In the world of industrial business, terms like public relations (PR) and marketing are often used interchangeably. It’s not uncommon for a manufacturer or logistics company to say, “We need PR,” when they actually need B2B marketing tactics.
Likewise, some companies allocate their budget to pay-per-click ads when their real issue is a lack of brand trust or visibility in the marketplace – something PR is designed to address.
How do you know which tactics are right for your business? The answer often lies in understanding not just the difference between public relations and marketing but also how they work together to drive results.
In the same way that your clients need to be educated about what your company does, you need to discover what PR and marketing are all about.
In this article, we’ll break down the basics of brand awareness, reputation management, and lead generation, as well as how to assess precisely what tools your business needs.
Understanding B2B Industrial Marketing and Public Relations
Before deciding where to invest your time and resources, it’s crucial to have an understanding of the unique aspects of B2B industrial marketing and public relations. This knowledge will empower you to make informed decisions that can drive your business forward.
Business-to-business marketing (b2b marketing) focuses on promoting products or services from one business to another. In the industrial sector, this typically means marketing to decision-makers at manufacturing companies, construction firms, distributors, or transportation and logistics providers.
Here’s what makes B2B marketing unique:
- Emphasis on measurable outcomes: While business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is often focused on awareness, this form of marketing is primarily concerned with generating leads, driving conversions, achieving return on investment (ROI), and increasing pipeline velocity.
- Complex buyer journeys: As you may already know, B2B buyers often take weeks or months to make decisions involving multiple stakeholders. Business development professionals generally agree that the typical B2B buying cycle averages around 11.5 months. By the way, pipeline velocity refers to the speed at which these potential customers move through your sales pipeline, from initial contact to closing the deal.
- Technical sales cycles: Again, this isn’t news to you. Within industrial spaces, products can be complex, and purchase decisions are always high-stakes.
Popular channels for B2B marketing include search engine optimization (SEO), digital advertising, email marketing, trade shows, content marketing (e.g., eBooks, whitepapers, blogs), and LinkedIn. SEO can help your company’s website rank higher in search engine results; digital advertising can target specific industry professionals, and trade shows can provide a platform to showcase your products to potential clients.
B2B marketing is about reaching the right people with the right message at the right time, with the goal of driving action.
What is Public Relations?
While marketing focuses on selling, public relations plays a pivotal role in shaping perceptions. It influences how the public, your partners, and industry influencers view your company. This enlightenment about its significance can guide your strategies for long-term success, especially in traditional or reputation-sensitive sectors such as industrial manufacturing or logistics.
Key elements of PR include:
- Press releases about company milestones or innovations
- Thought leadership via guest articles or speaking engagements
- Crisis communication in the face of challenges or public scrutiny
- Media relations, analyst relations, and community engagement
PR doesn’t always produce immediate leads. However, great PR can lay the groundwork for your customers to feel confident in choosing your business when the time comes.
What is the Role of Public Relations in Industrial Marketing?
For industrial businesses, PR can be a silent powerhouse working behind the scenes. Its benefits are more long-term but highly impactful. It all starts with brand awareness. After all, even the most innovative product won’t sell if no one knows it exists.
Public relations can help you raise your profile among key audiences, as well as:
- Position executives as thought leaders through conference appearances, webinars, and expert commentary.
- Secure media coverage in trade publications, industry blogs, and podcasts.
- Expand awareness among prospects, partners, and potential hires who may not be actively looking for your service, but take notice when your name appears repeatedly.
PR is also essential for newer industrial companies or those entering new markets, as it works hard to introduce your brand and get your name recognized. For example, 6Sense finds that 91% of buyers attend sales meetings already familiar with the vendor, and 97% have previously visited their website. Yet G2 reports that just 9% of buyers consider vendor websites trustworthy and TrustRadius has found that 73% of buyers believe they see fake reviews of brands online.
How can you ensure that your brand is trusted? That’s where reputation management comes in.
Enhancing Company Reputation
Trust is the currency in the B2B world, and PR is one of the best ways to build it. Effective PR will help you craft a positive narrative about your commitment to safety, sustainability, innovation, or workforce development.
It can also humanize your brand through storytelling, highlighting employee achievements, community impact, or customer success. And when it comes to crisis situations, PR can ensure that your rep stays strong even when things go wrong.
In sectors where clients want long-term partnerships with reliable vendors, a strong reputation isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
Marketing: The Driving Force of B2B
Public relations may shape perception, but marketing is the driving force that creates demand. It’s the engine that brings leads in the door and keeps your pipeline full. Understanding the urgency and importance of its function can guide your strategies for sustained growth.
You may have heard of the term lead generation. That’s the primary goal of industrial B2B marketing, which is often laser-focused on finding, attracting, and nurturing potential customers.
Effective lead-gen marketing includes:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This ensures that when a potential buyer searches for “custom stainless steel fabrication” or “industrial pump suppliers” online, or whatever your company offers, they find your website.
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC): This method targets ads directly at your exact audience, such as engineers, procurement managers, or facility directors.
- Email Automation: Deliver case studies, product announcements, and helpful guides right to your audience’s inbox.
- Content Marketing: Utilize whitepapers, how-to guides, and videos to educate buyers, demonstrate your thought leadership, and guide them through the sales funnel. You don’t want to forget this tactic, as more than half of the companies surveyed by SEMRush are engaging in content marketing and thought leadership work.
Great B2B marketing understands your buyer’s persona—whether they’re a facility manager in a food processing plant or a COO at a logistics firm—and crafts messaging that speaks to their unique pain points and priorities.
Key Differences Between PR and Marketing
| Public Relations | Marketing | |
| Primary Goal | Build trust and credibility | Drive leads and sales |
| Approach | Indirect, relationship-based | Direct, action-oriented |
| Channels | Media coverage, thought leadership, PR campaigns | Ads, SEO, email, trade shows, content |
| Measurement | Sentiment, reach, media mentions | Leads, conversions, ROI |
| Timeline | Long-term brand value | Short-to-medium-term results |
Similarities Between PR and Marketing
Despite their differences, the two functions have a lot in common. They both:
- Have communication at the core: PR and marketing both aim to tell compelling stories about what your company does and why it matters.
- Support business goals: Whether it’s entering new markets, launching a product, or increasing website traffic, setting these goals and measuring against them is essential.
- Work best when integrated: A great PR piece can boost trust in your company, making your marketing efforts more effective. At the same time, marketing content, such as customer success stories, can be pitched by PR teams to generate media interest.
Note: Public relations and marketing don’t compete, they complement each other. When aligned, they create a flywheel effect where trust fuels conversion, and visibility amplifies reach.
Which Strategy is Right for Your Business?
Now comes the big question: should you prioritize PR or marketing, or both? Here’s how to evaluate what your business needs right now:
1. Are you trying to raise awareness or drive immediate leads?
- If you’re new to the market or expanding into a new vertical, PR might help you build recognition.
- If you already have some visibility but want more qualified inquiries, go with marketing.
2. Do you need to improve your public image or generate a pipeline?
- Struggling with recruitment, poor reviews, or reputational concerns? Lean on PR.
- Looking to grow revenue and meet sales goals? Invest in B2B marketing.
3. What is your budget, timeline, and internal team structure?
- PR requires consistency and a long-term view; returns build over time.
- Marketing can show quicker ROI, especially with digital tactics.
- Strong collaboration between sales, marketing, and leadership teams is essential for either strategy to succeed.
Integrating PR and Marketing Efforts
In reality, most successful industrial companies don’t choose one or the other. They blend both.
Here’s how integration might look:
- Create technical blog content that your marketing team promotes via email and LinkedIn, and that PR pitches to industry publications.
- Turn a customer case study into both a lead magnet (marketing) and a success story for media outreach (PR).
- Launch a new product with a coordinated campaign: PR handles press coverage, while marketing handles the digital ads and trade show booths.
Together, PR and marketing create something worth showcasing, and ensure the right people see it.
Choosing the Best Path for Your Industrial Company
The decision isn’t about picking sides. It’s about picking the right priorities based on where your company is today, and where you want to be tomorrow.
- If you need to build awareness, credibility, and trust, public relations (PR) should be part of your plan.
- If you need to generate leads, increase traffic, or close more deals, invest in B2B marketing.
For long-term, sustainable growth, combine the two in a way that leverages each one’s strengths.
In the industrial world, where decision-making is slow, and relationships are paramount, a powerful reputation (PR) and an innovative lead generation engine (marketing) go hand in hand.
Final Thoughts
Too often, industrial businesses pursue a single tactic when what they truly need is a comprehensive strategy. Public relations and marketing are not silver bullets, but when used together thoughtfully, they create a powerful combination.
Understanding the distinction and interplay between them is the first step toward building a B2B marketing strategy that not only captures attention but also earns, retains, and converts it into lasting business success.
Whether you’re a legacy manufacturer or a startup in industrial automation, aligning your communication and lead generation efforts can elevate your brand above the noise, and into the spotlight.
Bold Entity is an expert when it comes to guiding B2B industrial brands through the complexities of marketing and PR. We’re ready to enhance your brand perception, boost your brand awareness, and give you a competitive edge. Our B2B PR experts know how to manage reputations, build community relations, engage with the media, and elevate your brand’s presence and resonance.
To get the conversation started, visit boldentity.com.
