take a look at the different aspects that you need to align to drive new leads to your business effectively.

The Offer

At the heart of every lead is a transaction. A business offers something of value, and in return, the prospect provides valuable contact information. You won’t generate many leads if you aren’t providing something of value to your prospective customer.

This offer usually comes in the form of useful and valuable content, like an ebook, consultation, discount code, or whitepaper. The more compelling your offers are, the more fruitful your lead generation efforts will be.

Call-to-Action

The call to action (CTA) is perhaps the most critical aspect of successful lead generation. CTAs usually come in the form of a clickable button that either submits information, directs users to a landing page, or provides them with a download of an ebook or white paper.

Your CTA needs to be as compelling as possible. You need to give your prospects a reason to click it and reduce any friction between the potential customer and the click. CTAs should be bold, high-contrast, and easy for customers to identify.

Landing Page

Landing pages are pages built into your site that functions like micro-websites. A landing page allows marketers to provide a laser-focused experience that speaks directly to the user’s intent when they clicked on your call to action or an advertisement. You should create unique landing pages for all of your lead generation efforts.

Best Practices for Lead Generation for Manufacturing Companies

Regardless of your vertical, there are several practices you’ll want to adhere to to make the most of your lead generation manufacturing efforts.

Use Infographics to Establish Thought Leadership

Infographics are an easy way to provide prospects with valuable information while also encouraging prospective customers to contact you for their needs. Most importantly, infographics position your business as a thought leader, and subconsciously, your prospects are going to associate you with being an authority in your industry.

The key to an excellent infographic is a superior design. If your company doesn’t have an in-house graphics team, you can easily find a freelance designer to put together a beautiful looking infographic for you without breaking the bank.

Your infographics are evergreen content that can be used and repurposed in different ways to serve your strategic marketing and lead generation needs.

Optimize Your Profile on Directories and Referral Sites

In the manufacturing industry, it isn’t easy to establish the type of name recognition common with major consumer brands. This challenge translates to a great opportunity to generate leads.

When customers are unsure where to find a business to fulfill their needs, they turn to directories and referral sites. By making sure your profiles on these sites are optimized with all the essential information a prospect would need to know, you’ll be in the best possible position to generate new leads.

Invest in SEO

SEO is vital for any business with an online presence, and manufacturers are no different. With the right marketing strategy in place and a thorough understanding of SEO for manufacturers, you can generate a great deal of leads.

Design a Website that Facilitates Conversions

At its core, your website should be a powerful lead generation engine that delivers a reliable stream of qualified leads. Many businesses lose sight of this, and design websites that are clunky and difficult to navigate, which creates friction between you and prospects as they try to learn more about your business.

If your site isn’t encouraging its visitors to take action, don’t expect visitors to act. Your website should have clear calls to action that capture information and

This is the simplest, most reliable way to get leads online, yet many manufacturers don’t take full advantage of it. They never encourage visitors to take actions that will immediately move them into the sales funnel, and instead sit back and wait for one to pick up the phone and call.

This is a big mistake. If you don’t encourage visitors to take action, they won’t—it’s as simple as that. But if you do, you can turn your site into a valuable source for new leads.

Your site should feature clear calls to action and lead capture forms that make it easy and painless for potential leads to interact with your business.

Maximize Your Marketing Efforts with PPC Advertising

PPC or pay-per-click advertising is a cost-effective way to supercharge your lead generation efforts.

You can use PPC advertising to serve various initiatives, from online lead generation to sales to hiring. Advertising platforms provide robust segmentation tools for engaging your target audience and access to valuable demographic information to help you target your ads to the exact audience you’re trying to reach. Since you only pay for people who click in your ads, you won’t have to worry about wasteful ad spending, either.

Google AdWords is the industry leader when it comes to digital marketing,, and they make it easy to create ads that are laser-focused on the audience you’re trying to reach. Since they’re the industry leader, they tend to be a bit pricier compared to the competition.

If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck, supplement your Google marketing campaigns on other search engines, such as Bing, or social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Provide Case Studies

No one can make a case for your product or service as well as satisfied customers. Identify your customers that are thriving with the help of your business, and tell the story of your partnership together that highlights the problems you’re helping them solve. For a manufacturing business, these testimonials offer proof of concept, and they provide ideal content marketing material for your sales reps.

Final Word

Lead generation is one of the most critical facets of a healthy sales pipeline. While the manufacturing industry isn’t without its fair share of lead generation challenges, there are still plenty of ways to drive new qualified leads for you to follow up with.

Start with the tips and best practices above, and you should be well on your way to creating a lead generation strategy that delivers reliable results for your business.