The plant manager looked at our manufacturing software and said: "This is IT stuff. We're Operations Technology. They're different worlds and they don't mix."
I'd pitched our platform as bridging IT and OT (operational technology). He wasn't impressed.
"Look," he said, "IT runs email and office systems. OT runs machines that make products. IT systems can go down and people work from home. OT systems go down and the production line stops. We lose $50K per hour when the line is down. I can't risk production on software built by people who don't understand manufacturing."
I'd come from enterprise SaaS where IT made all technology decisions. In manufacturing, IT and OT were separate kingdoms with different leaders, budgets, priorities, and cultures.
And they didn't trust each other.
That completely changed how I thought about selling to manufacturing.
Why Manufacturing Tech PMM Is Uniquely Challenging
After three years selling manufacturing software, I learned this industry has specific dynamics unlike any other:
OT and IT Are Different Worlds
IT (Information Technology):
- Manages business systems (ERP, email, collaboration tools)
- Reports to CIO
- Prioritizes security, uptime, standardization
- Comfortable with cloud, SaaS, regular updates
- Risk: data breach, business disruption
OT (Operational Technology):
- Manages production systems (PLCs, SCADA, MES)
- Reports to VP Operations or Plant Manager
- Prioritizes reliability, safety, proven technology
- Prefers on-premise, air-gapped systems, minimal changes
- Risk: production downtime, safety incidents
These teams have fundamentally different mindsets:
IT mindset: "Let's upgrade to the latest version for new features and security patches."
OT mindset: "This system has run perfectly for 15 years. Why would we risk changing it?"
I made the mistake of pitching our software as an "IT solution" in early deals. OT teams immediately distrusted it:
"IT doesn't understand production. They think everything can update like a laptop. If your software crashes our PLC network, the entire plant shuts down."
I had to learn to speak both languages and position differently for each audience.
Production Downtime Is Catastrophically Expensive
In most software categories, downtime is inconvenience.
In manufacturing, downtime is financial disaster:
Automotive plant: $50K-$100K per hour of downtime Semiconductor fab: $2M+ per hour of downtime Food processing: Spoilage + downtime + delayed shipments
This creates extreme risk aversion:
"Your software might be better. But if it causes one hour of unplanned downtime, it's cost us more than we'd save in a year."
Every software pitch triggered this calculation:
Potential benefit vs. Risk of production disruption
The risk always felt larger.
We had to completely change our approach:
Old approach: "Our platform improves efficiency by 15%." (Benefit-focused, but doesn't address downtime risk)
New approach: "Our platform has run 24/7 for 3 years across 200 manufacturing facilities with zero production downtime incidents. Here's our high-availability architecture and failover procedures." (Risk mitigation first, then benefits)
The Buyers Are Production People, Not Tech People
Manufacturing buyers are:
- Plant managers who started on shop floors
- Operations directors who've run production lines
- Manufacturing engineers with industrial experience
They think in production metrics:
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
- Cycle time
- Scrap rate
- Throughput
- Yield
Software is just a tool enabling better production.
I made this mistake in demos, talking about "cloud architecture" and "real-time analytics."
The plant manager interrupted: "Will this improve my OEE? That's what I'm measured on."
I didn't know what OEE was. Demo ended.
(OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality. It measures how effectively manufacturing equipment is utilized.)
We rebuilt messaging around manufacturing outcomes:
Tech-focused: "Our IoT platform provides real-time visibility into equipment performance."
Manufacturing-focused: "Our platform increased OEE from 65% to 78% by reducing unplanned downtime 40% and identifying quality issues before they create scrap."
Legacy Systems Are Everywhere
Manufacturing facilities run equipment from multiple decades:
- Machines from the 1980s still producing parts
- PLCs programmed in ladder logic
- SCADA systems from the 1990s
- Custom protocols and interfaces
- Equipment from manufacturers that no longer exist
Modern software needs to integrate with all of this.
One prospect had:
- 15 different PLC brands across their facility
- 3 generations of SCADA systems
- Custom protocols for equipment from a bankrupt German manufacturer
- Some equipment with no digital interfaces at all
Our initial approach: "Our platform uses modern APIs and standard protocols."
Plant manager: "Great. 60% of our equipment doesn't have APIs. How does your platform work with a 1985 injection molding machine?"
We had to build:
- Protocol converters for legacy systems
- Manual data entry fallbacks for non-connected equipment
- Integration with proprietary systems
- Support for batch data collection (not just real-time)
In manufacturing, integration with legacy equipment is mandatory, not optional.
Safety Is Non-Negotiable
Manufacturing involves:
- Heavy machinery
- High temperatures
- Hazardous materials
- High pressure systems
Software that affects production systems must not create safety risks.
I pitched predictive maintenance: "Our AI predicts equipment failures before they happen."
Plant manager: "What if your AI is wrong and tells us to keep running equipment that's about to fail catastrophically? Someone could get injured."
Fair point.
We had to build safety considerations into everything:
- Recommendations, not automatic decisions (humans always in the loop)
- Clear confidence scores on predictions
- Audit trails for compliance
- Emergency override capabilities
- Integration with existing safety systems
Safety concerns I never considered in other industries became critical in manufacturing.
What Actually Works in Manufacturing Tech Marketing
After three years of lost deals and skeptical plant managers, here's what works:
Bridge OT and IT in Your Messaging
Don't position as "IT software." Don't position as "OT software." Position as the bridge between them.
For IT buyers: "Enterprise-grade security, cloud infrastructure, centralized management—meeting IT standards while connecting to shop floor systems."
For OT buyers: "Proven reliability in production environments, high-availability architecture, no disruption to existing equipment—delivering operational visibility without production risk."
We created joint demos with both IT and OT stakeholders present, showing how the platform met both sets of requirements.
Lead With Uptime Guarantees and Reliability Metrics
Manufacturing buyers need proof you won't disrupt production.
We led with:
- "99.98% uptime across 200 manufacturing facilities"
- "Zero production line disruptions in 3 years"
- "Deployed in continuous production environments running 24/7/365"
- "High-availability architecture with automatic failover"
This addressed risk before discussing benefits.
Create Industry-Specific Case Studies
Manufacturing spans vastly different industries:
- Automotive: High volume, complex assembly, just-in-time delivery
- Food & beverage: Batch processing, FDA compliance, shelf life
- Pharma: GMP compliance, lot tracking, validation
- Discrete manufacturing: Job shop, make-to-order, custom configurations
- Process manufacturing: Chemical, oil & gas, continuous production
Each has different processes, regulations, and challenges.
We created vertical-specific case studies:
"How an automotive tier-1 supplier reduced unplanned downtime by 35% using our platform while maintaining zero safety incidents across 3 plants."
Industry-specific proof mattered more than generic manufacturing case studies.
Demonstrate Deep OT Integration Capability
Don't just claim you integrate with manufacturing systems. Prove it.
We built:
- Reference integrations with major PLC brands (Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi)
- Protocol libraries for common industrial protocols (Modbus, OPC-UA, Profinet)
- Case studies showing integration with legacy equipment
- Pre-built templates for common manufacturing equipment
This demonstrated we understood OT systems, not just IT systems.
Build Relationships With Operations Leadership
Don't just sell to IT. Build relationships with VP Operations, Plant Managers, Manufacturing Engineers.
We sponsored manufacturing conferences:
- IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show)
- Hannover Messe
- PACK EXPO (for packaging/processing)
These conferences were where operations leaders attended, not IT conferences.
We created manufacturing-focused content:
- "How to Improve OEE Without Capital Investment"
- "Reducing Unplanned Downtime Through Predictive Maintenance"
- "Implementing Smart Manufacturing Without Disrupting Production"
This content attracted operations leaders, not IT buyers.
Offer Risk-Free Pilots With Production Validation
Manufacturing buyers won't risk production on unproven software.
We offered:
- Pilot in one production line (not whole facility)
- Run parallel to existing systems (prove reliability before cutover)
- 90-day validation period (long enough to see results through production cycles)
- No production disruption guarantee (we cover costs if we cause downtime)
This lowered risk enough for buyers to test.
Managing different messaging for IT vs. OT stakeholders, industry-specific case studies (automotive vs. pharma vs. food & beverage), and complex integration requirements created organizational challenges. I used tools like Segment8 to organize messaging frameworks and competitive intelligence by manufacturing vertical—being able to access automotive-specific vs. pharma-specific materials quickly helped sales navigate these complex stakeholder environments.
The Unexpected Advantages of Manufacturing Tech
Despite the risk aversion and complexity, manufacturing tech has advantages:
Contract values are large. Manufacturing companies have significant budgets for production improvements. Average deal size: $200K-$400K annually.
Retention is extremely high. Once integrated with production systems, switching is nearly impossible. Our retention: 98%.
Expansion is natural. Start with one production line. Expand to all lines. Then other facilities. Our net revenue retention: 150%.
ROI is measurable. OEE improved or it didn't. Downtime reduced or it didn't. Manufacturing ROI is quantifiable and clear.
Twelve months after the plant manager explained why OT and IT don't mix, we closed the deal.
Not because we convinced him they should mix. Because we proved we understood both worlds and could bridge them safely.
We:
- Demonstrated zero production disruptions across customer installations
- Showed integration with his specific PLC and SCADA systems
- Ran a 90-day pilot on one production line without disrupting production
- Improved OEE on that line from 68% to 76%
He rolled out to all production lines.
Six-month results:
- Overall OEE improvement: 68% to 79%
- Unplanned downtime reduction: 42%
- Zero production disruptions from our software
He introduced us to three other manufacturing companies.
Manufacturing tech marketing isn't about innovation or disruption. It's about proving you can improve production without risking what's already working.
The playbook:
- Bridge OT and IT in your positioning
- Lead with reliability metrics, not features
- Create industry-specific proof (automotive vs. pharma vs. food & beverage)
- Demonstrate deep OT integration capability
- Build relationships with operations leadership
- Offer risk-free pilots with production validation
Manufacturing moves slowly for good reasons. Production downtime is catastrophic.
Respect that reality. Prove you won't disrupt production. Show measured improvement.
That's how you win in manufacturing tech.