This post goes out to all the fine marketing folks working their hardest for an industrial company.
Open up five websites of your competitors (or any industrial company, for that matter). Can you tell them apart? If there was no logo, no color, no visual differences, could you tell who was who?
Let me guess: everyone’s value proposition* claims the same three components of “quality, innovation, and customer service.” Maybe there is a list of capabilities somewhere and it reads just like everyone else’s capabilities. And maybe, buried nine clicks deep, is actual proof that their engineering team built something special.
This is a brand differentiation problem we see regularly. And it’s costing you deals.
*A value proposition is a simple statement that reflects your brand promise and summarizes the wide range of primary benefits of your offerings to multiple segments. The statement answers the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Here are examples from three different precision machining companies:
“Precision machining services with a focus on quality and on-time delivery.”
“Quality precision custom-made machined parts with an uncompromising emphasis on quality and service.”
“Committed to providing quality precision custom-made machined parts with exceptional importance on quality and service.”
These statements are all the same. And the problem isn’t necessarily that they’re untrue, rather it’s the very fact that each of them are saying the same thing. When your supposed value proposition is identical to your competitor’s, you’re not competing on brand, you’re competing on price – even if you don’t realize it. And competing on price is a race to the bottom that no one wins.
Richard Rumelt explained this in his book Good Strategy Bad Strategy with the example of Crown Cork & Seal (pg 142-156), a metal can manufacturer that was smaller than its rivals but more profitable. Instead of competing on price with major beverage companies for large production runs – a competition they would be sure to lose (and one their large counterparts found themselves stuck in) – Crown decided their strategy would be to go niche. They focused on companies that needed short, customized runs for seasonal orders or unexpected surges of demand. This allowed them to avoid intense price competition entirely and instead charge a premium for a specialized service.
When you can’t differentiate, you end up in a price competition. A price competition is none other than a commodity race. And in a commodity race, everyone loses margin.
Leading with capabilities instead of outcomes
Every precision machining company has CNC mills and lathes. Some have climate-controlled facilities, some have ISO certifications. Those things are all important to running the business, but they don’t even begin to answer the questions that buyers have:
“Will this company help me get my product to market faster?”
“Can they handle our scaling needs without quality issues?”
“Do they understand that aerospace tolerances aren’t the same as automotive tolerances?”
The best marketing teams of industrial brands can take the stat, “We have 250+ CNC machining centers,” and turn it into a compelling value that buyers care about: “We scale your production from prototype to full run without you having to switch suppliers mid-program.”
Treating all audiences like they’re engineers
B2B buyers are not just lone individuals; they are individuals who make up the dreaded buying committee:
Most industrial websites speak to the engineers and stop there.
When OZ Lifting came to us, they had this same problem. Their website was built entirely for engineers – lots of tech specs, CAD files, and product details. We rebuilt their digital experience around three distinct user personas who were all looking for different assurances that they had come to the right place. Their new site now serves both the person hunting for a torque spec and the executive evaluating a new supplier relationship.
You have to give engineers and SMEs everything they need – the specs, tolerances, material capabilities, and technical drawings. But you also have to give the business stakeholders what they need – case studies showing cost savings, testimonials about on-time delivery during scaling, and proof of supply chain stability during disruptions.
Confusing feature lists with brand positioning
This is not positioning: “CNC Milling, CNC Turning, CNC Grinding, Wire EDM, Assembly, Quality Control, Engineering Support.”
That list certainly tells me what you do, but it doesn’t help me understand why I should reach out to you instead of the three other companies I’m considering. Nor does it tell me what you’re genuinely better at, which industries you understand the best, or the big problem you solve for your customers.
Here’s a better example: “When aerospace components can’t fail – and downtime isn’t an option – we’re the manufacturing partner that delivers.”
Vague on the specs, yes, but rich in other details:
Your capabilities – the proof points – come later to demonstrate your ability to actually deliver on your promise.
At CI Design, we work with industrial manufacturers to solve this exact problem. Often this presents itself as statements like, “We’re not very good at telling people The Why,” or “Our copy isn’t very benefits-focused, but it’s hard because we have so many products and customization for a lot of different industries.”
Our approach is built specifically for the incredibly complex reality of industrial B2B – long sales cycles, technical audiences, and many different offerings or products. (Note: this approach is deceptively simple, and why you might benefit from the guidance of an external mind like CID to help tease out the really potent stuff.)
Step 1: Identify your unique position
Force yourself to zoom out to the bigger picture:
Now you have the beginnings of your positioning and ultimate value proposition.
Step 2: Translate capabilities into customer outcomes
Take every technical capability and repeatedly ask, “So what?” Keep asking until you get to the final outcome that actually matters.
This is not a matter of dumbing down your expertise. It is, however, about connecting your technical excellence to the outcomes your customers care about.
When we redesigned Nulogy’s website, we focused on making it immediately clear how their platform helps manufacturing and packing operations reduce costs, improve efficiency, and gain real-time visibility.
Step 3: Build proof that ladders up to your brand promise
This is where those specs and stats finally come into play.
For OZ Lifting, this meant building a custom import system that showcases 500+ products with their corresponding spec sheets, technical drawings, installation manuals, and demonstration videos. The technical capability (managing complex product data) supports their brand promise (making it easier for customers to find exactly what they need).
For industrial manufacturers, this often means developing:
If your brand sounds like everyone else’s, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re competing on price, not differentiation. It’s time to stop leading with what you do and start leading with why it matters.
Ready to translate your technical capabilities into a brand that actually stands out? Get in touch to discuss how we help industrial manufacturers move beyond commodity competition.
Meg sees patterns others miss and pulls the threads that matter. With 10+ years of experience and multiple awards, she's a master at uncovering the hidden truth and charting a course to better. Methodical in her approach but never predictable in her solutions, everything she touches packs a punch.