What’s Different About Industrial Marketing Communications

A prospective Client asked me the question recently, Whats the difference between industrial marketing communications and regular BtoB marketing communications? The question took me by surprise, since I promote my business as an industrial marketing communications agency, and I thought any prospective Client of mine would understand what that meant. It led me to put my thoughts down on the subject: if one person didnt understand the difference there were bound to be others.
Key to the discussion is the definition of industrial marketing communications as opposed to BtoB marketing communications. Ive read some articles recently that use the term industrial media to describe more traditional marketing communications methods (printed materials, print advertising) as opposed to broadcast and digital media. I think this confuses some people who are already unsure of how industrial marketing differs from traditional BtoB marketing.
I define industrial marketing communications as:
Marketing communications tactics and tools created to promote an industrial service or manufactured product sold to industry.
The key is sold to industry. This is where industrial marketing and BtoB part ways. It is possible to offer what is considered an industrial service or to manufacture a product that are NOT sold to an industrial company. The word industrial indicates the production of an end product or a service that are not sold to businesses dealing with the mass consumer market. For instance, an industrial company is a refinery; a manufacturer of engineered plastic components; an engineering firm that specializes in building petrochemical plants; a valve repair company.
Heres an example of a service that could be provided to an industrial AND BtoB company:
Industrial Marketing Communications:
Maintenance company specializing in and targeting refineries, chemical and petrochem plants
Vs.
BtoB Marketing Communications:
Maintenance company specializing in and targeting large office buildings and retail establishments
In the first example, the decision maker for the service is probably going to be the plants maintenance manager, maintenance engineer, or if its a smaller plant, a GM. In the second example, the decision maker will be a leasing company procurement manager, a commercial real estate broker, the owner of the property, or possibly a building manager. Not only will their maintenance needs be uniquely different, the communications style and messaging for the two maintenance services will need to be different as well.
Typically, in industrial marketing communications, we are marketing a product to an audience that is mechanically or engineering minded. They are usually mid level operations management, as opposed to executive management. They are usually a much smaller and more easily defined target audience.
Here are some other distinctions between industrial marketing communications and standard BtoB:
1)Engineers often have a low opinion of advertising and advertising people. I have found that they will quickly dismiss an ad that uses an artsy or gimmicky concept. Since engineers are basically scientists, they do not like to view themselves as being influenced by slick graphics or ad copy (Artsy and gimmicky can work in many BtoB advertising campaigns.)
2)Someone with a more technical view of their job will generally make a decision to buy a product or service based more on logic than emotion. I realize that Advertising 101 stresses that an ad needs to trigger emotion, and this is effectively true in standard BtoB marketing. Ive found that most engineering and operations personnel will weigh FACTS and make comparisons based on the product or service that best meets his needs.
3)Industrial audiences want to know features, not just benefits. They want to know things like physical properties, performance characteristics, technical specifications, and efficiency ratings so they can make an intelligent decision. Typical BtoB ads do not stress this type of information; in fact, they most typically stress features and benefits.
4)Engineers and other technical types dont go glassy eyed when they read lots of industry jargon in fact, they like it. If you use jargon when you speak to an engineer, youre showing him that you speak his language. Dont just consider text as industry language. Engineers also have a visual language. Depending on their specialty, they use charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, drawings, and mathematical symbols and equations on a daily basis. When you use these visual devices it says to the engineer that hes seeing solid information not just marketing fluff.
It would be wrong to say that the same marketing principles don’t apply. They actually do; but they’re applied differently. Working with an industrial marketing agency that understands how to market to a more technical audience engaged in the production of actual products that make the world run can be a huge factor in getting it right straight out of the gate, or floundering while an agency tries to grasp the difference. If youre looking for industrial marketing assistance and interviewing agencies, ask them their definition of industrial marketing communications. If they cant give you some insight similar to whats in this article do yourself a favor and move on to the next candidate!

Career Opportunities And Challenges In The Agriculture Biotechnology Industry

Because of our ever-increasing population that is predicted to reach eight billion by 2020, the need for food will remain a top priority, transcending all socio and geo-political boundaries. The increased demand for food will call on agriculture, specifically, to act as the biggest source of industry. And with the increased demand for foodstuff, better-quality yield and huge agricultural output will be required. (Though there has been vast improvement in the sector thanks to the improved quality of seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers.)
This is where the agriculture biotechnologist steps in. Agricultural biotechnologists are professionals who provide a set of tools, which, if incorporated suitably with other technologies, can be used for the sustainable development of agriculture and the food industry as a whole.

Scope of the Agri-Biotech Industry

With increased R&D efforts in the agri-biotech industry, the scope of agriculture-based biotech work has become tremendous. Agriculture biotechnologists’ roles are multifarious. From being people with strong scientific expertise to being good administrators and good marketers with sharp business acumens and strong communication skills, the career options for an agri-biotechnologist are vast. Choosing the right avenue is the main priority.

Nature of the Job

Today, with modern technologies like micro propagation which allows for the multiplication of virus-free plants and tissue cultures, agriculturists have successfully combated natural hindrances to productivity such soil imbalances, crop diseases, and genetic breeding. Therefore, the agriculture-based biotech industry needs people who are qualified in the fields of molecular biology, plant transformation and tissue cultures, biochemistry, plant genetics, pathology, entomology, and agronomy for trait evaluation and integration.

Career Options for Agri-Biotechnologists

The field of agriculture-based biotechnology is evolving each day, offering numerous career options. Besides employing people for research and development, the industry also caters to various other agri-biotech-related fields including horticulture, floriculture, dairying, poultry farming, and fishery. Agri-based biotechnologists can also sharpen their academic skills by working with food processing or post-harvest technology, better known as genetically modified (GM) technology.

Career Challenges in the Agri-Biotech Industry

With growing consciousness of the ills of chemically treated foodstuff, changes in approaches to farming are taking place all over the globe. The stage has been set for the advent of bio-chemicals and bio-insecticides, biofertilizers, and biofuels. Agriculture-biotechnology careers are never short of challenges, both natural and man-made. For instance, in the next two-and-a-half decades alone, the world must produce the same amount of food or more than what it produced in the last 10,000 years.

For a biotechnologist, the challenge does not end with producing sufficient amounts of foodstuff. The challenge lies not only in meeting requirements within deadlines but, at the same time, causing minimal harm to the earth. Agriculture biotechnologists have to combat odds like the depletion of precious top-soil at the rate of seven percent in 10 years in order to fulfill the increasing water requirements which will have doubled by that time.

Other Career Options

Several other career openings are available for agri-business graduates. From the more general opportunities within the agricultural and land-based sectors such as equine management, animal science, and horticulture, to global buying and trading of agricultural produce, the opportunities are vast for agriculture biotechnologists.