October 15-17, 2024 at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida
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Expo Hours

Tuesday Oct 15 9 AM — 5 PM
Wednesday Oct 16 9 AM — 5 PM
Thursday Oct 17 9 AM — 4 PM

Venue

Orange County Convention Center

9800 International Drive
Orlando, Florida 32819

About the Expo

North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.

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North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event

From the Blog

5 Sales and Marketing Adjustments Manufacturers Must Make to Reach Millennials

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By FABTECH Expo on on
By: Josh Curcio, protocol 80, Inc. By 2020, 50% of the workforce will be millennials. So what does this mean for you? Well…if you haven’t seen a shift already, soon the people you deal with on a regular basis (prospects, engineers, leads, customers, employees, vendors, etc.) will be from the millennial generation. OK, so what? It’s no secret that this generation communicates differently than you do. The difference is night and day. These people are the world’s first digital natives. They’re using texts, apps, social, and email significantly more than they’re using the phone. I’m sure your sales teams are finding that their cold outreach via phone or in person is becoming less and less effective. If not, consider yourselves one of the lucky ones, but also understand that the time is coming. If millennials are averse to “old school” marketing and sales approaches, what is your business doing to make sure you’re marketing to this generation in such a way to stay relevant? Here are 5 adjustments you need to make if you haven’t already! 1 – Think Mobile
  • 39% of millennials interact with their smartphones more than humans, according to a Bank of America study.
  • While it’s a smartphone, it’s not used as a phone. In fact, the actual phone functionality is used less than most of the other communication apps on a phone. Even if you do call, chances are you won’t get an answer (or a call back) if your number isn’t recognized.
  • The average millennial owns 7.7 connected devices and uses on average 3.3 of those EVERY DAY!
2 – Add Value
  • Your content, messaging, tone, and appearance should stand out. Spending all day in front of a screen means people are bombarded with websites, messages, ads, etc… You have to be memorable.
  • Be remembered by providing value. This means education. This means content (blog articles, ebooks, webinars, etc.)
  • Don’t afraid to be less formal.
3 – Connect
  • Millennials are on social media and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. According to Pew, 90% of millennials use social to interact with others and process information.
  • If it’s not facebook, it’s something, and they’ll continue to adapt over time.
  • Email is not dead. 69% of millennials prefer to engage with vendors during the sales process using email (IBM).
4 – Be Visual
  • A wall of text isn’t appealing.
  • Use images.
  • Use infographics.
  • Use video. According to Animoto, 80% of millennials use some form of digital video when researching a product or service.
5 – Collaborate, Don’t Push
  • In your marketing messages, don’t force the issue, but offer guidance.
  • In sales, ask questions…a lot of them. Allow them to explain their actual problems and only after you have a true understanding, determine if you can help them or not.
  • When making a B2B buying decision, priorities are different (IBM)…
    • 35% make ease of doing business their number 1 priority
    • 33% make willingness to work collaboratively as their 2nd priority
    • 31% state their 3rd priority is industry and marketplace expertise
It’s hard to deny that this change isn’t already happening. It’s happening hard and it’s happening fast. Manufacturers will likely struggle if they don’t make the shift to market and sell to millennials in the way they prefer. Manufacturers that embrace the shift and are willing to change will come out on top. Change isn’t easy, we know that, but sometimes change is necessary. Read more from protocol 80 here and hear more from Josh during FABTECH Session F115: Marketing 101 for Fabricators at 10:30 AM on Thursday, November 9.   

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