Hear the latest electronic components industry and marketing trends presented at the 2023 ERA conference. 

TREW Marketing Senior Brand and Content Strategist, Morgan Norris joined me for the 2023 Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) conference, held in TREW's hometown of Austin, Texas. In this episode, we share some of the trending topics we heard in keynotes and sessions as well as share highlights from our presentation, Transforming Your Brand Into a Trusted Resource.

Some of our marketing takeaways include:

• Many of the rep firms are lacking differentiated messaging and their websites don't portray them as a knowledgeable technical resource for design engineers
• Video is very popular with design engineers; sales reps can use video to share their expertise and build credibility; brands can use video to add interest to (potentially dry) electronic component content topics
• Don't overthink social sharing; use content created by your marketing department, your partners or your network and add your point of view
• Generative AI and ChatGPT are great content brainstorming tools, but when it comes to creating highly technical content, they won't do the heavy lifting for you
• Enewsletters are still quite popular with design engineers; one sales rep firm consistently achieves a 70% open rate through hyper-personalization 
• Sales rep firms and distributors can leverage and extend a manufacturer's marketing campaign, creating a channel win-win-win amplifier
• Manufacturers are open to collaborative marketing campaigns and offering co-op funding, but sales reps need to first have a strategic approach to marketing and pitch thoughtful campaign ideas

Some of our industry takeaways from a fascinating closing keynote by Michael Knight, President and CEO of Endries International, include:

• As more sensors are added to our cars (and other parts of our daily lives), the demand for data storage will be massive
• Look for more household and work tasks to be automated through robotics and applied AI; examples include robots delivering food to your table at a restaurant, picking strawberries in the field on a farm, and assisting with diagnosis and surgery 
• Renewable, unlimited energy from solar will be more attainable with battery storage technology advances
• The commercialization of space will continue, especially to mine precious minerals 
• The demand for electronics will continue to be strong!

Resources

• Electronics Representatives Association (ERA)
• An Industrial Marketer's Guide to Generative AI
• An Engineer's Guide to B2B Content Marketing
• Morgan Norris on LinkedIn
• Michael Knight on LinkedIn

Connect with TREW Marketing

•  Learn About TREW Marketing 
• Order the book! Content Marketing, Engineered
• Connect with Wendy

TREW Marketing is a strategy-first content marketing agency serving industrial companies that target highly technical buyers. With deep experience in electronics, test and automation, software, and engineering services, TREW Marketing helps clients build trust and generate demand.