User Intent – One of Industrial Marketers’ Potent Weapons

I try and walk for 30-40 minutes every morning at the local high school. Typically, I will listen to talk radio via my blue tooth head piece. My “user intent” is to listen to talk radio, not advertising. This morning I had to listen to 13 minutes of commercials before I got to the actual content I was interested in. Almost half my walk wasted on interruptions I was not interested in.

Good thing the track was vacant at the time. I said a few “choice” words. Very frustrating.

I would define user intent as the art of detecting & filling a need.

The same frustration happens when a web user (a future prospect) goes to the web to look for information for their next purchase, whether it be a new car, a new set of golf clubs or a new CNC machine for the plant floor. Your user intent is to find information quickly…without annoying interruptions.

So it is with your prospects.

They are looking for product & service information from your company. Typically, in the awareness and consideration stage. The industrial content that is artfully created to meet your customer’s expectation will connect immediately.

So…how do you fine tune your industrial content to satisfy your prospect’s intent?

1. Once you understand what topics are most valuable to your business, using tools such SEMrush.com or keyword tools within marketing automation platforms (i.e. HubSpot) you can select related searches and find out exactly what the prevailing intent is for your products. Understanding user intent starts with checking out your data to see what your prospects are searching for…on your website and your competitors’. For example, if users are searching for “electric motor hp” rather than just “electric motors” it would be wise to publish a pillar page or topic cluster that goes something like this; “How to Select the Correct Horsepower for Your Powertrain”. Another example: Using tools such as SEMrush you can also see that users are not just typing in “vibration analysis”…what they really want is “vibration analysis training”. Taking this information and creating a pillar page around “vibration analysis training” and then offering a webinar using an online tool such as ZOOM or GoToMeeting you can easily satisfy user intent for the benefit of top-of-mind awareness and lead generation.
2. I assume if you are reading this page you are moving nicely down the road of content marketing. In the world of content marketing conversions are everything. By understanding what your customers are really looking for you will do a better job of developing landing pages that truly convert. For example, using the example above. Let’s say your research has paid dividends and your pillar page about “vibration analysis training” is grabbing substantial traffic. Build yourself a landing page and provide an e-book about the best way to learn vibration analysis, offering tips & tricks, URL resources, training resources, etc.

Savvy industrial marketers are beginning to understand the importance of the user experience. Google’s algorithm updates continually are factoring in the user experience, rather than just keyword searches.

It would be wise for your online marketing to do the same.

This may sound like a daunting exercise for the typical industrial marketer not wise on the ways of Google, content marketing, SEO tools, marketing automation, etc.

HERE is the good news.

Your competitors are not doing any of this stuff. It is a new skill set and they simply are not equipped from a standpoint of knowledge, experience and staff to keep up.

So…for the industrial marketer that does understand this stuff and tools up his marketing department to participate in the gig economy and attempts to captivate the millennial buyer, there are rich rewards moving forward.

To be clear, I am working with 3 different industrial companies currently, all moving forward with a real focus on content marketing. I can tell you that in 3 different unique industrial sectors, not one of their competitors is providing content that will satisfy their user’s intent. Let alone being found by the search engines.

By fulfilling my client’s prospects needs, they will increase their traffic. Eventually they will improve conversion rates…leads…and sales.

How ia your marketing department doing?