Why marketing has become so important for oil and gas manufacturers?

Usually, there are a lot of challenges before the oil and gas manufacturers when it comes to introducing their product in the market. More so enhancing its reach in the longer run. Now, that the oil and gas companies have started focusing on their online presence in the wake of digitalization, manufacturing will be one of the most benefited sectors of the industry.

There are hundreds and thousands of products manufactured in the oil and gas industry by almost an equal or maybe more number of companies. But how many names of the oil and gas manufacturers could you recall when I ask for Drill Bit Manufacturers? 5? 10? Or maybe 25?

The list of drill bits manufacturers is obviously long and we remember only the ones we buy from or the ones acing the marketing game!

This is an EMERGENCY ALERT situation for all the OEMs of the industry!

The significant increase in the number of buyer intent keywords for the oil and gas community has been observed on Google. This is because now people find it more convenient to purchase online rather than purchasing in a conventional manner. This is good news for oil and gas manufacturers as now marketing will become very easy for them.

Why is marketing a challenge for oil and gas manufacturers?

Oil and gas manufacturers may not have been an ardent follower of numerous marketing strategies but haven’t been an alien to it too. The due conflicts set aside, the importance and dependency of both the parties on each other cannot be denied. Let us talk about the causes of this conflict.

A little understanding of the importance of marketing

Capacity planning, production scheduling and quality monitoring are a few of the many aspects encompassed by the term ‘manufacturing’. It takes a lot of planning and arrangements to lead even one successful range of product. Constantly keeping an eye on the sales forecast and planning each day of every week according to the demand involves a lot of strategies, intelligence and foresightedness. Recognizing the need for marketing has helped the oil and gas manufacturers understand that it is way beyond shiny ads and quirky one-liners. It helps in enhancing the reach of the brand and get the product its due recognition.

Generating leads, driving traffic and managing the demand of the product are a few of the many verticals marketing takes care of. Investing in this segment will help the manufacturers overcome a lot of business challenges.

2. Cultural Difference

Culture is one of the major reasons which even we as observers might not have been able to recognize. Manufacturing and marketing are two very different elements of the industry. The higher authorities of both the teams draw experience for very different cultures and situations they have been working in. The decision making for them involves very different aspects of consideration.

As an oil and gas manufacturer your focus will be on very different business problems as compared to a marketer. You might never get into the budget planning of any campaign, or don’t bother setting a target audience before starting any ad. But these are some of the very important aspects of marketing that result in qualified leads for your business. Digital Marketing involves a lot of such techniques which aren’t much known by the oil and gas manufacturers, yet helps them add warm leads into the sales funnel.

The managers of marketing and manufacturing would be having a very different educational path. The manager of marketing might have done bachelors in one of the engineering streams and later masters in business. Or would have started the career as a salesperson after bachelors. On the contrary, the manager of manufacturing might have done bachelors in mechanical engineering and later masters in Industrial engineering. Or would have started his career in some manufacturing unit and is now leading a team.

What can be the most suited solution?

All the efforts of every team of any company are directed towards just one simple goal, ‘Selling’. This one thing has never changed. And now, when the industry is facing one of the toughest times, every company needs a united effort from all its teams to stay afloat at the moment. So working together is the only solution best suited at this time.

How often do any oil and gas manufacturers introduce a new range of products? Rarely!

So, it all comes down to increasing the reach of the existing product lines. And this cannot be done by just relying on conventional methods. Manufacturers have to constantly be on a hunt for wholesalers, retailers and dealers to maintain a constantly moving inventory. This is not possible without proper marketing.

Since COVID-19 has got all the conferences and exhibitions postponed or cancelled, this marketing technique also becomes ineffective. This is when companies will need digital marketing strategies to reach out to a larger audience.

Here are the reasons why I am suggesting this solution:

Combined efforts will help in increasing the reach of the product

With the help of various digital marketing techniques, any manufacturer’s products can be introduced to a lot of prospects at the same time at a nominal cost. Email marketing, lead generation strategies, Ad words, just a few to name some, are the powerful ways that will help in making people aware of your products.

2. It will help in creating a strong online presence

A pattern to buy online has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years. A lot of companies have started purchasing by contacting the manufacturer/supplier online. And it would be wrong not to admit the power of the internet amidst everything else.

All this starts with a strong corporate website. I wouldn’t like to intimidate you with the jargons of digital marketing, but SEO and backlinks are some of the techniques which would help your website rank when someone searches for your products. The marketing arm of your company will always be on its toes to optimize the website according to the products and related keywords.

3. Easy for your potential customers to get in touch

Various marketing campaigns will make it easy for the wholesalers, retailers and dealers to know about your product. Not just that, it will even make it convenient for them to contact you. And I don’t think any company would like to lose on such opportunities.

Through surveys, various content marketing techniques, email marketing, ads and many other ways, digital marketing brings your prospects closer to you and puts them deeper in your sales funnel. Also, simply giving your contact number at the top of your website, it will be fairly easy for your potential customers to contact you.

Providing your prospects with a path of least resistance will be the major goal of all the marketing strategies.

Need help with your marketing strategies?

Currently, some of your clients would be asking to give a discount on the products, some would have kept the projects on hold and others might not be picking up your call. It has become a little frustrating for all of us but what is the way out? A good marketing strategy?

Maybe!

If you are looking at enhancing your brand reach and creating awareness around your product, we might be able to help you. Energy Dais has over 150+ oil and gas manufacturers as its clients. And during the course of association, the platform has generated over 1500 leads for them. Any strategy we plan on, the focus will always be to strengthen your manufacturing business.