Marketing to Engineers - a new blog series

Welcome to our new blog series on marketing to engineers. The goal of this series is to start a conversation about marketing; what we have learned about engaging with engineers along with tips and techniques for running effective marketing programs in the embedded space. We will share some of what we have learned from 15 years of operating DSPrelated and EmbeddedRelated and my personal experience from more than 30 years of marketing and selling to these highly intelligent and somewhat unique individuals. 

We want this series to be truly interactive and encourage you to respond in the comments section. You can also reach out to me at stephen.martin@embeddedrelated.com if you are interested in writing a guest post.

We hope this series helps you to better understand the people that you rely on to buy and use your products and services.

What is an engineer?

This is an important question to ask up front because the answer changes depending on the country. In many areas the title of engineer is government-regulated. Practicing engineers have an engineering degree/diploma from an accredited university, have passed a qualifying engineering exam and, possibly, have been certified by a professional organization. In the US there is less government oversight of the engineering profession; companies make their own decisions about education and qualifications of the engineers they hire. 

What makes an engineer special?

Engineers across the technical disciplines have a lot in common. Here are some of the common characteristics that generally apply:

• Excel at logical thinking
• Problem solvers
• Curious
• Want to understand how things work
• Good at applying math concepts and principles
• Organized thinkers
• Naturally skeptical of unfounded claims

How do I effectively communicate with engineers

From my years in marketing to engineers here is some of what I have learned about effective communications. I plan to write more about these topics in future posts. Let me know what you think about this list and feel free to expand on what I have written using the comments section below.

1. Engineers have a highly tuned BS meter. You cannot get away with fluff or unsubstantiated claims. 
2. Engineers do not want to be sold something. They want to investigate, learn, and make their own decisions.
3. They are generally suspicious of marketing because they generally perceive it as irrelevant or even deceptive and something that gets in the way of their quest for facts and specifications.
4. Engineers are generally resistant to change. There are many reasons for this but I have found that the chief reason is they are confident in what they know and what has worked for them in the past. More on this in a future blog post.

Next post: The Mind of the Engineer - Part 1

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