Platform: HubSpot
Where It Shines:
- Email marketing – easy to use email lists, automation, and campaigns
- Contact lists – straightforward contact management
- Reports and analytics – convenient out of the box and custom reports
- Website forms on WordPress – natural go-to for any new website forms
Not So Great:
- Customizability – simple fields and workflows are no problem, but any complex customizations require creativity to implement
- CRM – might be good for really simple sales teams, but it’s a fight to deliver 100% sales team solutions on the platform
- Integration performance – API isn’t as mature as other platforms leading to many workarounds and inefficiencies
Best Used in Manufacturing Marketing:
- Increasing product awareness and interest through email
- Simplifying management of customer and prospect lists
Reference Websites:
- Hubspot – platform website
- Hubspot Infor Integration – ERP integration to increase platform value
Platform: WordPress
Where It Shines:
- Websites – most widely used content management platform in the marketplace
- Customizability – “can I do do X on WordPress?” – I don’t ever remember saying no
- Pre-built plugins – most site enhancements have more than 1 option for plugins that can get the job done
- SEO – AI SEO and other SEO tools greatly simplify SEO inside WordPress
Not So Great:
- ECommerce – Woo Commerce just isn’t the first option I’d consider if you’re looking for a true eCommerce solution
- Plugin management – functionality overlaps, interference, and versioning mean you need to be testing in sandbox with any plugin changes
- Plugin performance – website performance is critical for SEO, and a single bad plugin can easily be a train wreck for site performance
- Email – there are better options for emailing than using your Content Management System, especially on a large scale
Best Used in Manufacturing Marketing:
- Attracting new web leads
- Raising brand awareness
- Collecting digital lead conversions
Reference Websites:
- WordPress – platform website
Platform: Shopify
Where It Shines:
- ECommerce – it’s easy to be up and selling products lightning fast
- Themes – variety of themes to choose from
- Shopify apps – most common scenarios have a quality solution available and costs are usually reasonable
- Out of the box wins – options and configurations are often just a toggle to turn features off or on
Not So Great:
- Complex customizations – the platform has a lot built in, but when things get complicated enough to require development, it’s probably easiest to reach out to a team with experience
- API gaps – surface level integration or API tasks are easy enough, but the deeper you look, the stranger the workarounds get
Best Used in Manufacturing Marketing:
- ECommerce shop on a budget
- Online product catalog
Reference Websites:
- Shopify – platform website
- Shopify Integration – ERP integration to increase platform value
Platform: Magento
Where It Shines:
- Customizable Ecommerce – you can change basically anything you want with the platform
- Complex product configurator – various ERPs use Magento as the front end for their part configurations because of the platform flexibility
Not So Great:
- Dev-heavy platform – expect to bring your PHP developer along because code customizations are almost always required
- Expensive – because developer involvement is required so frequently, getting the eCommerce site the way you want it tends to be more expensive than other options
- Difficult to troubleshoot – logs require technical understanding to troubleshoot issues
Best Used in Manufacturing Marketing:
- Tailored eCommerce application
- Product configurator integration with ERP
Reference Websites:
- Magento – platform website
- Magento Integration – ERP integration to increase platform value
- ERP Evaluation – exploring ERP options with product configurator
Platform: Google
Where It Shines:
- Search Engine Optimization & Pay Per Click – it’s nearly impossible to determine effectiveness of SEO and PPC without Analytics and Search Console
- Website analytics – all the data your marketing team needs to understand website interactions and website funnel metrics
- Surfacing website issues – after your website gets to hundreds or thousands of pages, it’s impractical to detect issues without a platform to help
Not So Great:
- Data overload – the diversity of data is useful, but can be overwhelming if you don’t know what to do with the data
Best Used in Manufacturing Marketing:
- Increasing web visits
- Increasing web conversions
Reference Websites:
- Google Analytics – website analytics collection and reporting
- Google Search Console – visibility into Google search engine for your website
Choosing Manufacturing Marketing Platforms
There’s no reason to over-complicate your platform mix. Make sure you’ve nailed down your annual marketing strategy, clearly identifying your target audience and how you’re planning to attract audience attention. With clear goals, pick the platforms that best align, measure, tweak, and re-measure.
