B2B Lead Generation for Industrial Automation & Robotics Companies
In automation, the company that decides what goes into a line is often not the company that owns the line. System integrators design, build and commission most automation projects, which makes them a channel, a competitor and a customer at the same time depending on what you sell.
Selling into automation & robotics
We start by resolving that: whether your offer belongs with integrators, with end users' internal controls teams, or with both — and then build campaigns around project timing, because automation spend is project-driven and almost never opportunistic.
What makes this sector's buying process different
PLC platform standardisation decides fit before price does
Most plants are standardised on one control platform and will not mix — Siemens dominates in continental Europe while Rockwell/Allen-Bradley dominates in North America. A product or service that fits one ecosystem is effectively disqualified at the other, so we filter target accounts by their control platform, and it's also why the same campaign copy does not transfer between the EU and the US.
Projects are bought against a commissioning date
Automation purchases are tied to a line installation or commissioning window, often planned six to eighteen months ahead. Reaching a controls engineer during the concept and budgeting phase puts you in the specification; reaching them after the integrator is appointed usually means waiting for the next project.
Decision-makers we target in this industry
- Controls / Automation Engineer and Automation Manager
- Project Engineer at system integrators
- Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering Manager at end users
- Head of Engineering / Technical Director at integrators
- Capital Projects and Engineering Procurement leads
Controls engineers are strongly platform-loyal and highly sceptical of marketing language, so credibility comes from naming the platform, protocol and integration detail explicitly in the first message.
Where this fits in our 6-step process
The ICP work separates integrators from end users, account research filters by control platform and end market, and campaigns are written per audience with project timing in mind.
- 01ICP & Market Mapping
- 02Account Database Build
- 05Personalized Campaign Launch
Automation & Robotics outbound — questions we're asked
Should we sell to integrators or end users?
It depends on your product's position. Components and software usually go to integrators, who specify them repeatedly; complete cells and services often go direct to end users. Many clients run both with different messaging.
Can you filter accounts by control platform?
Where it's discoverable, yes — job postings, project references, case studies and technical documentation frequently reveal whether an account is a Siemens or a Rockwell house, and that single filter improves reply quality noticeably.
How do you find companies planning automation projects?
Public signals: expansion and new-facility announcements, capital investment news, hiring for controls or maintenance roles, and published tenders in regulated sectors. We prioritise those accounts, without claiming certainty about their internal plans.
Does the same campaign work in the EU and the US?
No. Beyond platform differences, EU messaging references CE and machinery-directive expectations while US messaging references UL and NFPA 79 style expectations. We run them separately.
How we'd run it
B2B Lead Generation
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