Construct a Website That Builds Business-Automation Integrators Lag

Construct a Website That Builds Business-Automation Integrators Lag

Jon DiPietroAuthentia has published a comprehensive study of the control system integrator industry’s digital marketing performance. You can find additional information on the author’s blog. Many industrial/manufacturing industries lag behind in their adoption of modern digital marketing practices, largely due to target demographics that have been slow to embrace social media and mobile computing. This has especially been the case in the control system integrator industry. However, with digital trends accelerating and workforce demographics rapidly changing, businesses are being forced to adapt quickly.

[Disclaimer: I have a relationship with Authentia; I also hired it to construct a Website for Maintenance Technology magazine; Jon DiPietro built this site for me two years ago. Obviously, I like their work.]

Authentia randomly selected 100 North American control system integrators and assessed their digital marketing effectiveness against 32 separate criteria. The results indicate areas of opportunity for control system integrators to take advantage of industry-wide latencies. Owners, business developers, and marketing professionals will find this information valuable in assessing their own efforts and opportunities against their peers and competitors.

“With my background in industrial controls and leadership positions in the International Society of Automation (ISA), control system integrators are near and dear to my heart,” said Authentia Strategic Marketing Consultant Jon DiPietro. “I have many friends and colleagues who work in that industry. Over the past few years, I’ve conducted dozens of digital marketing assessments for control system integrators and other automation companies. I thought it would be interesting to conduct an industry-wide assessment and see how the industry as a whole is adapting to digital marketing trends.”

Key findings from the report include:

Websites are outdated in terms of messaging and technology:

  • 79% of CSI websites we analyzed make site visits from a mobile device difficult or impossible, alienating nearly half of their web visitors.
  • 48% of the website cannot easily change site content or even enable blogging, as they do not use a Content Management System (CMS).
  • 45% of all sites studied make no attempt to establish trust with site visitors through the use of social proof, such as testimonials, awards, certifications, memberships, etc.

Search engine marketing is nearly non-existent in the industry:

  • 3% of websites surveyed were determined to be paying for advertisements on search engines.
  • 85% of CSI websites had a Domain Authority below 40, which is a measure of how much clout a website carries with search engines.
  • 42% of websites did not have any analytics operating which track their performance.

The industry has not yet adopted content marketing as a strategy:

  • 67% of those studied do not list or promote social media accounts, such as Facebook or LinkedIn
  • 65% of websites have no blog or news feed.
  • 12% had a blog and published industry-focused content (as opposed to company news).
  • 88% of websites surveyed did not incorporate social sharing buttons, making their content difficult to find and share.

There are very few mechanisms in place to interact with prospects:

  • 2% of websites were connected to a marketing automation tool.
  • 84% of websites surveyed did not utilize visible call-to-action buttons.
  • 95% of websites failed to use landing pages, which contain an offer designed to collect information from prospects.

The 2015 Control System Integrator Digital Marketing Benchmark Report can be downloaded for free at www.authentiasoft.com/2015-csi.

End Note

I just went through my list of RSS feeds for blogs and Website changes that I’ve accumulated over the past several years. No fewer than 20 of them had not been updated for two years. I could not believe the number of companies who started a very good information and content system, and then they just bailed out on it. When I think of the lost opportunities for these companies, I just shudder.

Construct a Website That Builds Business-Automation Integrators Lag

Construct a Website That Builds Business-Automation Integrators Lag

Jon DiPietroAuthentia has published a comprehensive study of the control system integrator industry’s digital marketing performance. You can find additional information on the author’s blog. Many industrial/manufacturing industries lag behind in their adoption of modern digital marketing practices, largely due to target demographics that have been slow to embrace social media and mobile computing. This has especially been the case in the control system integrator industry. However, with digital trends accelerating and workforce demographics rapidly changing, businesses are being forced to adapt quickly.

[Disclaimer: I have a relationship with Authentia; I also hired it to construct a Website for Maintenance Technology magazine; Jon DiPietro built this site for me two years ago. Obviously, I like their work.]

Authentia randomly selected 100 North American control system integrators and assessed their digital marketing effectiveness against 32 separate criteria. The results indicate areas of opportunity for control system integrators to take advantage of industry-wide latencies. Owners, business developers, and marketing professionals will find this information valuable in assessing their own efforts and opportunities against their peers and competitors.

“With my background in industrial controls and leadership positions in the International Society of Automation (ISA), control system integrators are near and dear to my heart,” said Authentia Strategic Marketing Consultant Jon DiPietro. “I have many friends and colleagues who work in that industry. Over the past few years, I’ve conducted dozens of digital marketing assessments for control system integrators and other automation companies. I thought it would be interesting to conduct an industry-wide assessment and see how the industry as a whole is adapting to digital marketing trends.”

Key findings from the report include:

Websites are outdated in terms of messaging and technology:

  • 79% of CSI websites we analyzed make site visits from a mobile device difficult or impossible, alienating nearly half of their web visitors.
  • 48% of the website cannot easily change site content or even enable blogging, as they do not use a Content Management System (CMS).
  • 45% of all sites studied make no attempt to establish trust with site visitors through the use of social proof, such as testimonials, awards, certifications, memberships, etc.

Search engine marketing is nearly non-existent in the industry:

  • 3% of websites surveyed were determined to be paying for advertisements on search engines.
  • 85% of CSI websites had a Domain Authority below 40, which is a measure of how much clout a website carries with search engines.
  • 42% of websites did not have any analytics operating which track their performance.

The industry has not yet adopted content marketing as a strategy:

  • 67% of those studied do not list or promote social media accounts, such as Facebook or LinkedIn
  • 65% of websites have no blog or news feed.
  • 12% had a blog and published industry-focused content (as opposed to company news).
  • 88% of websites surveyed did not incorporate social sharing buttons, making their content difficult to find and share.

There are very few mechanisms in place to interact with prospects:

  • 2% of websites were connected to a marketing automation tool.
  • 84% of websites surveyed did not utilize visible call-to-action buttons.
  • 95% of websites failed to use landing pages, which contain an offer designed to collect information from prospects.

The 2015 Control System Integrator Digital Marketing Benchmark Report can be downloaded for free at www.authentiasoft.com/2015-csi.

End Note

I just went through my list of RSS feeds for blogs and Website changes that I’ve accumulated over the past several years. No fewer than 20 of them had not been updated for two years. I could not believe the number of companies who started a very good information and content system, and then they just bailed out on it. When I think of the lost opportunities for these companies, I just shudder.

Control Systems Integrators Set Meeting

Control Systems Integrators Set Meeting

 

CSIA LogoControl system integrators and industry suppliers from around the globe will gather in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 29 – May 2 for the CSIA 2015 Executive Conference. This is a conference I’ve never been able to work into my schedule, but reports from many people testify that this is a worthwhile conference. I know that the association has been working hard to promote integrators and to boost their skills.

Economist Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics, will open the conference with his latest economic outlook for manufacturing. This year, Beaulieu will be joined on the stage by Nick Setchell, CEO of Practice Strategies, for a “stump the experts” session, during which attendees can ask the speakers questions on external and internal financial influences on their business. Their presentations will be the first of more than 20 educational sessions offered throughout the three-day event.

New this year are two workshops that will be held in conjunction with the conference. The Best Practices Training workshop will be offered Tuesday, April 28 – Wednesday, April 29, for those who are interested in learning more about the application of CSIA’s best practices to improve their system integration businesses. The training will focus on the management areas that are most challenging for growing integration companies.

A second workshop created for project managers, control engineers and designers will be held concurrently with the Executive Conference. A Commonsense Approach to Automation Upgrades and System Migrations will be offered Thursday, April 30 – Friday, May 1. Workshop participants are invited to participate in all conference social events.

Those attending the conference will have multiple opportunities for networking, including an industry expo, awards banquet and a closing reception during which Executive Director Bob Lowe will be honored. Lowe is retiring in June.

Last year, a record-breaking 538 people attended the conference, including more than 80 system integrators, partners and guests from outside the United States. See the complete details and register at the CSIA 2015 Executive Conference website.

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