Helen Christopher FCIM Chartered Marketer is CIM South West’s Manufacturing Ambassador and  internationally experienced B2B marketing leader, she is Marketing Manager (UK & Ireland) and European Marketing Coach at Bürkert Fluid Control Systems one of the world's leading manufacturers of measurement and control systems for liquids and gases.

Bürkert UK & Ireland views marketing as a real driver of the business. I have a very good relationship with our sales team and other departments and they know that the marketing budget and effort works for us. If your team believes it’s beneficial then that’s half the battle.

Bürkert continually invest, even in times of crisis or uncertainty, especially in marketing because we track our leads back to their source and can associate actual sales order value to them.

As a result, we were able to increase our marketing efforts at the cusp of the last recession, as we had the evidence to support the action and we wanted to reassure our customers (and potential customers) that we were available to do business.

If we stop talking to our customers, they stop talking to us and that hits sales! Bürkert’s long term reputation is important and we have to look at where we are now and also think about our future, therefore it’s not all about immediate lead generation. This is particularly important where we are being considered as a supplier for projects as our customers are looking to rely on us for a long-term relationship and the value of the project is high. They want reassurance in periods of uncertainty so even if they receive a posted newsletter saying “hello” with an update, or see a post on LinkedIn about free training, a technical article giving process advice in a trade journal, they know we are a stable, healthy company with the latest technology.

 Any professional marketer worth their salt would continually evaluate and monitor any efforts to justly the marketing spend and make recommendations. If the ROI is quantified, then it helps to justify marketing spend for the future. Marketing communications reinforces the fact that our customers have made the right decision in choosing Bürkert, so sometimes it is difficult to measure the ROI for everything. However, I make sure I still meet and talk to customers regularly and that way I get valuable feedback.

Top Tips

1. Plan ahead - Agree activities for next few months which you can share with your team so they can spread the word and will be mindful to report back any successes i.e. a phone call to the sales office after reading an online technical article. A bit like with holidays, it is sometimes better to book early to take advantage of early bird rates.

2. Have contingency - You can plan ruthlessly but no-one has a crystal ball so keep some budget aside for unexpected campaigns.

3. Treat suppliers well - It might seem basic, but, be a good customer! Supply artwork in a timely fashion; pay your bills on time. Yes, try and get value for money but remember they too have to make a profit to survive. So, while other companies were pulling adverts in the height of the recession, we honoured our placements and this strengthened our relationship with the media.

4. Be consistent and relentless, but not to the point of annoying! - Make your communications go further e.g. when Bürkert went to the Total Processing and Packaging show this year, we took advantage of sending out VIP invites beforehand, doing “live” updates on Twitter and a post-show review with a video of the exhibition. I know some companies who don’t maximise their marketing opportunities, they spend thousands of pounds exhibiting at the trade shows, but do little to no marketing before and after the event.

5. Don’t rest on your laurels! - We stopped habitually doing large trade shows in the UK as the footfall decreased so much. It was not a cost cutting exercise, in fact we reinvested the money into free Bürkert training and a new to the industry Virtual Exhibition www.burkertve.co.uk . It was a brave move, which paid off.

6. Invest in a good CRM system – Not only does it give you a 360 degree view of your customer base, but it’s great for tracking successes and seeing the touch points with customers.

7. Vertical and horizontal checks are good – It’s not always easy to trace every single enquiry back to a particular activity - especially if you are visible across a number of channels, but a number of checks like looking at web stats will help to see a pattern.

Visit Bürkert on 6 March 2018

On the 6 March 2018, Helen Christopher will be explaining how Bürkert, has gained global organic profitable growth by putting the customer at the centre of what they do at a CIM SW knowledge share event. Helen, will explain how the business grows through its marketing and sales efforts to deliver customer value and satisfaction. You will also have an opportunity to tour the facilities and discover how they deliver a customer experience that turns purchasers into loyal devotees. 

Let customer experience drive technology for business success
Time:18:00 - 20:00.
Venue: Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, Fluid Control Centre, 1 Bridge End, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1QY
For further information and bookings: e-mail:cimevents@cim.co.uk or telephone: 01628 427340

About BÜRKERT

Bürkert Fluid Control Systems is one of the leading manufacturers of control and measuring systems for fluids and gases. The products have a wide variety of applications and are used by breweries and laboratories as well as in medical engineering and space technology. The company employs over 2,500 people and has a comprehensive network of branches in 36 countries world-wide.