How Can Manufacturing Companies Increase Sales? (Action plan)

In an effort to increase sales, companies implement marketing strategies such as creating new advertisements and selling more to existing customers. 

Depending upon your customer persona, while marketing through social media—such as Instagram—might make sense to increase sales[1], much is left to be explored by manufacturing companies. 

Manufacturing companies can increase sales by developing a superior marketing plan. Some of the most effective ways manufacturing companies can increase sales include: 1) Adding new products, 2) Increasing sales communications to current customers, 3) Running sales specials, 4) Selling more to your best customers, 5) Selling to additional sales channels, 6) Selling to new customer markets. 

Besides having a superior marketing plan, below are some tips to help your manufacturing company increase leads and sales.

1. Align Your Sales and Marketing Team

43% of CEOs believed that misalignment cost their company sales, according to a Forrester study. Ensure you make a practical and highly effective marketing plan, then have an even better execution sales plan. With a proper marketing plan with investment in your sales strategy, you can notice a dramatic increase in sales.

2. Get Customer Feedback

Competitive advantage in any industry is typically a result of a strong sense of customer loyalty.[2] To increase customer loyalty, businesses can focus on bettering their products for existing and potential customers. Unfortunately, most companies struggle with understanding what their customers want for lack of a better customer feedback management system.

Manufacturers can use simple technologies and mobile applications to survey their customers and gain their valuable feedback. Subsequently, they can analyze this information to support the company’s cause for efficient and accurate product design. Improved product design impacts customer satisfaction positively, leading to increased sales.

3. Apply the Pareto’s Principle to your marketing

If you have been reviewing our tutorials, you know that StrategicMarketingPartner.com is a believer in the Pareto Principle. We talk about it often. And this principle is especially true for manufacturers looking to increase sales.

According to Pareto’s Law (also known as the principle of factor sparsity or the 80-20 rule), 80% of consequences typically arise from 20% of the causes. The principle states that in a business phenomenon, one ought to focus on the right ideas to get the expected results.

This principle works as a baseline for XYZ and ABC analyses, commonly used in logistics and procurement to optimize inventory and order quantity.[3] Understand and upgrade your client portfolio. Discover fresh ways and reasons to interact with the highest prospective clients. Send your teams to engage with prospective clients. You can then decide what to do with the bottom 80% of your clients. 

4. Research Customers, Not Markets

The customers are fundamentally the backbone of any given market. It is worth noting that customers differ on different scopes, from tastes, wants, and preferences to financial situations. Outside-in marketing helps you focus on the needs you can fulfill as a manufacturer.

5. Target Weaker Competitors’ Customers

Each competitor has a unique customer base. Rival companies are always on a mission to snatch or retain customers from their competitors through offensive and defensive marketing. As a manufacturer seeking to scale up, you need to take advantage of situations while respecting ethical business practices. You need to have specific competitors to target, which consumers to target, and how. However, you may want to increase client share where you have competitors in common.

6. Re-evaluate Your Distribution Channels

Fortunately, the Internet provides fresh opportunities for client management and the potential for confusion if you fail to consider channel strategies carefully. Each new day offers the opportunity to reconsider your channel strategy and confirm channel roles. Try narrowing your channels to key intermediaries. You can explore e-procurement opportunities from industry and company portals for a quick sales boost.

7. Get an Expert to Advise

If you have tried one or more of the above ideas without results, you can consider hiring a third-party adviser for objective advice on your sales and marketing strategies. You can also seek expert opinion and recommendations on any relevant aspect of your manufacturing business. Contact Your Strategic Marketing Partner by going here.

If you are a manufacturer and you want to build a super solid brand, visit: How do you Brand a Manufacturing Company? (7 action steps). And if you want to forecast your sales, visit: What are the Benefits of Sales Forecasting? (+free forecasting model).

Bottom Line

Every company’s step toward scalability and increased sales is fueled by the equivalent of the effort placed in the company. Despite several marketing conditions hindering scalability, a company can rightfully implement actions to help propel its success forward.

[1] Hida, A. R. N., & Dewi, Y. R. (2021, November). Marketing Strategies Through Instagram to Increase Sales. In BISTIC Business Innovation Sustainability and Technology International Conference (BISTIC 2021) (pp. 273-277). Atlantis Press.

[2] Arslan, I. K. (2020). The importance of creating customer loyalty in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, 8(1), 11-20.

[3] Abyad, A. (2020). The Pareto Principle: Applying the 80/20 Rule to Your Business. Middle East Journal of.