Make sure you're getting all of the latest tips on how to grow your business!
Current Articles | RSS Feed
Over the past several years, the strategies used by manufacturing firms to market their products have expanded greatly to include not only traditional methods like sales reps, trade shows and product catalogs, but maintaining a strong online presence. In addition to websites, many manufacturers have entered the world of social media, creating Facebook and Twitter accounts and urging customers to "like" or "follow" the company.While it's certainly a key tenet of marketing to build a stronger relationship with customers, it's debatable whether simply amassing followers on social media sites actually does this. The fact that a client is a fan of the company on Facebook does not necessarily strengthen the manufacturer/client relationship or make them any less likely to consider competition when it comes time to place their next order.On the other hand, if there is actually something to update the customer about, Twitter and Facebook can become valuable tools. This is why leading innovators in manufacturing marketing are increasingly pairing social media tools with an interactive, frequently updated, content-rich blog on the company website.Typically manufacturing firms possess a great deal of information that would be exceptionally valuable to customers, but too often fail to make this information readily accessible to consumers. Updates to products, the introduction of a new product line, new features or benefits the manufacturer is trying to make clients aware of - these topics of conversation have traditionally been covered by sales reps, but can be immediately and simultaneously announced via a corporate blog. In addition, common troubleshooting solutions and frequent questions about products can be addressed once and be immediately accessible to any client, at any time - a very valuable functionality for most manufacturing clients.Where the real opportunity develops, however, is in going above and beyond the previously cited examples. When a manufacturing firm dedicates the time and marketing energy to creating content specifically for its clients, it not only solidifies the clients' relationships with the company, but makes the blog an online destination for attracting new customers. Often these highly successful blogs have goals beyond selling more products, though of course that's always a crucial objective. Instead, these manufacturing blogs seek to be thought leaders, a forum for new ideas and trends in the specific industry, and an online environment for those who work in the industry. In other words, your company should have a site that a customer makes a habit of visiting regularly, instead of simply navigating to it when experiencing a problem or placing an order, and a blog is a great way to do this.A terrific example is the online blog/forum/help center run by Kinaxis, a supply chain company. Their online presence, by design, feels more like a neutral destination for the supply chain community rather than a blog run by a company that's trying to sell something. Ultimately, though, that's what it ends up doing - the level of not only traffic, but user interaction that has been developed by Kinaxis has multiplied several times since they created their blog back in 2005. Perhaps unsurprisingly, so has the level of qualified leads, and most importantly, the number of sales.
Read More
Small and medium sized manufacturers often have a hard time marketing their manufacturing companies. Here are some common manufacturing marketing mistakes to avoid in order to make your marketing more effective.
The Dirty DozenJust what types of waste should you be looking to eliminate in your quest for lean manufacturing? Here's a dozen of the worst problems that you'll always want to avoid:
Protect your sole
Guest author: Juliann Grant, Vice President, Telesian Technology
John Deere is the world's leading manufacturer of farm equipment. In the fall of 2010, the company launched a giveaway campaign, in which the prize was one of its tractors customized by a famous automobile designer.
As more and more marketing channels roll out, including social media networks, landing pages, blogs, and thought leadership events, marketers must continuously create and maintain content used for marketing purposes. Where should you focus your time?
In January, President Obama appointed GE’s Jeffrey Immelt to be his chief outside economic adviser as head of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. No surprise in that Mr. Immelt believes innovation is key to both jobs and competitiveness, as he wrote in the Washington Post the day he was appointed. He also says that growing America’s manufacturing base is key to creating more jobs here — which, again, is no surprise.
The Basics
The ceramics manufacturing process consists of five main steps: Preparing raw materials, forming, green-machining, firing, and finishing. Preparing Raw Materials Most industrial ceramics are made from Silicon Nitride, Zirconia Oxide, Alumina Oxide, or Silicon Carbide. First, the powdered chemical is added to a solvent and shaken up in a container filled with ceramic balls. This process is called milling and mixing. The wet mixture, called a slurry, is dried into a powder made of perfect spheres. Forming The next step in the manufacturing process for ceramic bearings is called the forming stage. There are several ways of forming ceramic products. One common method is called extrusion. In the extrusion method, the ceramic powder is mixed with other chemicals until it has the consistency of modeling clay. It’s then shaped under high pressure, until it reaches a form similar to the finished product. Green-Machining In the green-machining stage of the manufacturing process, engineers try to perfect the shape of the ceramic parts using a variety of tools. At this stage, the ceramic is still fairly soft and easy to form. Later, after firing, it will be harder than steel. Manufacturers try to be as exact as possible during green machining because later changes to the piece will be very expensive. During this stage, engineers are careful to pay attention to the smallest details. Ceramics shrink in the kiln, and imperfections introduced during the green-machine stage can render the bearings useless later on. Firing Up until this stage in the manufacturing process, the ceramic has been malleable, but firing changes that. The pieces of the bearing are placed in a kiln at very high temperatures. Depending on the material used and the size of the part, firing can last as long as 120 hours. After it is removed from the kiln, the ceramic has shrunk by 20%. It is now incredibly hard and lightweight, yet stronger than steel. Finishing In the finishing stage, the bearing undergoes a final shaping with diamond-edged tools. It is glazed with a glass coating so that it will be smoother and easier to clean, and then it’s fired again. The bearing parts are cleaned and assembled, and the piece is ready to go to work.