Industry 01 · Industrial Manufacturing & Engineering
Growth for industrial manufacturing and engineering.
Technically leading yet little known in the market: this is one of the most common situations in German mechanical engineering. What is usually missing is a clear position that buyers and engineers understand quickly.
In short
In machinery and plant engineering, a buying committee from engineering, procurement and management decides on investments that often run for many years. We therefore work from the position outwards: clear differentiation, expert content for technical decision-makers, account-based marketing for the relevant target customers and a CRM that tracks enquiries through to the order. Typical buying process: 6 to 18 months.
- Mechanical engineering
- Plant engineering
- Production
- Manufacturing
- Component makers
- Technical suppliers
01 · Starting point
Why good engineering alone no longer sells.
Many companies in mechanical engineering are technically leading in their niche. Few can say in one sentence why a customer should buy from them.
For decades, orders came through personal relationships, trade fairs and a reputation that spread in a manageable market. Today, project engineers and buyers research for months before contacting the first supplier. Anyone who does not appear in that phase will not be on the shortlist later.
On top of that there is a generational change on the customer side. Long-standing contacts are retiring, and their successors research digitally and do not know the old relationships.
Typical situations
- 80 to 500 employees, little known beyond existing customers
- The portfolio can no longer be explained in one sentence
- Tenders go to suppliers with better presentation
- The website is a catalogue rather than a sales tool
- Recruiting and winning orders compete for the same budget
02 · Buying process
Who decides and what matters.
Buying processes in machinery and plant engineering often take 6 to 18 months. Proof and reference applications carry more weight than advertising messages.
Typical buying committee
- Engineering and design
- Checks specification, design and integration into existing plants.
- Production and operations
- Looks at availability, maintenance and everyday usability.
- Procurement
- Compares offers, terms and delivery capability.
- Management and plant management
- Decides on economics, risk and strategic benefit.
- Controlling
- Assesses total cost of ownership and payback.
03 · Focus areas
How we work in this market.
The Growth Architecture stays the same. The weighting and order of the disciplines depend on the market.
- Strategy & Positioning
Position before channel
Which application, which industry, which size? Without this decision, every ad remains interchangeable.
- Brand & Authority
Expert content instead of ad copy
Design guides, comparison tables and case studies based on interviews with your design engineers.
- Digital Experience
A website organised by application
Pages per use case and industry, findable in Google and AI assistants.
- Demand Generation
ABM and trade fairs
Account-based marketing for the relevant target customers, campaigns around trade fairs and LinkedIn for the whole buying committee.
- Revenue Operations
From enquiry to order
CRM, handover to sales and connection of order data from the ERP.
The full method is described on the approach page. Typical situations and the strategic response can be found in the playbook.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions from this market.
We only have a few hundred target customers. Is marketing worthwhile?
Trade fairs are our most important channel. Does that change?
How do you handle knowledge we do not want to publish?
Can marketing help with the skills shortage?
Further reading
Relevant services and next steps.
Working together
Let's talk about where you stand.
In a 30-minute first conversation we identify where your growth is stuck and whether working together makes sense. You then get an honest view of a realistic scope.