You have an SEO strategy. You advertise in industrial directories. That’s all good.

When an engineer searches for your type of product, you will be in the mix (along with your competitors). But 97% to 99% of the time engineers are not actively searching for a solution to the problem that your product addresses. They are busy doing what engineers do: creating designs, producing drawings, solving other problems.

You can hope that the engineer finds and selects you during that small window of time when he is searching for your solution. Or you can be proactive by establishing a relationship with the engineer BEFORE he needs your product.

So, how do you reach engineers BEFORE they need your product? One effective method is to host free lunchtime webinars for engineers. Present an educational topic related to the products you sell, and award professional development hours (PDH) to the engineers.

It’s important to understand that an educational webinar is a demand marketing tool. It’s not a “Get a Quote Now” ad. The goal of demand marketing is to get in front of engineers and gain their trust BEFORE they have a need for your product.

Many engineers have a problem you can help solve, BUT they aren’t currently in a buy cycle. Only about 1-3% of potential buyers are looking for a solution right now. If your marketing is only geared towards buyers who are ready right now, you’re missing out on all the prospects who could be buying from you in 6 months or a year from now.

A 1 PDH lunchtime webinar gives you an entire hour of access to an audience of engineers and allows you to:

• Demonstrate topic authority and position yourself as a valuable resource that engineers can rely on to help solve their problems.
• Create an authentic human connection with engineers, so they see real people when they think of your brand – not a faceless corporation.
• Build goodwill with engineers by providing something of real value to them.

In short, an educational webinar allows you to begin building relationships with engineers, making it more likely that they will consider specifying your product when the need arises.

Engineers love attending webinars because…

1. They need PDH credits for license renewal.
2. There are gaps in their knowledge that need to be filled by experts. You can be that expert!

Most industrial companies aren’t doing demand marketing. Hosting educational webinars gives you an edge that your competitors may not be taking advantage of.

If you’d like to chat with an expert to learn more about how to use PDH events to connect with engineers, book a free consultation.

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