Discussing Marketing for Industrial Technology | Fernando Vasconcelos from Mind Tech

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Fernando Vasconcelos from Mind, marketing director and international sales coordinator there. How are you doing today, Fernando?

Fernando Vasconcelos: I’m doing well, thank you.

Ernesto: Well, thank you so much for being on with me today. I do appreciate you giving us a little bit of time. I’m sure our listeners are tuning in, wondering what Mind is all about. So, Fernando, tell us a little bit more.

Fernando: Yeah, okay. So, Mind is essentially a software development house, which does CAD and CAM systems for several industries like footwear, textile, upholstery, and automotive. So several industries that share the same typical problem in cutting technology, meaning essentially the cutting of leather or tissue. That’s what we do. We do cut and cut control systems. Those systems are, of course, sold all over the world by a network of distributors.

Ernesto: Right. So that way our listeners can get a good understanding of your company, Fernando, what would you say is the key problem that you guys like to solve for clients?

Fernando: Well, essentially, the key problem that we try to solve is to give our customers a faster way to get to the market. The cutting process is a complicated process, and if we can streamline that process and make it flexible enough so that they can make smaller orders, for instance, that helps them to be quicker on the market. With the smaller quantities in the market today, that’s an essential feature.

Ernesto: Great to hear you say that. You mentioned a couple of the vertical segments that you guys deal with, like leather goods, automotive, and furniture industries. Are there other segments that you focus on, or would those be your ideal ICPs?

Fernando: Those are our main sectors in which we focus our activity today. We don’t intend to change that because that’s really our core know-how.

Ernesto: Definitely important. Perfect, thank you. So how would somebody find out about Mind? Say I was in the automotive or furniture industries, how would I usually find out about you guys? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you?

Fernando: Yeah, so this is going to sound a bit old school, but our main way of finding new customers is still through one-to-one contacts or exhibitions. We are, of course, aware and now developing digital ways of contacting clients. We are doing some work on some social network platforms, but still, the main source of contacts is exhibitions and one-to-one contact.

Ernesto: Definitely important. Awesome. So that way our listeners who are tuned in could go ahead and visit you, they could always check you out at Mind PT. What would you say is the website’s role in client acquisition? Does it convert leads for you guys?

Fernando: Yeah, so that’s something that we are still working on. By the way, the main site for our tech side is not Mind, it’s mindtech.pt, which, by the way, is already something that should be better communicated. Sorry for the wording because you didn’t find that out, so that’s one of our problems. The thing is, the name Mind is not a very good one for search engine optimization because Mind is such a common word.

Ernesto: Everybody uses it.

Fernando Vasconcelos: Yeah, so you can imagine the problem. For me, it’s a nightmare. If I could, I would change the name now. It’s something that we are thinking of because it’s really a pain to get our customers to our site. It’s not easy. Yeah, I have problems with conversion on our site.

Ernesto: So what would you say? Is there any tools or tips or methods that you would recommend to our listeners as far as some website lead generation?

Fernando: For me, the website itself is more of a conversion tool, not an acquisition tool. For acquisition, I use social media platforms like LinkedIn, especially LinkedIn, because our business is essentially business-to-business. So I use LinkedIn for acquisition. Then the conversion, of course, when I want to show more information, is done through the site. The best advice I can give is to have comprehensive information on the site and to have quick tools to get from information-seeking to the request for contact. That, for me, is the best pathway to convert a visitor into a potential client or at least a lead or a qualified lead.

Ernesto: Great to hear that from you. Let’s switch gears a little bit, Fernando, and talk about you as a leader. You being the marketing director and international sales coordinator there for Mind, what are some key tasks you like to focus on in your day-to-day work?

Fernando: As I told you, my main goal today is essentially to concentrate on two tasks. The first one is to give our commercials the best possible events and exhibitions all around the world and to help them get their leads from there. That’s, I would say, 50% of my work. And then, because I also have the international coordination of sales, I try to streamline the usage of social network platforms to convert them to leads. So I would say those are my two main tasks as a marketing director.

Ernesto: Thank you so much for that. So in the meantime, how do you stay up to date with all the news in the marketing world, as far as trends and strategies? Is there a preferred channel that you like to go with?

Fernando: There are a lot. I normally use structured information and courses through Udemy. I go there often because it’s a curated information place. When I know of a specific topic that I want to learn about, I usually get information there. Then there are some sites that I read, especially about content marketing, because that’s something I believe in for conversion when you have very long decision periods like we do in our industry. For instance, a sale may take three years to complete, from the start of the process to the sale. If I can get information to my customer all along that path, that helps me keep Mind on the top of their agenda. So for me, content marketing is something I’m very keen on. I do read some sites, especially for that part—I have two or three sites about content marketing that I read almost every day.

Ernesto: Perfect. Awesome. Thanks for sharing that with us and for our listeners as well. Let’s jump into our next section then, Fernando, which is our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready for them?

Fernando: Let’s go.

Ernesto: Perfect. First off then, Fernando, what is the last book that you read?

Fernando: That’s a complicated question because I have several books, especially now that I almost read everything in electronic format. But the last one that I started and liked is called “A Theory of Everyone” by Michael Muthukrishna. It’s about the evolution of the human race, and it places some interesting points. One that struck me the most is that you never, ever know all the answers. So you are always better off in a team than trying to achieve all the answers alone.

Ernesto: Awesome. Great to hear those book recommendations for our listeners. Next up, if there were no boundaries in technology, what would be the one thing that you would want to have fixed for your role as a marketer today?

Fernando: Attribution. To know exactly what I got from my dollar invested.

Ernesto: Definitely important, right? Everybody wants that. Next, if there’s one repetitive task that you could automate, what would that be?

Fernando: That’s an easy one. I hate to write product descriptions and stuff like that. That’s something I would very much like to automate.

Ernesto: Perfect. Next, you have a lot of experience in the marketing world, but what would be one piece of advice that you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Fernando: I would certainly try to learn earlier about human psychology because I’m a science guy by training, and I’m a numbers guy, but that never totally replaced the fact that people decide based on emotion. If you understand how people react to things, then you will certainly be a better marketer.

Ernesto: Definitely important advice. Some great advice for our listeners. Thank you so much for that, Fernando. We are coming to the end of the show today, but before we do end, I want to give you the last word. If someone forgets everything about the interview today, what is the one thing they should remember about Mind Tech?

Fernando: Good question. I would like people to remember that we are really focused on giving our customers the best possible solutions to their problems in the field in which we are experts—cutting leather and making leather products.

Ernesto: Definitely important. Well, Fernando, thank you so much for being on. To our listeners, check them out at mindtech.pt. Fernando, thanks a lot again for being on with us. To our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in. I’m looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents.

Fernando: Thanks a lot. Thank you.

Ernesto: Bye.