If you think China’s floating of the yuan/renminbi is gonna turn US manufacturing or the trade deficit around anytime soon, you’re smoking something. Consider this:
China most certainly isn’t stupid. It’s built its economy – with a LOT of help – around manufacturing for export. These guys aren’t in any hurry to pull the plug on this party and, as it’s been written already, the announcement was more likely political (in advance of the upcoming G-20) than altruistic.
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.”
Social Media for manufacturers can be tricky. Many are trying it out with the “Broccoli Mentality” – “I don’t really like it, but I’m eating it because I’ve heard it’s good for me.”
But Social Media – whether it’s Twitter, or LinkedIn, your own Web site/Blog, other Blogs, Forums – only work if you accept that you have to be social. Gone are the days of trumpeting a message to the masses and watching the lemmings come shuffling in the door. Conversations are important, and they lead to deeper exchanges. Just like relationships.
The hardest things about change is admitting you need it and where to start. But it doesn’t have to be THAT hard. You can cheat. You can see what others have done – what’s worked and what doesn’t – to blaze your own path.
For small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMMs) its especially difficult. I get that. You work in tight markets and have access to few resources. It’s tough for inspiration to find you – especially these days. And its even worse when an SMM imitates but doesn’t follow through – following a dance chart like this one will get you started, but it won’t make you Fred Astaire. You want to be Fred Astaire. And that takes commitment and building your own style.
Here are some resources that can take you over the hump, get you started and give you the inspiration to take your business to another level.
These are the pillars that hold up and support substantial economies – they’re certainly what the US economy was built upon. All other services – banking, shipping, financial – are there to support those pillars.
Not the other way around.
I just read an article that reminded me of this, that examines Germany’s strong turnaround based on manufacturing – Germany’s New Boom: Making Money By Making Stuff.
But we still hear some industry, economic and academia pundits talk about ‘post-industrial.’ Why is this tangible fact so difficult to understand? Is it wishful thinking? Is it the hope of those academics and economists that it isn’t so any longer? Perhaps. But we’re decades – at least – away from us 3-D printing coffee makers and lawnmowers in our basements.
I realize fully the disruptions and seismic impact on people and businesses when economic plates shift. It’s painful for many ‘em. And there are remarkable opportunities for some as the masses catch up to those shifts. And once they do catch up, we all take a deep breath, enjoy the fruits, and when the next change comes we act as though we’ve never been through it before.
And so it goes.
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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