In order for a product to be sold, it obviously must have a buyer. In the industrial world, the selection of a product by brand is influenced by more than the buyer. In fact, for engineered components and related products, purchased for the manufacture of machinery, it is often the design engineer who makes the brand selection in conjunction with the company buyer. The engineer usually has the most influence.
For component manufacturers to sell more of their products and increase their market share to OEM customers, they obviously must influence more design engineers to select their products. For component manufacturers to sell more of their products to aftermarket users, they must influence the technical buyer at that level.
Both of the decision makers mentioned here are technically oriented buyers. They need technical information. Traditionally, they have turned to technical magazines for updates on technical information needed on the job. They still do. That is why technical trade magazine exist. That is why my magazine, Hydraulics & Pneumatics, exists.
When our technical readers turn to our magazine for information every month, they read the articles, tutorials, and product reviews. They also read the advertising because the information found in advertising is very similar to information found in the editorial in our technical magazines.
The more that technical readers see and learn about the products advertised, the more likely they are to consider the brands advertised. The key word is consider. In most technical buying decisions, the buyer, whether a design engineer or aftermarket specialist, will generally have a short list of possible suppliers for every component.
To get onto that short list, component manufacturers must be known. That is where advertising comes into the picture. If an advertiser sends the right message, with the appropriate frequency, and uses the best possible vehicle, their advertising will work. When a decision is made by and advertiser that a particular magazine reaches an audience of potential buyers, the advertiser must commit to a campaign that stretches out over at least a year, preferably years and with a frequency of at least every other issue.
With that combination of frequency and reach, advertising will be successful. It has been proven again and again by studies of readers and advertisers and it makes good common sense that the right message sent to the right audience will produce results.
