THE MARKETING CONTRARIAN:

A Blog for Marketing Rebels


How To Choose A Marketing Strategy

with the Industrial Service Marketer's Impact/Effort Matrix: A Blueprint for Strategic Time and Resource Investment

A diagram showing the services marketing impact / effort matrix

Are you an industrial services marketer tired of pouring countless hours into marketing tactics that yield lackluster results? Services marketing for industrial sectors, like plant services, engineering, and manufacturing, requires a unique approach. Cut through the noise with the impact/effort matrix – a powerful tool to prioritize your marketing activities, allocate resources effectively, and achieve a higher return on your investment. In this guide, we'll tailor the matrix to the specific needs of industrial services marketing, providing actionable insights and strategies for each quadrant.


Quadrant 1: Low Impact, High Effort (The Inbound Grind)

Many might disagree with inbound marketing having a lower impact. It is important to note that low impact does not mean no impact. The inbound grid is positioned as lower impact because these activities do not typically lead to immediate conversions compared to other quadrants. You're playing the long game with inbound marketing, focusing on building trust and credibility over time.


Inbound marketing activities like PPC Ads, podcasts, social media, emailing, and SEO optimization are essential for building brand awareness and establishing thought leadership in the industrial services sector. However, these activities primarily use one-way communication and don't provide immediate interaction. You're putting content out there, but it takes time for your audience to discover it, engage with it, and ultimately become a customer.


Even with consistent effort in content creation and SEO optimization, it takes a good amount of time to build a loyal following and see tangible results. Similarly, email marketing, while powerful for nurturing leads, requires patience. Building an effective email list, crafting engaging content, and optimizing for deliverability are all time-consuming tasks that require a good amount of effort before you see significant returns.

To maximize the impact of your inbound efforts for industrial services marketing:

  • Repurpose content across multiple channels to reach a wider audience of potential clients.
  • Focus on quality over quantity – produce fewer, but more in-depth and valuable pieces that showcase your expertise in industrial services.
  • Invest in SEO tools and training to optimize your content for search engines and attract qualified leads in the industrial services sector.
  • Track long-term metrics like domain authority and organic traffic to measure your progress and refine your industrial services marketing strategy.
  • Consider outsourcing your inbound marketing like content creation and SEO to experienced professionals to free up your team's time for core services marketing activities.
A man is holding a magnet over a group of toy people demonstrating a metaphor for inbound marketing.

Resource Allocation: Set aside budget for content creation tools, SEO software, PPC Ads, and potentially freelance writers or agencies specializing in engineering or industrial services marketing to support your inbound strategy.

Quadrant 2: Low Impact, Low Effort (The Partnership Gamble)

Affiliate marketing, partnerships, and sponsorships can be a tempting way to expand your reach with minimal effort. However, the results can be unpredictable, and it's important to choose your collaborations carefully.

Sponsorships:

Sponsorships are a valuable tool in this quadrant, offering a balance of effort and potential impact for industrial services marketing. Smaller, local sponsorships can be a good starting point, providing brand exposure and networking opportunities without a significant investment.

Partnerships and Affiliate Marketing:

These collaborations can be hit-or-miss, requiring careful vetting and clear goal setting. Prioritize partners with strong audience alignment in the industrial services sector and experiment with different affiliate programs to find what works best for your business.

To mitigate the risks associated with sponsorships, partnerships, and affiliate marketing in industrial services:

• Thoroughly vet potential collaborators to ensure their values and target audience align with your industrial services offerings.

• Define clear goals and metrics for each collaboration to measure success in the industrial services market.

• Prioritize partners who have a strong overlap with your ideal customer profile for industrial services.

• For sponsorships, develop a comprehensive activation strategy to maximize visibility and engagement within the industrial sector.

• Experiment with different affiliate programs to find the ones that work best for your industrial services business.

Two people fist bumping in an industrial setting representing a metaphor for sponsorships, partnerships, and affiliate marketing.

Resource Allocation: Allocate budget for affiliate commissions, partnership fees, sponsored content campaigns, and sponsorship activation costs related to industrial services marketing.

Quadrant 3: High Impact, Low Effort (The Referral Engine)

Referrals from satisfied clients, employees, and even friends can be a goldmine for high-quality leads in the industrial services sector. These referrals often convert at a higher rate than leads from other sources, as they come with a built-in level of trust.


Additionally, these high-impact, relatively low-effort strategies can boost your referral engine:

  • Press Releases: A well-crafted press release can generate positive media coverage and significantly enhance your brand's reputation and credibility. This can indirectly lead to referrals as potential clients become aware of your company and its successes. When a reputable industry publication or media outlet publishes your press release, the implication is they are referring you to their audience, lending their own authority and trust to your brand.
  • Influencer mentions: Nurturing relationships with influencers in your industry can lead to organic recommendations and endorsements. If your company or services are mentioned positively by an industry influencer on social media or other platforms, it can drive awareness and generate leads with minimal effort on your part. The resulting referrals can be highly valuable due to the influencer's trust and authority with their audience.


To fuel your referral engine in industrial services marketing:

  • Implement formal referral programs with clear incentives for both clients, employees, and friends.
  • Actively seek testimonials and case studies from happy clients to showcase your success stories in industrial services.
  • Train your employees to identify potential referral opportunities and equip them with the tools to make introductions.
  • Go above and beyond to deliver exceptional client service, fostering loyalty and encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations within the industrial sector.
  • Nurture relationships with friends and colleagues: Stay connected with your network, as they may be aware of potential clients or opportunities in the industrial services market.

Resource Allocation: While this quadrant is relatively low effort, allocate budget for referral incentives, client appreciation initiatives, and sales training to support your referral program in the industrial services sector.

Quadrant 4: High Impact, High Effort (The N.E.W.S. Powerhouse)

Networking opportunities, Events (hosting and attending), Webinars, and Speaking engagements (NEWS) are a powerhouse for generating leads and building relationships in the industrial services sector. These activities facilitate direct engagement with your target audience, often face-to-face, fostering trust and accelerating the sales cycle. However, they do require substantial planning, execution, pre and post work, and sometimes travel.

A group of smiling people at a networking event holding drinks and talking to each other.

Expanding your network is crucial in this quadrant, and it's not limited to in-person professional interactions. Embrace networking with:


  • Online networking platforms: LinkedIn groups, industry forums, and social media communities focused on manufacturing, engineering, or industrial services offer a wealth of connections.
  • Virtual events and webinars: Participate in or host online events to reach a global audience of potential industrial services clients without the need for travel.
  • Local interest groups: Bond with potential clients over shared hobbies or professional development in groups like mountain biking clubs, Toastmasters, or industry-specific meetups.

To maximize the ROI of your NEWS activities in industrial services marketing:

  • Focus on high-quality events and conferences that attract your target audience in the industrial sector.
  • Develop a comprehensive pre and post event marketing strategy to drive attendance and nurture leads for your industrial services.
  • Leverage technology for virtual events and webinars, expanding your reach and reducing costs.
  • Craft a targeted speaking strategy that positions you as a thought leader in the industrial services industry.
  • For in-person events, prioritize networking opportunities and meaningful conversations with potential clients.
A man is giving a business card to another person at a party.

Resource Allocation: This quadrant typically demands the largest investment. Budget for event fees, travel (when applicable), booth design, marketing collateral, and staff to manage events related to industrial services marketing.

The Power of Integration:

I have a passion for integration, particularly the fusion of elements that, at first glance, may seem incompatible such as the incredibly stylish guitars from Immortal Guitars. The most effective industrial services marketing strategies frequently capitalize on the strengths of various quadrants.

Don't view these quadrants as isolated silos. Instead, look for opportunities to integrate them:

  • Repurpose webinar content (Quadrant 4) into blog posts and social media snippets (Quadrant 1).
  • Use events and networking (Quadrant 4) to build relationships that can lead to referrals (Quadrant 3).
  • Offer affiliate links (Quadrant 2) to products or services discussed in your content (Quadrant 1).

By integrating your marketing efforts, you can maximize your reach, amplify your message, and achieve a higher return on your investment in industrial services marketing.


A blue electric guitar with a lot of various parts on it symbolic of marketing integration.
A close up of a guitar headstock with a lots of parts on it symbolic of marketing integration.

Time and Resource Allocation and Balance:

The ideal scenario is to allocate roughly 25% of your time and resources to each quadrant. However, real-world constraints may require adjustments. The key is to be flexible and adaptable, focusing on the activities that align with your current goals and resources.

It's also crucial to align your budget allocation with your time investment in each quadrant. For instance, if you're heavily investing in events (Quadrant 4), ensure you have a solid grasp of the necessary budget needed to cover associated costs.


By tracking the performance of your marketing activities and experimenting with different approaches, you can fine-tune your strategy over time and achieve optimal results in industrial services marketing.

A bag of money and an hourglass are on a seesaw.

Conclusion:

The impact/effort matrix is a powerful tool that can help industrial services marketers prioritize their activities, allocate resources effectively, and achieve a higher return on their investment. While this is not an exhaustive list, by understanding the strengths and challenges of each quadrant, and by integrating your ideas and efforts across quadrants, you can build a balanced and high-performing marketing strategy that drives sustainable growth for your industrial services, engineering, or manufacturing business.

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