Apex Manufacturing Group

Client Overview

Apex Manufacturing Group is a $120M industrial automation provider specializing in custom robotic systems, conveyor solutions, and factory automation for automotive, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. A 40-year-old company with a stellar reputation in the industry, Apex had grown entirely through trade shows, distributor relationships, and a direct sales team of 45 representatives. Zero leads came from digital channels when we began.

The Engagement

Widelly partnered with Apex over an 18-month digital transformation engagement—the most comprehensive in the company’s history. The mandate from the CEO: “Build us a marketing function that generates leads the way our competitors do—without losing the relationships that built this company.”

Phase 1: Digital Foundation (Months 1–4)

Website Transformation

Apex’s website was a digital catalog—PDF datasheets behind a login wall, no lead capture, and a contact form that went to a shared inbox nobody monitored. We rebuilt it as a demand generation engine:

• Product pages: Replaced static PDF listings with rich, interactive product pages featuring 3D product viewers, specification comparison tools, and “Request Quote” CTAs alongside every product.
• Application pages: Created industry-specific application pages showing how Apex solutions solve specific manufacturing challenges (automotive body shop automation, pharmaceutical cleanroom conveying, food-safe material handling).
• Resource center: Launched a technical resource hub with application guides, ROI calculators, and video case studies—all gated to capture leads.
• Mobile responsiveness: First mobile-friendly Apex experience ever. Critical because 38% of traffic was mobile (plant managers researching on tablets and phones).

CRM & Marketing Automation

Implemented HubSpot CRM + Marketing Hub Professional, replacing spreadsheets, sticky notes, and a shared Outlook folder. Key configurations:

• Custom deal pipeline matching Apex’s manufacturing sales process (Inquiry → Technical Review → Application Engineering → Proposal → Negotiation → PO Received)
• Lead scoring combining website behavior (product page views, spec sheet downloads, video watches) with firmographic data (company size, industry, geography)
• Automated lead routing by territory and product line to the appropriate sales rep within 15 minutes of form submission

Phase 2: Demand Generation (Months 5–10)

Content Marketing & SEO

Manufacturing buyers do extensive online research before RFP:

• Technical content program: Published 48 technical articles in 6 months: application guides, material selection guides, ROI analyses, and “How it Works” explainers. Each targeting specific long-tail manufacturing keywords.
• Video content: Produced 24 factory tour and product demo videos. Each installation video featured the customer explaining their challenge and how Apex solved it. YouTube channel grew from 0 to 4,200 subscribers.
• CAD download program: Offered 3D CAD models of standard products as lead capture assets. Engineers downloading CAD files convert to opportunities at 8.4x the rate of whitepaper downloaders—they are already designing Apex into their projects.

Digital Advertising

• Google Ads: Targeted high-intent keywords (“industrial automation provider,” “custom conveyor systems,” “robotic palletizing systems”). Manufacturing keywords have low competition but high intent—CPL averaged $124 (far below the $1,847 trade show CPL).
• LinkedIn Ads: ABM-style campaigns targeting Plant Managers, VP Operations, and Manufacturing Engineers at companies matching Apex’s ICP. Content-driven approach featuring technical case studies achieved $168 CPL.
• Industry publication retargeting: Partnered with IndustryWeek, Automation World, and Packaging Digest for native content and retargeting pixel placement on their audiences.

Trade Show Integration

Rather than eliminating trade shows, we made them smarter:

• Pre-show ABM campaigns targeting registered attendees with personalized invitations to Apex’s booth
• QR-code-based lead capture at the booth replacing manual badge scanning
• Post-show nurture sequences segmented by booth interaction level (demo requested, literature taken, conversation only)
• Virtual booth content available post-show for attendees who missed the event

Phase 3: Scaling & Optimization (Months 11–18)

Sales & Marketing Alignment

The hardest part of manufacturing digital transformation is cultural. We:

• Created a “Marketing-Sourced Lead Review” weekly meeting where sales reviewed every marketing lead and provided feedback on quality
• Built a closed-loop reporting dashboard showing marketing’s contribution to pipeline and revenue—visible to the entire sales team
• Developed response time SLAs (web leads responded to within 1 hour vs. previous 3–5 day average)

International Expansion

Digital marketing enabled Apex to reach international prospects for the first time without expensive physical presence:

• Multi-language landing pages (Spanish, German, Mandarin) for key product lines
• Localized Google Ads campaigns in target international markets
• Virtual product demonstrations replacing expensive international site visits for initial qualification

Results Summary

• Digital pipeline: $0 to $18M in marketing-sourced pipeline within 18 months
• Organic traffic: 1,200 → 14,800 monthly sessions (+1,133%)
• Lead generation: From 0 digital leads to 340+ qualified leads per month
• Cost per lead: Digital CPL of $142 vs. trade show CPL of $1,847 (92% reduction)
• Sales cycle: Digital leads have 28% shorter sales cycles than trade show leads (better pre-qualification)
• Revenue impact: $4.2M in closed revenue directly attributed to digital marketing in year 1