Are you an engineering firm looking to boost your visibility, increase web traffic, and promote your business? 

❓Have you integrated marketing into your strategic roadmap?❓

If the answer is no, it's time to do it! Thanks to the tools presented in this article, you can position yourself as an expert to promote your design office, generate qualified traffic to your content, acquire new clients and candidates, and increase your sales. Follow the guide! 📔

1- Define your personas 

A persona is a fictional representation of an ideal customer or group of customers. Creating personas is clearly essential for finding a strategic positioning that sets you apart and building the best possible commercial offering. 

Thanks to them, you will have a clear and precise view.preciseof your market. If you have difficulty designing them, it is best to conduct a preliminary marketing study. This will allow you to start on a solid foundation.

Here is a quick summary of the questions you should ask yourself when doing your preliminary segmentation work (to choose the right personas to work with): (with a nice visual, insert, or canvas) 

➡️Which sectors do I sell to? Which sectors do I want to sell to?

➡️Which ones are the most profitable today? And tomorrow?

➡️In these markets, what type of target companies should I approach?

➡️Who are my business contacts in these companies?

➡️If there are several, who is the point of entry? The decision-maker?

➡️Who are the main influencers?

Then, you can choose two or three and get down to business. The end goal? Highly detailed "profile" sheets that answer questions such as:

➡️Which sectors do I sell to? Which sectors do I want to sell to?

➡️Which ones are the most profitable today? And tomorrow?

➡️In these markets, what type of target companies should I approach?

➡️Who are my business contacts in these companies?

➡️If there are several, who is the point of entry? The decision-maker?

➡️Who are the main influencers?

This step is essential for the company's long-term viability.

2- Identify areas of differentiation to build effective communication

As an engineering firm, you combine specific professional expertise (the areas in which you support your clients: industrialization, acoustics, automation, etc.) with sector-specific expertise (the sectors in which you mainly operate: pharmaceuticals, agri-food, automotive, etc.).

In this complex context, it is therefore essential that you identify your strengths and weaknesses! Then, you must obviously leverage your strengths and build a unique and clear value proposition to differentiate yourself from the competition!

Because yes, your difference will be your strength! There's no need to do what all traditional engineering firms do when you're a design office specializing in the environment, for example. Instead, the goal is to focus your communication on this element by showcasing your specificities, your values, your experiences, etc. This why your prospects choose you and not the others!

For example, we advise to work on your branding : this is your brand image and what you want it to convey to prospects/customers. The branding consists of rather intangible elements: the values you uphold, your history, your ambitions... and a relatively more graphic part with the creation of your logo, your baseline, and your graphic charter more generally. These two aspects enable you to create a real identity for your design office and, as a result, stand out from the crowd! To find out more, read our article "Branding and Industry: why is it important to work on it?"

3- Modernize sales channels through digital technology

Once you have defined your personas and identified your unique selling points, it's time to take action! But not just any old way... The centerpiece of your strategy: your website. The goal is to make it a real asset for your business strategy! 

First and foremost, it is essential to understandthat a showcase website is not enough (or at leastnot anymore)! We are not saying that you need to create an online store (which is often not compatible with design offices, which offer a much more service-oriented offering), but you need to think of your website as a lead generator. Its sole purpose is not to raise your profile! 

Two words must therefore be associated with the performance of your digital presence: acquisition and conversion, in order to attract your prospects and encourage them to get in touch with you. 

In short, you need to work on three different aspects, summarized in the diagram below: 

4- Use social media to increase your visibility

Communicating is good, but you still need to find and reach your prospects (and your candidates, given the current recruitment challenges) using the right channels. As an engineering firm, most of your target audience is on LinkedIn. It's THE social network you need to be on in B2B!

As a reminder, LinkedIn is:

📊 840,000 French companies present on the platform

📊 84.8% of B2B decision-makers use LinkedIn for their professional activities.

📊 10.7 million active members in France

📊 46.8% of decision-makers have already engaged in a conversation with a company or one of its employees following contentpublished on social media.

So, how can you perform well on LinkedIn as an engineering firm?

First, you need to post content regularly: at least twice a week, with a strong preference for Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. or 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Next, you must publish value-added content: we're not talking about sharing posts or blog articles, but rather a truly diversified content strategy. This should include videos, studies, customer testimonials, articles, and many other types of media . The goal is to be diverse so as not to bore your audience!

Finally, follow-up is essential: interact with your contacts, and even with LinkedInin general! Do this by sharing, commenting, and liking other posts.

5 – Involve your sales representatives

Without their involvement, you risk missing out or, at the very least, ending up with archives overflowing with unused media.

We all operate in more or less the same way: being told to apply a new method or new tools on a daily basis, without any prior consultation, does not really make us want to getget involved. Asking salespeople for their opinion on the Sales Content to be produced will at least take this thorn out of your side!

Social selling is also an important concept to consider: since professionals are active on social media, it is essential that your sales representatives are too! Thanks to their involvement on social networks, particularly LinkedIn, they will be able to gather a wealth of information about potential prospects! This makes prospecting easier by sorting through leads and allowing you to personalize any initial contact as much as possible.

And if you need more advice, we're here to help!