Before you start writing blogs, before you even start an inbound marketing campaign, you need to know who your audience is and how to talk to them. If you’re not truly speaking to them, you may as well be talking with a mouthful of crackers.

McHone Industries started out as a single-facility small-town manufacturing operation in Salamanca, NY. They struggled to fill their one facility with work. Now, they’re seeing business growth beyond their wildest dreams.

The purpose of search engine optimization (SEO) is to attract web traffic from users who bring with them an inherent interest in your brand, product, or service. However, your brand’s reach, image, and authority can also be improved by SEO efforts when done right. Understanding modern SEO is as impactful as ever on your B2B brand awareness.

You can’t just blindly do social media marketing because some guy at a business seminar told you to. Whether you’re running a Facebook business page, looking for leads on LinkedIn, or (hopefully) using multiple social platforms to spread brand awareness, you need to track what’s working -- and what’s not.

Over 79 percent of marketing teams say they were able to increase web traffic with as little as 6 hours per week of social media marketing, according to Social Media Examiner. Yet there are holdouts in manufacturing who either ignore social media altogether or don’t do it effectively. Using social platforms -- correctly -- is more important than ever to your B2B social media strategy.

Manufacturers, in general, have been slow to learn and adopt digital best practices like content marketing to stand out in the 21st century. Not being absolutely sure about website traffic isn’t an option in the breakneck speed and high stakes of the digital world.

One of the top concerns among our clients is a lack of brand awareness. They have so many great things to offer, but no one seems to know they exist. Sound familiar?

Oh, I get it, believe me.

You envisioned sitting down to write a blog post for your business and expertly crafting the words like Charles Dickens toiling under candlelight. You planned on relaxing afterward with a glass of bourbon.

Not everything that blows is bad. The wind blows on a hot day and cools the sweat on your forehead. We blow out birthday candles to celebrate another year of life. But your marketing strategy... If that blows, it means trouble for your business. 

The good news is an unsuccessful marketing strategy means you have a ton of opportunity for quick wins and major improvements. Among all the clients I work with, the ones who show the fastest and most impressive growth are those who were struggling the most when they partnered with us. (See: McHone Industries saw a 1500% increase in leads over 6 months).

Do you feel like you're not getting the results you want from your marketing? Here are a bunch of B2B marketing statistics that can point you in the right direction. (My personal favorite is #18!)

Apple (IBM) was recently named the world’s second most valuable B2B brand. And the start of Apple’s branding began in a 1984 Superbowl advertisement.