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The only way for manufacturers to stay ahead of competitors and win market share in today’s quickly morphing environment is to embrace change. Those who wish to thrive and not just survive are leveraging the latest in growth-inducing Industry 4.0 technologies.

Below are the Top 10 2019 manufacturing industry 4.0 tech trends according to Hitachi Solutions, which assists manufacturers including Seventh Generation, Maxell, and Ping to leverage the latest technology in order to grow, are:

Digital and content marketing have taken manufacturing companies by storm. And content is a powerful tool to attract manufacturing leads — then convert them into customers. But without tracking the right metrics and testing a variety of channels, you may be leaving leads on the table. So study up on these manufacturing marketing trends and statistics to inform your strategy.

Competitive analysis is the process where you identify your competitors and evaluate their strategies to discover their strengths and weaknesses. You also need to weigh and compare your own strategies, strengths and weaknesses. This process may make you feel uncomfortable, but will, in the long run, make for more successful strategy development. The information you discover from this process should be used to shape your marketing plan and strategic implementation.

A buyer persona is a composite sketch of a key segment of your target audience. It is where your next customer most likely to come from. This persona should tell you who at what companies are your ultimate buyers. These personas may differ from job title to job title depending on the different roles each plays in the purchasing process. Each persona has slightly different desires, needs, and wants. Your messaging should be tailored to each persona and address their interests in your product and services. For example, a company may be involved in updating their packaging equipment. There will be several different roles in your prospects buying process. The engineer is looking for flexibility and functionality. The brand manager is interested in new features that distinguish their product on the shelf. The procurement and purchasing department will be interested in value. And, the CEO is asking how much. Each of these roles may require different messaging. Your personas are the defining factor for how you sell and what you present in your digital marketing.

The latest technology to be discussed in the digital marketing world is AI (Artificial Intelligence). In fact, most digital marketers have identified consumer personalization and AI as the two most likely candidates for the next big trends in marketing.

You’re an industrial manufacturer and your day-to-day burden of keeping your equipment and machines running is stressful. If your equipment isn’t humming your not making money. In order to keep the production pipeline full, you have tried to drum up new clients in numerous creative and unique ways. Unfortunately, these efforts are usually reactionary and materialize in short term blitzes to fill downtime in your production processes. The problem is that when you get busy with your day job you get very busy. The day-to-day demands of your management are consumed with problem-solving, resource allocation, and project management. There’s not a lot of time left in the day for new market prospecting.

Today, every company must have a digital web presence and be found online. Websites help your company create instant credibility and provide the ability for potential customers around the world to find out more about your business and services from the convenience of their computer or smartphone. Manufacturers want websites too — and they need help to redesign or create a new website!