Manufacturing businesses small and large have had their hands full with the fallout of the pandemic, and although it seems the worst of the crisis is now behind us, companies will continue to grapple with how to keep both customers and employees on board despite supply chain issues, intense competition, and labor shortages.

What’s sometimes overlooked is that the marketing function can help solve three of manufacturers’ biggest challenges in 2022—if the C-suite doesn’t limit marketing’s role in lead generation.

Here are three ways marketers can help manufacturing businesses navigate the many disruptions they will continue to face this year, in ways that extend far beyond product promotion.

Supply chain-related communications

Up until this year, the markets were rarely rocked by supply chain disruptions. The Wall Street Journal didn’t even have a logistics beat during the last few decades. In 2021, everything changed when Covid-19 caused labor shortages, disrupting the supply chain of a vast amount of finished products and base materials—just when demand for manufactured goods surged.

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