FEATURE BCM Agency


Customer centricity – the key to


manufacturing and engineering growth


Manufacturing and engineering companies are very special organisations; full of invention and innovation, hi-tech and inevitably complex. Yet invariably, many are a ‘best kept secret’ unless you happen to be a customer and therefore know what they do. With a loyal customer base and working in a niche sector with


little competition, this would all be fine - but nowhere is without competition these days and nothing stands still. Competitors have sprung up left, right and centre under the noses of engineering and manufacturing businesses that continue to do things as they have always done them. It is, therefore, little wonder that the focus has typically been on


conservative growth (or indeed survival), rather than ambitious growth with a sophisticated marketing strategy to overcome the challenges these companies face, namely large overheads, tight margins and supply chain pressures. These businesses are inherently difficult to position and


market, not least because what they do is seriously complicated, but also because the focus has always been on the product or


Miriam Drahmane CEO


BCM Agency


the engineering process that defines what the company does. Customer-centricity has not been high on the agenda, with the exception, perhaps, of a fundamental understanding that without their customers, there would be sophisticated and costly machinery, highly talented people, but no business. We are in a time of change - the pandemic


has seen to that. Although the trends and behaviours we are seeing now were always on the horizon, the shift has been accelerated. We are in a remote-working, digital world where relationships still hold considerable value but the ways and means of communicating, and indeed buying, in business to business (B2B) markets are transforming – and fast. We have seen that those companies that were


able to pivot and embrace a digital marketing strategy saw their growth trajectories stabilise during COVID. Some have even seen a healthy uplift. The


buying timeline, which is historically long for many of these companies (averaging 12 to 18 months), has lengthened owing to increased risk-aversion last year, but leads and opportunities were (and still are) out there for the taking.


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