Even “boring” industries need marketing

At Corporate Ink, we’ve heard it many times: “I love the work you guys do, but the stuff my company does just isn’t that interesting. I’m not sure I need marketing services.” “Do we really need a blog? This business is pretty dry.”

More often than not, industries that others might consider “dull” excite our team, because they present a tremendous creative challenge for marketing and PR professionals. Regardless of the industry, there are three recommendations to make marketing work for you:

With limitation comes imagination: No matter what industry you’re in, standing out among the crowd is a challenge for most companies. Say you sell components for manufacturing equipment – you still have to convince your buyers that your solution is better than the next guy’s, and that takes creativity.

One way to get a competitive edge is to create content suitable for your reader that speaks in their language without too much jargon. Technical words and industry focused terms can present a challenge when creating reader-friendly content, but these obstacles can also push a marketer’s creative boundaries, and result in some valuable and highly read content.

Become a thought leader in your space: Readers want content they can relate to and can help answer their questions. They also want to be educated and up-to-date on the latest trends, so positioning a company or executive as a thought leader who can provide such information will ultimately drive value in terms of sales leads.

Sharing content relating to trending news will help a company appear current. For example, the previously mentioned equipment component seller could contribute an article on the latest OSHA regulations that affect their buyers. More than self-promoting articles, industry professionals read trade publications to stay informed. Sharing relevant and topical content can position a company as a credible source and an industry leader, and keep buyers coming back for more information time and again.

Keep your expectations in check: If you’re in an industry without a lot of sex appeal, don’t fret, but don’t expect to be front page news in the Wall Street Journal every month. Yes, there will be times when you can jump on the perfect news story, and you may get that shining placement. But absent of that, think about trade publications in your space, and highly targeting your emails and content to your hyper-niche audience. Sure, the Wall Street Journal might get you 40 million views, but how many of those readers care about your product? A highly focused trade placement, or a targeted blog post to your curated email list, might actually net you more qualified sales prospects than the higher profile pieces.

So fret not, those of you in “boring” industries. There’s plenty you can do to differentiate, and a whole audience of people interested in what you have to say – you just have to find them.

At Corporate Ink, we LOVE boring industries! Let us give you a free consultation.