Let’s not kid ourselves.
You’re a small to medium sized manufacturer. You don’t have the budget, time or experience to build out a full-blown, corporate-sized, monolithic integrated marketing strategy.
But to do nothing isn’t an option. Not now. You have to get in the game, or you’ll get smoked.
There are 3 basic steps to building a sustainable & valuable marketing plan. You don’t have to enlist an army of Twitterers or spend thousands on a Herculean Website. But you do have to follow some basic steps. Here are my takes on the big 3.
Follow them in order and you’ll maximize your investment. You’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll be discovered and engaged by industrial buyers & sourcing professionals looking for your services. AND you’ll give ’em information that sets you apart from your competition.
OK, you have a Web site. You’ve stocked it with content to attract the types of critters in the right conditions for you to help them.
But now what?
Just having a Web presence isn’t enough, anymore than loading bar stock into an LNS and going fishing will give you quality parts. Now that your base and content are in place, the final basic step to maximize your investment – by getting new prospects & customers – is identifying and working the online channels to feed the right traffic to your site.
Social Media are confusing and deceptive to manufacturers. I know it. Other communications and marketing cats know it. And in those quiet moments when you allow yourself the luxury, so do you. You’re no more good at keeping up with the evolving and emerging communications and Social Media channels today than I am at programming a Fanuc on a 5-axis Mori or setting up a tombstone.
But it’s OK. It doesn’t have to be hard. It ain’t easy, but with a little bit of that savvy you bring to the shopfloor you can capitalize and improve the likelihood that you’ll get more attention – and business – from manufacturers looking for the services your business can give ’em. You can – and should – do something.
As you begin your new marketing journey – and, like Lean, it is a long-term commitment – here are 9 rules to follow that will keep you focused, and save you some heartache once you’re on your way.
We access, digest and disseminate information at an extraordinary rate these days. Social media, Google, online marketplaces, forums, the convergence of phones and the Web – our ability to multi-task is being pushed faster than we can keep up.
Many marketers and businesses jump into emerging media with what I call the ‘broccoli mentality.’ You really don’t like how it tastes, but you eat it because you’ve heard it’s good for you.
Social Media – Twitter, LinkedIn & other manufacturing-focused online communities – are in their discovery phases. It’s early in the game, as people (i.e., your customers & prospects) drive us all toward maturation and adoption to serve our businesses.
And make no mistake – your customers are driving the train now. Not your CEO, your President, or your board … it’s the customer, stupid.
One really good seed from which to grow the right Social Media strategies for your manufacturing shop, plant or factory is to think of these emerging channels as your “new receptionist.”
I'm a passionate business speaker & writer. My specialties are trends in the business & manufacturing ecosystems, & I'll inform, inspire, and make it special for your business team or event audience. Let's talk about how I can help:
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