Manufacturing Marketing Matters

In this episode, we talk about the key to differentiation as you learn how manufacturers can achieve differentiation. Ideas, suggestions, and examples abound in this podcast episode of Manufacturing Marketing Matters. Guest: Andrea Olson, Founder & CEO Prag’madik, Author of No Disruptions - The New Future for Mid-Market Manufacturing Highlights: "Marketing is about communicating, positioning and perception" [3:00] When you ask your customers about how they perceive your differentiation or position, be sure to maintain objectivity, sometimes a 3rd party is best.[5:00] You can get differentiation on features and benefits if you have a huge, unlimited marketing budget, but it can be a bit disingenuous. [7:20] Perceptions are built over time. Andrea shares an interesting and relevant case study about Dominos Pizza. [10:20] Differentiation is the responsibility of all leaders and all functions within the organization. [16:10] If you want to be better at differentiation, first take a look at the current customer experience. [18:20] You can achieve a differentiated position with a comprehensive marketing program that offers helpful, useful content. [20:30] Interview Questions: Question 1 –  First, let’s level set. What does ‘differentiation’ look like? In other words, how does a company know it has differentiation? Question 2 –  In the manufacturing world, most companies try to differentiate on features. Could be specific features or broader features like quality or delivery. Is this differentiation strategy working? Is it achievable and sustainable in our globalized marketplaces? Question 3 –  Let’s talk about the tough ones, the commodities; manufacturers of things like ball bearings, chemicals, industrial gas (nitrogen), raw steel or lumber.  The perception is usually that they are all the same. When that is the perception, the buyers go to lowest price. How can a commodity manufacturer achieve a differentiated position and perception in their marketplace?  Or is it really only possible by shaving to razor thin margins? Question 4 – Internally, who are the players who define and achieve differentiation in the marketplace?  Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from a VP Marketing in the Pittsburgh area, a manufacturing company that produces welding equipment. Here it is “We sell welding equipment to end users all over the country. Over the past couple of years, our profit margin has been eroding despite our efforts to differentiate the product line. To the point of your book, we do pitch the products heavily and have not shared any expertise. What would you suggest for creating differentiation with a common product like welding equipment.” Be clear about what you are offering. Look at associated options that are around the product not about the product. Like delivery or training. Understand your target audience, their pain points, their perception, areas where they struggle and you can help. Takeaways: Go out and do some deep dive customer interviews or surveys. Do a competitive analysis from a differentiation perspective.

Guest: Joel Blake, Partner and Technical Sales at Marketing Technologies  Highlights: Increase your rep, distributor, or reseller sales by supporting them with abundant sample products and stories behind those parts.  Make sure they have up-to-date collateral. [4:40] Videos of the manufacturing process in action are also helpful for distributors to share new processes with the end users. [6:00] Those manufacturers who give better support to their distributors get more attention which can translate to more sales. How about a regular sales phone call with your distributors to keep them up to date? Ask your distributors what they need! [7:30] Joel's one wish from manufacturers - "Place more emphasis on the digital aspect of marketing. Get with the digital marketing age." [11:00] Joel is proud to represent the Millennial viewpoint and advocates the digital processes throughout manufacturing! [13:00] Here's what Joel sees his manufacturers doing for marketing support, some are using email, some are experimenting with social media like Twitter and LinkedIn. [16:00] Big opportunity for manufacturers is to support their distributors by providing educational material beyond the product and company manufacturing. This would get the attention of distributors and will very likely get you more distributor sales from your reps. [18:50] Manufacturers - put together an educational webinar and produce it for your distributors and their customers. Joel shares some great ideas off the top of his head. [21:40] Interview Questions: Question 1 – Joel, you represent several manufacturers.  How would you describe excellent marketing and sales support and contrast that with inadequate or poor marketing and sales support from the manufacturer? How much does your perception of the support affect where you put your daily and strategic efforts? Question 2 –  If you had one marketing support (or sales support) wish that could be granted, what would you wish for from your manufacturers? Follow up with why did you choose that? Question 3 –  Let’s talk specifically about marketing.  Of those manufacturers who do provide marketing support, what specifically are they doing to support you? Are any of your manufacturers or have you heard of any others who are supporting distributors with educational content like webinars, ebooks, white papers?  (content besides company and product information) Question 4 – What is the one thing a manufacturer could do for you and for any other distributors out there that would inspire you to put more effort into selling their products? Challenge Question –  This week I’m repeating our challenge question from last week because it is from a distributor of manufactured products.  The question comes from the St. Louis area, a distributor of manufactured products, process instrumentation devices. “I’m the owner of a manufacturer’s rep company where we sell to various manufacturing companies. It’s getting tougher to get their attention these days and we seem to be fighting over the lowest price more often than not. Lately, the first and last call we get is for a price quote. We’re pretty good at pitching the product, but it’s not working so well lately. How can we position the company as a premium supplier by sharing expertise? Define your differentiation and unique value to your customers. You can use educational content to differentiate. Pitching the product is not a good way to differentiate. In fact this is a straight line to being perceived as a commodity. There's value in reliability, price is rarely the top concern in a purchase decision. Takeaways:  Make sure sales and marketing are aligned and on the same team. Don't do marketing and sales the same way as everyone else in the industry. Look outside of manufacturing and see what they are doing for innovative ways to differentiate your sales and marketing activities.

Guest: Tom Repp, Owner and Principle of The Repp Group Tom and I made these predictions back at the end of December. There's only 2 months left this year, how are we doing so far? Manufacturing Business Development Predictions: Tom Prediction 1 -  In each mfg. sector there will be one company that will emerge as brand leader by virtue the fact that they hired a marketing evangelist that knew how to leverage the web for brand awareness & lead generation. [3:20] Tom also talks about the idea of content saturation to get first page results on the SERP. Manufacturers who embrace this idea and develop educational content will emerge as winners in their markets while others may languish and, perhaps, even perish. Bruce Prediction 1 - The idea of increasing sales by sharing expertise will start to accelerate.  I’m starting to see it more often. For example, manufacturers will catch on to the power of producing useful, helpful content that is about the problems of the people in the target audience and not so much about themselves. [8:30] Bruce cites CMI research that demonstrates a high usage of content marketing. Manufacturers who adopt this concept will beat the others, but the train is leaving the station. Now is the time to get on board and start sharing expertise. Tom Prediction 2 - Manufacturers will budget & hire digital marketers rather than another traditional sales person. [11:15] Manufacturers will understand that they get higher ROI by hiring a digital marketer than by hiring a sales person. Marketing must lead the engagement where sales works on the lower funnel. This is another reason for the huge opportunity because most manufacturers will not catch on to this secret. Check out Tom's blog post "Fire a sales person and hire a marketer". Bruce Prediction 2 - Manufacturers will start to realize that they can gain significant advantage by shifting their mindset from sales oriented to marketing oriented go-to-market model. Their buyer’s behavior has changed. Buyers want to learn and self-educate first.  This is a paradigm shift that will get significant traction with manufacturers during 2017. [16:00] Is there a stigma attached to the term "marketing" or a preconception for the marketing function?  That will change. Teach first, pitch later. Tom Prediction 3 - Millennials will start to take over buying decisions and also ownership (i.e. off spring) of many of these industrial companies...thus accelerating the shift to online branding and marketing. [20:15] Millennials are telling their parents and grandparents in family owned manufacturing business that getting on board with a digital marketing mindset is a must for survival. Bruce Prediction 3 - Social media use a a tactic or channel for manufacturers (B2B) will decline in 2017. [22:30] Two big problems with social media; it's hard to prove attribution to social media and getting attention with social media is pay for play on all major channels. Manufacturers will start to realize that the resources they are pouring in to social media just isn't paying off. Takeaways: Tom's takeaway - here's a way to get proof. Type in the word 'allintitle: (your keyword)' to see the results of your competitors websites.  If the number is under 10,000, then if you build content around those keywords you can get your company on page 1 of the search engine results within weeks. Bruce's takeaway - Before any of the manufacturing marketing predictions can happen for your company, check in on your fundamentals of marketing. If you don't have a proper, full marketing plan, step back and get it done. It will pay off big-time for your business and it will help advance your marketing function within your manufacturing company.

Question 1 –   Let’s talk about this perception that marketing has no return or that it is impossible to measure the return of a marketing investment. What is your take on that perception? (with a slant to the B2B manufacturing sector) Question 2 –  How do you define and calculate return on investment or ROI for the marketing function? What are some metrics manufacturing marketers should be tracking? Question 3 –   Could you share a success story with the audience about a B2B manufacturer or a B2B company who was able to successfully measure ROI and what were the positive outcomes to the business and the marketing department as a result? Question 4 –  Let’s imagine a manufacturer or a marketing director at a manufacturing company out there listening. He has 1 or 2 people on his staff, not much budget and when times are tough, marketing is the first place where budget gets cut. What are some initial steps he could take to start to prove a return on the marketing investment, change the perception of marketing as a black hole expense and even begin to position marketing as a direct source of revenue? Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes from a robotics manufacturing company in northern Indiana. Here it is “I’m a VP marketing at a mid-size manufacturer and I have a strong passion for marketing by educating our customers to help them solve their problems. I’m new here and I’m having trouble getting buy-in for a content marketing strategy that is not completely about the products. I have 2 questions; how can I break through the culture barrier that says we can only market by pitching the product?  Second, how long does it usually take to prove the concept of content marketing?”

Highlights: A company that designs, builds and manages aquatic experiences was faced with a challenge of gaining awareness in an expanded market and a perception of offering a commoditized product. [3:30] John shares his framework for approaching a lead generation project. The goal was to become top of mind for cities who are interested in building or managing a pool facility and generate qualified leads. [5:30] John talks about the content assets that were used for the lead generation aspect of the project. [8:45] John describes how he worked with the client to define the audience [10:45] Here's how they decided what content to use, how it was important to the chosen audience and what pain point the content addressed. [15:45] John talks about using social media, FaceBook, LinkedIn and others, for a highly targeted audience. [20:00] Re-targeting can be a powerful tactic to gain awareness in the lead generation case study. John explains how it works and why it's fo powerful. [22:50] "The results were huge!" Cost per lead was only $25.50 per lead which is pretty good with a total spend of around $6000 and a 700% increase in net new leads. [25:00]  Counsilman-Hunsaker is the company, here is the link to the case study.

This podcast deals with the sometimes contentious relationship between manufacturers and their channel partners. Learn how you can get more sales from your channel partners. Guest: Debbie Pierce, CEO Nitromojo Highlights: Sometimes trying to decide exactly who the manufacturing customer really is can be confusing for manufacturers. [4:00] The most successful manufacturers have great communication, visibility, and transparency with their channel partners. Lack of transparency can cause fear on both sides. [7:10] An automated feedback loop can be a huge benefit for attribution and sales projections. [9:50] The 'where to buy' section of the website is a big black hole where sales attribution information disappears and a huge opportunity to for connecting to the end buyer. [16:00] The tri-lateral model changes the old linear model to a circular model that keep channel partner, end user, and manufacturer all in the loop. [23:00] Action steps for getting started with a better channel partner sales strategy: [25:50] Modify your website to capture those end buyers who visit the 'where to buy' page or other lead generation activities such as a trade show. Develop and implement an end customer feedback dialogue that provides actionable results.

On this episode of Manufacturing Marketing Matters, I’m joined by Randall Laveau. Randall is the marketing practice lead at Sales Benchmark Index (SBI). In this conversation, Randall talks with us about strategy vs tactics or how tactics sometimes masquerade as a strategy. The importance of a strategy in the marketing plan is crucial. Randall explains how understanding your market will influence your strategy. There is a relationship between strategy and execution. Strategy is doing the right thing. Execution is doing things right. You will also learn the importance of using metrics and analytics to communicate with management and request additional resources to see results from the marketing strategy.

This week our guest expert Marcelo Prado and I discuss the huge importance of digital marketing for manufacturers. It is really a matter of survival. Those manufacturers who are willing and able to build their go-to-market strategy around the digital world will win, those unable or unwilling will become extinct. Marcelo shares the why and the how.

This week we talk all about branding strategy for manufacturers. Is it worth the time and effort? Chris Wirthwein shares his experience and answers the question with some 'yes' and some 'no'. In short, a strong manufacturer brand can be a huge advantage if approached from a customer centric approach. Listen and learn if you should pursue branding or just let it die. Highlights: "Brand" is what you have and "branding" is what you do. Brand is a perception of your company. Branding is the things that you do that affect those perceptions. [4:20] Consider owned, earned and paid media for branding activities. Chris recommends emphasizing the owned type. [10:10] Interesting idea; what your sales people say to customers and prospective customers is owned media. Your employees could even be considered as owned media. [12:00] It's important to understand the difference between the corporate brand and the product brand. [14:50] Chris' book, The People Powered Brand, talks about the 5 foundations of a people powered brand: [18:20] Consistency Credibility Desirability Uniqueness Do-ability   Poor brand alignment can cause a lot of problems including recruitment of talent, the value of a company and profit. [21:20] Chris comes to the conclusion that branding strategy is not dead for B2B manufacturers. Branding is, indeed, an opportunity to gain competitive advantage. [30:50]

Most manufacturing websites are pretty poor. Sorry, but it's true. Typically, they are focused on describing the company and the products with little regard for the website visitor's problems or needs. The good news is that 90% of your competitors' websites are just as bad, so you have a big opportunity to take a leading position and usurp the search traffic. Tim Doyle talks about how to build a top performing manufacturing website in this week's podcast. Guest: Tim Doyle, VP Sales at TopSpot

In this episode, we discuss the power and potential of LinkedIn for lead generation in manufacturing organizations. Bill Sterzenbach from Upward shares ideas, suggestions and real stories about how you, the manufacturing marketer, can and should use LinkedIn for lead generation; more qualified leads, higher conversion rates and a full sales pipeline. Guest: Bill Sterzenbach, Partner at Upward Brand Interactions Highlights: There seems to be a bias against social media, therein lies a huge opportunity for the industrial enlightened. [2:50] LinkedIn is a place where professional go for growth. [5:50] 62% of B2B marketers find LinkedIn to be the most effective way to engage with their target audiences. The people who get the most benefit are those who understand the people who make up their target audience. [7:00] It's about people talking to people more than a brand talking to an audience. [9:30] Bill shares a case study about Parker Hannifin and Caterpillar are using LinkedIn well and having had great success on LinkedIn. [12:20] Here are three things you can do right now to have better success with LinkedIn: [15:20] Put in a practice to get more followers and set an objective. Post at least weekly on a regular basis. Use your internal team to help promote the channel. Learn about how paid or sponsored content works on LinkedIn. [19:10] It's a good practice to use both pay-per-click and LinkedIn sponsored content. [25:40] Get out there and do it badly, don't wait until it's perfect to start. [26:50] Interview Questions: Question 1 – Let’s start of broadly and talk about social media in general. How should manufacturers view social media when it comes to their business development? Is it table stakes in this day and age? Is it a good way to grow awareness? Is it a waste of time? Question 2 – Let’s zero in on LinkedIn. Rather than assume everyone knows what it is, would you first share, what is LinkedIn? How does it work? Real example of how a manufacturer might use LinkedIn… Question 3 – Sounds like it could be a pretty powerful business development tool. Suppose there is a manufacturing marketer out there listening, they have a LinkedIn company page, but aren’t doing much with it. What are 3 things they could do right away towards using that page for business development? Question 4– I know LinkedIn offers paid advertising. How does that work? A couple of examples would be great. Is there one ad type you recommend over others? (which one and why that one?) Is it for everyone? Challenge Question: Send in your challenge question! This week our challenge question comes in from New York, a manufacturer of industrial gases. Here it is, “I’m the VP Sales and Marketing at a company that manufactures and delivers industrial gases. I listened to your podcast a couple of weeks ago about sharing content to differentiate. Would that work with a commodity like Nitrogen or Oxygen used in an industrial environment? If yes, could you throw out a couple of examples on your next podcast?” Helpfulness is a great differentiator for commodity products. In a survey, purchasing and buyers will choose a company offering helpfulness over all others. The larger, more premier companies value helpfulness most. Better customers value service on the front lines and all around helpfulness. Use social media to prove your brand is helpful. TOMA + credibility + reciprocity = differentiation and bigger market share Takeaways: Set some goals for your social media program. Get buy-in from stakeholders. Offer from Bill and Upward - free lunch and learn in person or via webinar.  Prefer if you can bring at least 20 people. Fill out the form here and request to learn more about LinkedIn.

Interview Questions: Question 1: Derek, as I mentioned, this is an age-old problem that probably goes back to the first civilization in Mesopotamia. What are some tips and advice you can offer to our manufacturing marketers out there who face this challenge? Question 2: You mentioned technology. How does technology, the internet and ease of access to information play a role? Should distributors be worried that it is easier than ever to reach out to the manufacturer just as much as they are worried about being cut out? Maybe the days of using distributors, manufacturer’s reps or re-sellers are coming to an end, what do you think about that Question 3: Could you share an example of how the ideas and suggestions you mentioned earlier have worked for a manufacturer and the distributor as a win-win proposition? What type of results did they see in this example? Question 4: Is it an opportunity for savvy manufacturer who gets it and learns to work closer with his distributors to gain a competitive advantage over those not willing to change the way they go to market? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from the VP Sales & Marketing at a Midwest plastics manufacturer. Here it is “We’re really a service provider of injection molding. Our customer base is mostly retailers. It’s almost impossible to differentiate our service from our competitors, so it almost always comes down to price. We and our competitors seem to be spiraling into the abyss of tiny margins. Do you think your idea of sharing expertise could help my business to increase profit margin and revenue? Nobody else is marketing that way in our space.”

This week we are re-posting the most popular episode of the year. Did you know that content marketing has super powers to grow your manufacturing business? It's true, but you need to know how to release the superpower. Robert Rose shares just how powerful content marketing can be for your business. Interview Questions: Question 1 – Robert if I were to get 10 of my audience in a room and ask them to define content marketing, I might get 10 different answers. Just to level set with the audience, would you share, in a practical sense, what is content marketing? What is not content marketing? Question 2 –  In your experience dealing with B2B manufacturing companies, if there is an opportunity for manufacturers who adopt content marketing to gain an advantage; increased market share, more sales, competitive advantage, etc., would you describe that opportunity? Content marketing is a common term these days, thanks to CMI, isn’t everyone doing it now? Question 3 –  Manufacturing is, some would say, a different animal as compared to high tech or the service sectors because they make a product and the company culture revolves around that product.  Content marketing is about sharing expertise and not about pitching the product, correct?  When I talk to manufacturers, they struggle with this idea of sharing knowledge and not pitching the product to gain engagement. In your dealings with manufacturers, have you also seen this culture hurdle and how do you advise a manufacturing marketers who want to get started with content marketing to deal with the product culture? Question 4 – Most of the manufacturers I talk to still go to market with a 1990s strategy, meaning they rely on a field sales team or distributors to build relationships one to one.  But their customers want to buy like it’s 2016.  Is this what you are seeing as well? Would you agree that herein lies the opportunity, closing that gap between how mfg goes to market and how their customers want to buy, for savvy B2B manufacturers? I don’t think content marketing is for every manufacturer, it’s not easy and it’s not for the faint of heart, but if done well, it really pays off.  Suppose there is a CEO or VP Sales and Marketing of a mid size B2B manufacturer listening to this podcast who understands the potential power of content marketing but doesn’t know how to get started.  What would you advise?  Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes to us from a VP Sales and Marketing at a Midwest metal fabricator. “I just attended an industry conference where one of the speakers was talking about how we should get into content marketing by starting a blog. We started a blog and nobody is reading it. What is your advice, should we continue with content marketing or, since the blog is not working, go back to pushing our widgets?”

This week, we delve into the importance of marketing planning. Remember the comedian, Rodney Dangerfield? His shtick was “I don’t get no respect”. I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago, suggesting that Marketing is the Rodney Dangerfield of manufacturing because marketing gets no respect in manufacturing. And why is that? The 2 biggest challenges I hear from manufacturing CEOs, leaders, VP Sales is always (after talent acquisition) that they need more leads and more awareness in their target markets. Marketing is the solution to these challenges (and also a solution to the talent acquisition challenge by the way). But, alas, marketing still gets no respect. Sales can’t solve these challenges on their own anymore. Maybe they could back in the 1990s, but not today. Our guest expert today is going to talk about marketing strategy and planning. He’ll share with our audience why marketing does deserve respect and why marketing planning is so critical to a manufacturing company’s survival. He’ll share a few ideas about how to get started with a marketing plan, and share some other pearls of wisdom about why you can gain a huge competitive edge with a proper marketing plan. Guest: Bruce Clark, Associate Professor of Marketing at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern UniversityBruce's Twitter: @bruceclarkprof Highlights: [4:40] Bruce C. shares why and how tactical marketing is different than strategic marketing. [7:50] There is evidence that the earlier you involve marketing in a strategic process, the more successful it will be. [10:00] Check out Clayton Christensen's framework "Jobs to be Done" [13:15] The basic framework for a marketing plan - Where do we want to go? Where are we today? How will we get there? [16:00] Marketing planning and strategy is most important when your industry is changing and especially when it is changing fast. Marketing is changing from transmission to conversation. [19:45] Bruce C. compares and contrasts niche market versus broad market. [22:20] You need to think about how the money works and the economics of your offering. "No plan survives contact with the customer." In other words, you need to have guidance in place for changing conditions. [27:30] A marketing plan should be a guide not a script. [31:30] A marketing plan should be a process the entire company is engaging with on a regular basis. Interview Questions: Question 1 –  Bruce, let’s level set to get the ball rolling. I expect that when most of our listeners think about ‘marketing’, they think of the tactical aspect, i.e. trade shows, advertisements, email, and so on. I’d like to suggest that this perception misses the most important aspect of marketing, strategic marketing. Would you talk about the two different parts of marketing, strategic versus tactical when it comes to the marketing function? Do you agree that the very term marketing is usually relegated to the tactical side? Why do you think that is the case? Question 2 –  Now that we’ve set the stage, let’s dig into the strategic side of marketing. Why is marketing strategy and associated marketing planning so vital to the B2B manufacturer in this day and age? What do you think will happen to manufacturers who can’t or won’t step up their strategic marketing game? Question 3 –  What is the single most important part of a marketing plan? What pitfalls would you advise our listeners to avoid? Question 4 – Suppose there is an owner or CEO of a mid-size manufacturer out there listening. He’s never had a marketing plan, but now, he thinks it’s time to go through the exercise with his team to create a proper marketing plan. What are the first few steps he should take to get the ball rolling? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from a Marketing Director at a company that manufacturers industrial scales in upstate New York. Here it is.  “We’re a B2B manufacturer of industrial scales, have been around for more than 50 years and very successful up until the last couple of years. We’re getting killed by overseas competition offering a lower price. Our go-to-market strategy has always been built around a direct field sales team supported by a small marketing team. Sales relationships are not able to overcome the price difference any more. You advocate that we stop pitching the product and start sharing expertise. We’re ready to give that a try, but have no idea how to get started. What should we do first?” Think about why your customers are weighing things and how you can help them make that process better. Send the marketing team out with the sales people to learn what's happening in the field. Takeaways: Figure out where you are and where you want to go. The best plans are guides not scripts.

This week we learn about how and why marketing must become a strategic component of the business. The first step is to start thinking strategically. Not only can marketing make your business a lot more money, it can also save your business a lot of money. Guest: Andrea Olson, Founder & CEO at Prag'madikAndrea's book: No Disruptions: The New Future for Mid-Marketing Manufacturing Highlights: [3:15] Quality should trump quantity when it comes to marketing activity. One way to save money is to use marketing automation for the routine activities and focus more on the strategy (marketing and business). [5:00] Andrea explains why more manufacturers are not adopting automation for the front of the house when they are embracing it for operations. You have to have a marketing strategy before you can use marketing automation effectively. [11:00] Marketing needs to be elevated to a strategic component of the business before it can be a money making part of the business. Ask the tough questions about what should be continued and what should be stopped. [13:30] Andrea talks about ROI and attribution, using a trade show as an example. [16:00] Any size marketing team can gain these advantages, but if you are a small team, start small with one particular piece and make it better, look at it from the CEO or CFO perspective. [18:30] Marketers must understand the financial aspect of the business so they can communicate with the leadership. [24:00] Andrea brings up a good point, why does Sales get unlimited touch points, but Marketing gets limited touch points? [27:30] Andrea shares a real-life practical example. Interview Questions: Question 1 –  Andrea, I’m sure our listeners out there are on the edge of their seats, wondering how they can turn their marketing function into a profit center and, at the same time, save money.  Let’s first talk about how they can save money. How does that work? Question 2 –  And, the other side of the topic, how can they turn marketing operations into a profit center? Question 3 –  A lot of manufacturers I talk to have a small, sometimes one person, marketing team. Is this something they can do? Or is it only for larger teams? Question 4 – It seems like you’re saying that, not only can marketing generate leads, awareness and sales pipeline, but it can also be a revenue stream in and of itself. Could you share an example of a company that has done it? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from the general manager at a Colorado company that makes various composites. Here it is, “I’m the GM at a B2B manufacturer of composites. We sell all over the globe. Our marketing team has always held the role of support to the sales team. They aren’t strategic thinkers and we’ve never thought about marketing as a strategic component up until recently. In reading your book, it seems we might be missing the boat on the opportunity a strategic marketing function can offer. Should we get started making the conversion to a marketing focused strategy from a sales and product focused strategy? What is the first step?” Make it a customer focused strategy and break down the sales, marketing, operations silos. First step is to get someone in who understands the strategic component by hiring a VP or bringing in a consultant. Yes, start thinking about marketing as a strategic component of the business. It's a matter of survival. First step is to start talking about it and look at the team. Takeaways: Define marketing's role in the organization, take a fresh look at how marketing can help solve the current business problems. Start to understand the role of the CFO and understanding the finance of the business. For example understand inventory turns, cost of customer acquisition.  

This week we learn about a government program that offers matching funds for marketing initiatives. Who’s interested in some federal grant matching funds? Did you know there is a federal program called Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAAF) that will match up to your $75,000 investment in certain initiatives including; production, information systems, management, quality and, of course, my favorite initiative, marketing. Guests: Tania Bahr-Torline & Amy Graziano, Program Managers at RMTAACRMTAAC Website: www.rmtaac.orgTAAF Website: www.taacenters.orgPhone number: 303-499-8222 Highlights: [3:30] TAAF is designed to help small and medium size manufacturers affected by foreign competition. [4:50] Amy shares the 5 criteria that a manufacturer must fulfill to be eligible for the matching funds. [6:30] Tania talks about how the grant funds can be used my manufacturers. [7:40] There is an approval process for consultants, but for the most part, the manufacturer chooses the consultant they want to work with. [9:30] Learn how much your firm can get. Maximum benefit is $75,000 and usually the funds are spread out over multiple years. [11:00] Listen to two great success stories where manufacturers who were facing stiff foreign competition and, with TAAF funds, were able to turn around their businesses. Interview Questions: Question 1: Tania, let’s start off with you, would you please give us an overview of the larger federal program, TAAF, and then how the regional offices fit in under that? Question 2: Amy, let’s talk specifics, how does a manufacturer qualify for the matching funds? Tania, what can the funds be used for? Question 3: Amy, who does the work? Does RMTAAC have specialists on staff or does the manufacturer go out and find a consultant? Question 4: Tania, I’m sure everyone is wondering, how much assistance can a firm expect to receive?  How often can a manufacturer take advantage of the program? Question 5: I’d love to hear from each of you on this one, what is your favorite success story? Amy, let’s start with you. Tania do you have a favorite success story? Amy's Takeaway: If you're interested in this program, don't rule yourself out. Let TAAF help you determine if you're eligible. Tania's Takeaway: There is another very important component of the program is a business planning phase. A lot of companies feel that planning process is as valuable, maybe more, than the money itself.

This week we're talking about an under-utilized method for growing your manufacturing business, a business coach. Learn about the benefits, what makes a good candidate and how it works. Guest: Colonel (ret) Burl Randolph, Founder, President, Chief Consultant of MyWingman, LLC Website: MyWingman, LLCBurl offers a free consultation if you want to learn more about his coaching service - contact information is on the Guest Experts page. Get started with your marketing plan. Free templates and sample manufacturing marketing plan. Highlights: [4:00] Burl expains the difference between coaching and mentoring and introduces the concept of your professional and/or business blindspot. [5:00] An important distinction is that the coach is not the expert, the player is the expert in their industry. [8:00] A coach is the person who provides you with unfiltered advice and feedback. It is very difficult to get objective feedback from subordinates. A coach is a person whom the CEO can freely vent to without being judged. [17:10] Coaching is best for someone who has a willingness to learn, willingness to grow and willingness to execute on the outcomes of a coaching session. [23:00] A big part of the coaching process is accountability. Who else will hold a CEO accountable? The coach can play this role. [24:00] Burl shares some questions you should ask if you are considering a business coach and when a coach is not a good idea. Some people are simply uncoachable. Interview Questions: Question 1: Burl, let’s start off with level setting. The term ‘coaching’ probably conjures up all kinds of perceptions in the minds of manufacturers. Let’s hear your definition of what it means to be coached or the process of coaching? What’s the difference between a coach and a mentor? Question 2: What are the benefits of coaching? Who can benefit from coaching in the manufacturing world? Are there certain criteria like leadership level or company size? Question 3: Let’s say you were going to coach a CEO at a mid-size manufacturing company, could you describe a month in the life of the coach and coachee (if that’s a word)? Question 4: What are a few questions one should ask themselves when contemplating using a business coach? Are there any reasons coaching might not work? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes to us from a manufacturer of steel tubing located up in Washington State. Here it is: “We’re a B2B steel tubing manufacturer and I’m the Marketing Manager with a small team of 3. We, the marketers, know that we need to be doing content marketing and sharing our expertise. We get the benefits of that. When I try to sell the idea to our CEO and VP Sales, we get shut down because they say if we share our information, then the competition will get it too and we lose our edge. Do you have some tips about how to get them to move away from product brochures and trade shows (we spend half million dollars a year on trade shows) to buy in to the idea of creating content.” Provide results through examples. Use examples of the competitors or other companies in the area who are having great success at content marketing. Understand the difference between marketing and sales. Content marketing does not promote your proprietary information, it promotes your expertise in a particular problem faced by the target audience. Ask to do a small pilot program. When you share expertise, you develop TOMA and credibility in the minds of the target audience. Takeaways: Take advantage of free consultations and learn more about the possibilities of coaching for your professional life.

This week we're discussing how sales and marketing alignment can increase revenue. You will also learn what it is and how to get alignment. Guest: Desiree Grace, VP Sales & Marketing at Anamet Electrical, Inc.Website: anametelectrical.com Highlights: Here are some statistics from the HubSpot website: Misalignment between sales and marketing technologies and processes costs B2B companies 10% of revenue or more per year. Companies with good alignment practices in place generated 208% more revenue from marketing efforts. When sales and marketing teams work together, companies see 36% higher customer retention and 38% higher sales win rates. [4:40] Sales and marketing are like siblings and the other departments are like the cousins. [6:50] Alignment is based on open and honest communication without either side getting defensive. [9:10] Product launches are a great example where tangible costs of the launch are increased when there is not strong alignment. ROI may even be negative because of poor alignment. [12:20] Desiree shares an alignment success story at Anamet Electrical by creating a rep council to share field information. [18:00] Deriree shares the idea of using a beta test instead of a large full scale roll out. [19:20] Here are a couple of steps to getting started: First, take a look at your base organizational structure. Are both teams under the same leader? Might need to change that structure. Find places where the teams can work together on a common project or task just to get started talking and sharing ideas. This creates understanding and understanding leads to alignment. Start with a customer survey and develop the questions collaboratively between sales and marketing. [23:30] Desiree shares her own success story with sales and marketing alignment at her company. One of the hardest parts of alignment is in preventing people from taking debate and criticism personally. [26:50] One of the biggest pitfalls is with long term employees who don't want to change. Be prepared to deal with resistance and the need to sell internally. Interview Questions Question 1: Desiree, let’s start with the basics, how do you define sales and marketing alignment? Sales aligned with marketing? Marketing aligned with sales? Question 2: I mentioned a statistic at the beginning of the podcast; misalignment can cost a manufacturing company up to 10% of revenue per year and well aligned companies generate 208% more revenue than non-aligned. As a manufacturing go-to-market practitioner and leader, have you personally seen similar results? What are some other tangible benefits of sales and marketing alignment you have seen in addition to revenue increase? Question 3: I suspect most of our listeners agree that there are tangible benefits to their top line and bottom line. But they are probably wondering, how is it done? How do I get my sales and marketing teams to work together? Could you sum up 3 or 5 steps to get started? Question 4: Would you mind sharing your own success story of achieving alignment in your professional experience? Do you have any pitfalls or lessons learned you could share with our audience based on your experience? Challenge Question (send in your own challenge question) This week, our challenge question comes from a chemical manufacturer in Massachusetts, here it is:  “We manufacture chemicals mostly for waste water treatment plants. We have a big field sales team calling on municipalities and large manufacturers. Our marketing team is very small and they are responsible for making brochures, setting up trade shows and the website. Recently, our main competitor has been eating our lunch. We get a lot of RFQs, but we’re losing, even to higher prices.  When we ask the prospects why they are choosing the competitor, they say because they (the competitor) are very helpful and they really seem to know what they are doing. We make a better product and have a better company, but, apparently, we aren’t getting the message out. How can we get the message out and start winning business again?” Learn how the competition is being helpful, find out what they are doing to create the perception. Find out why the customer has the perception that they know what they're doing. Close those gaps from the customer perspective. Your competition is ahead of you and probably sharing information to get that credibility. You should start creating content and start being helpful with your own unique expertise. Takeaways: Start looking at your internal data and start mining your employees knowledge, experience and ideas.

Our guest expert today is going to talk about the major disruption that is affecting the manufacturer - distributor - end user relationships and how your company can be the survivor. Guest:Derek Weber, President at goBrandgoWebsite: gobrandgo.com Highlights: [4:00] The relationships on both sides, the manufacturer and the distributors, are ending because of retirement. In the past, the relationship was the catalyst for business, if the relationship goes away, behaviors have to change. [10:10] Technology will play a critical role in this disruption. The manufacturers and distributors who can work together to serve the end user will be the survivors, those that do not will not make it. [12:00] Here's why the end user comes out the winner, at least in the short term. [15:14] It's all about education and problem solving. [17:30] Derek shares a real life example of how a good manufacturer-distributor relationship helped an end user with a big problem. [23:45] The upside potential for manufacturers and distributors who can and will adjust, is huge. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to differentiate and gain market share. But the downside is even more dramatic in a negative way. Interview Questions: Question 1: Derek, as I mentioned, this is an age-old problem that probably goes back to the first civilization in Mesopotamia. What are some tips and advice you can offer to our manufacturing marketers out there who face this challenge? Question 2: You mentioned technology. How does technology, the internet and ease of access to information play a role? Should distributors be worried that it is easier than ever to reach out to the manufacturer just as much as they are worried about being cut out? Maybe the days of using distributors, manufacturer’s reps or re-sellers are coming to an end, what do you think about that Question 3: Could you share an example of how the ideas and suggestions you mentioned earlier have worked for a manufacturer and the distributor as a win-win proposition? What type of results did they see in this example? Question 4: Is it an opportunity for savvy manufacturer who gets it and learns to work closer with his distributors to gain a competitive advantage over those not willing to change the way they go to market? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from the VP Sales & Marketing at a Midwest plastics manufacturer. Here it is “We’re really a service provider of injection molding. Our customer base is mostly retailers. It’s almost impossible to differentiate our service from our competitors, so it almost always comes down to price. We and our competitors seem to be spiraling into the abyss of tiny margins. Do you think your idea of sharing expertise could help my business to increase profit margin and revenue? Nobody else is marketing that way in our space.” Derek shares a great story about Schlitz beer and how they increased market share by sharing expertise. Think about what your customer is trying to accomplish and how you can help them get there. When you share knowledge and help them solve a problem, you get TOMA, credibility and reliability. Then you will get the first call. The best place to find topics is in the inboxes of your service and tech support email. Takeaways: Don't underestimate the changes and make sure you're prepared for the future. Make sure that you're partnering with good people. Related podcasts and blog posts:MM 051 - Learn exactly what your distributors need from you to sell moreMM 063 - Channel partner sales strategy for manufacturers

This week we push the envelope and discuss recruitment and selection process in manufacturing industry. It's all about creating a culture that positions your firm as a highly desirable place to work. Here's how you can achieve that perception. Guest: Adrian Hargreaves, Managing Director, Hargreaves Marketing Ltd Website: hargreaves-marketing.co.uk Highlights: [6:30] A lot of people are setting up for the "gig" economy as consultants or contractors. [8:30] Adrian shares why just recruiting at a time of need is the wrong way to go. Recruiting should be an ongoing effort even when there is not an immediate need.  [9:20] Recruitment should not be an island operating on its own, it should be a process integral to the growth strategy and plan. [10:40] Here's how your manufacturing company can become a highly desirable place to work: Develop a great culture Develop a superb reputation for training and development Build partnerships with educational institutes [12:00] Adrian shares some great examples of companies that are creating a highly desirable place to work. [15:20] Best practices for manufacturers to get the very best choice for their recruitment. You need to have quantity and quality in the pool of applicants. [18:10] Some ideas about writing a well balanced job description. [21:15] A simple framework for creating an attractive and truthful position offering. [23:30] Adrian talks about 'fit' and how a company knows if a candidate is a good fit for culture, team and duties. [26:00] Your reputation as a great employer or a poor place to work spreads quickly and a company should always be working on that perception. [27:40] The companies that have the highest performance are unequivocally, always superb trainers. This single attribute will attract high quality talent. Interview Questions: Question 1: Adrian, what are you seeing in the talent market place? What is the typical process when it comes to recruitment of talent in the manufacturing space? What, if anything, is wrong with that traditional process? Question 2: How should companies be approaching the recruitment process? I know most companies try to cram everything possible into the job description (the unicorn or the purple squirrel) and just hope for the best. Is there a better way you recommend that they should create the job requirements to ensure success? Question 3: How about the process itself, should firms have a specific process? What are a few best practices you would suggest to ensure a good outcome? Question 4: Perhaps the most important aspect of finding the right talent is ‘fit’. Fit could mean a lot of different things. I bet if we got 10 managing directors in a room and asked them to define ‘fit’ in the context of hiring talent, we would get many different answers. How do you define fit and how important is it in high performance recruiting? Finally, the recruitment process doesn’t end with the first day on the job, correct? Could you expand on that idea? Challenge Question: This week, our challenge question comes from a manufacturer of recreation vehicle aftermarket parts right here in Colorado, here it is: “We’ve been lucky enough over the years to have a few great customers who kept us busy and profitable. Lately, they are looking for other suppliers and diversifying their supplier networks. Our business is suffering. We’ve never had or needed a sales or marketing function. Now we need a strategic go-to-market function and we need to execute fast. What position should be my first hire? Sales, marketing, consultant or something else? Any real-life examples appreciated!” Take a look at the internal values, do those values include taking care of the customer? Make sure that every employee is aware of the customer-centric values. Go out and talk to the customers that are leaving. This should be the MD/CEO making the connection if possible. Send in your challenge question to the show. Takeaways: Don't wait for a vacancy for a role before you think about recruitment, make it part of your company plan.  Be a magnet for ambitious, career minded people by developing a reputation for training and development and become a highly desirable place to work. Develop high level level of community partnerships. Treat each recruitment as a campaign. The most important word in recruitment is relevance. Related podcasts and blog posts: MM 049 - Are You Truly Customer Focused? MM 081 - Customer Focus, the Key to Great Content Marketing

This week we're discussing content marketing, why it's uniquely suited to the manufacturing industry, and how to get started.  Highlights: [3:30] Kasim shares his definition and philosophy of content marketing. [6:30] Learn the answer to why content marketing is uniquely suited a manufacturing business. [9:20] Three steps for a manufacturer to get started with effective content marketing. There's a difference between the target demographic and the person or avatar you want to speak with. Define the avatar you want to reach and communicate with. Determine what information your avatar needs to make a buying decision. Find the context, where do your avatars congregate? [18:15] Content marketing is a hard sell, content creation is easier. Leave the word 'marketing' out of it when selling the idea to leadership. Interview Questions: Question 1: As promised to our audience, Kasim, let’s start by clearing up any misconception about the definition of content marketing. What is it and please share an example or two. What’s the difference between digital marketing and content marketing? Question 2: You made an interesting comment to me before the podcast. You said that content marketing is uniquely suited to the manufacturing industry. Why is that? Question 3: Let’s get to the practical side, implementation and execution. Let’s say there is a CMO of a mid-size manufacturing company out there listening. He’s bought in to the idea but, admittedly, has no idea about how to get started. What are the first 3 steps to take? Question 4: Content marketing is not easy. Many times there are culture changes within the manufacturing organization that have to occur. What about those companies where the owner or CEO is the authoritarian type not open to new ideas? What are some tips that marketers can use when they are up against strong culture or a strong, unbending leader? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question is right in line with our podcast topic. Here it is.  “I’m the CMO of a medium size manufacturer where we make industrial outdoor signs. We created a 20 page ebook about the different types of signs, but very few people are downloading it. We know it’s a great piece for our customers because we asked a few of them. What could be going wrong? What are some tips for getting more engagement? Thanks! By the way, loved your book.” Keep first encounters for engagement on a more casual basis. An ebook is later in the relationship. Splinter the ebook into smaller segments for awareness and engagement. Review the conversion process, starting with the form friction. Takeaways: Give value to your audience on a regular basis. Value is in the perception of the audience. Don't be afraid to fail. If you're not embarrassed with your first iteration, you didn't release it soon enough.

This week we’re going to discuss social media. I’ll ask the question that each and every one of you should ask or should have asked before you dive into any social media platform. “Is Social Media Good for Your Manufacturing Company?”  We’ll talk about what questions you should ask and answer to determine if they answer is yes social media is good or no social media is not good.

This is an interesting and insightful story about a traditional manufacturer of measurement instruments and how they are making the pivot from 80-20% product pitching to sharing expertise to 20-80% in favor of sharing education and expertise. They are achieving this feat with customer focus and content marketing.

This week, we compare the efficiency and quality disruption of the 80s and 90s with the go-to-market disruption that is happening today. It's a huge opportunity for manufacturers to leap ahead of their competitors.

This week, we are sharing an industrial construction company lead generation case study. It’s a little outside of the manufacturing space and closer to the construction space, but the principals for lead-gen apply. The case is about a company that designs and constructs aquatic experiences, i.e. city pool facilities. Listen to a step by step process our guest expert went through to accomplish the goal. In fact, this case will demonstrate how they increased leads by 700%!

Today’s Guest: On this episode of Manufacturing Marketing Matters, I’m joined by Randall Laveau.  Randall is the marketing practice lead at Sales Benchmark Index (SEI).   In this conversation, Randall talks with us about how tactics masquerade as strategy.  The importance of a strategy in the marketing plan is crucial. Randall explains how understanding your market will influence your strategy.  There is a relationship between strategy and execution. Strategy is doing the right thing.  Execution is doing things right. You will also learn the importance of using metrics and analytics to communicate with management and request additional resources to see results from the marketing strategy.   Connect with Randall Laveau: SalesBenchmarkIndex.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randalllaveau/   You’ll Learn: [01:18] - Randall shares his background and areas of expertise. He also explains what Sales Benchmark Index is. You can find their podcast here: SBI Sales and Marketing Podcast [03:28] - Randall defines what a marketing strategy is and explains why it is important for manufacturing companies to have a marketing strategy. [05:29] - Randall shares that 10% of companies today are effectively carrying out their marketing strategy. He explains where the other 90% are missing the mark. [07:42] - Randall says that manufacturers often fail with marketing because they try to jump into marketing. Strategy is required to effectively run a marketing department. [09:25] - Marketing requires patience and pressures for short-term growth make things difficult for marketers. Randall explains why you must have blinders on with short-term pressures. [11:52] - Randall explains why it’s important to use data and analytics when requesting resources from management. [14:40] - Randall talks about the concept of “tactics masquerading as strategy.” [17:08] - Randall shares how to start building a marketing strategy. [20:03] - Randall explains how to find your audience sweet-spot. [21:23] - Part of the marketing strategy is to select a list of target accounts. Randall believes this allows you to look at a propensity to buy formula to grade your accounts. [23:30] - Randall shares an example of a company who saw a difference when they shifted from tactics masquerading as strategy to an actual marketing strategy. [26:42] - Randall talks about digital content marketing strategies. [30:19] - Randall answers this week’s challenge question. The question comes from a director of marketing at a medical device company.  This person wants to know how to get more adoption from the marketing team with a marketing automation platform. [36:27] - Randall offers a few takeaways: Be outward in. Be customer driven in anything you do. Align yourself with the other areas of the organization.   Would you like a complimentary marketing plan evaluation?  This includes a 1-hour discover call, a 1-hour post-evaluation analysis, and a comprehensive look at your current strategies. Sign up at MMMatters.com/evaluation.   If you have a challenge you’re facing or a problem, when it comes to sales and marketing, send it in as a challenge question, and I’ll pose it to one of our guest experts.  Email your challenge question to bruce@mmmatters.com.   You can get a free copy of my book, “The New Way to Market for Manufacturing” by visiting MMMatters.com/ebook

This week is our quarterly roundup where I share our top 3 podcasts for the first quarter of 2017.  We greatly appreciate all of our podcast guests, and these were our most popular episodes:      MM 071 - Chris Wirthwein, CEO at 5MetaCom shared his take on branding for manufacturers. Posted on March 13th “Is Branding Dead for Manufacturers?” MM 070 - Frank Mummolo, Managing Director at MCA Consulting Services posted on 3/6. His topic was “Old School Marketing, that was then, this is now. MM 067 - Marcelo Prado, Customer Operations Global Process Leader and formerly CMO for GE Measurement & Control posted on 2/13. His topic was “Digital Marketing, Do or Die”    

This week, we discuss how an outbound, consistent, persistent communication can increase brand awareness and boost your business and make you, personally, better at your profession. Today’s Guest: On this episode of Manufacturing Marketing Matters, I’m joined by Jason Zenger.  Jason is the president of Zenger’s and the podcast host of Making Chips.  Jason is my first guest that is also a podcaster. Jason and I talk about the power behind consistent, persistent, and frequent communication with your target audience.  Zenger’s sells tools, equipment, and shop supplies to manufacturing companies.  He explains that his podcast may help him with sales for his company, but it also makes him a better leader, which also adds to his sales.  In this conversation, you will learn how sharing expertise through a podcast helps your audience and helps your business. Highlights: [00:53] - Jason describes his responsibilities and roles with Zenger’s and describes Zenger’s business. [02:27] - Jason talks about his podcast, Making Chips. [04:12] - Podcasting is a time commitment, and Jason explains why he does the podcast. Jason explains that he sees the manufacturing as a vital component of the nation’s success. [05:20] - Jason talks about how the podcast benefits his business. [08:01] - Jason lists some of the benefits to your business by sharing expertise. He also explains how to set expectations for those benefits. [11:20] - The sales process involves a lot more people and departments now. Jason explains how he sees the roles broken down. [12:44] - Jason shares there is a current culture shift in the way business leaders become the personality behind the business. [14:54] - Jason provides some tips on managing time constraints with this changing culture shift. [18:22] - Jason talks about the differences between having a podcast or written content through blog posts. [19:47] - You may be wondering if taking on this type of venture to connect with your customers is worth it. Jason explains why he believes this difference is measurable. [21:04] - There’s a lot of unknowns with podcast statistics. Jason explains that despite the imprecise analytics, he feels that podcasting is a good investment. [24:00] - Jason answers this week’s challenge question. This question comes from the CEO of a company that manufactures medical devices. This person says their business has been flat and none of the strategies they have implemented has gained any traction.  The sales team is more traditional, and this person wants to know how to transform the group by having them share their knowledge. Jason shares his thoughts and some tips on this situation. [28:10] Jason shares his takeaways from this conversation: Start seeing what you can do in order to elevate the manufacturing industry. There are a lot of very wise engineers and manufacturing professionals that are nearing retirement. There’s a lot of intellect that needs to be extracted from these individuals. Interview Questions: Question 1:  Why do you do it? How does it benefit your business and/or your life? Question 2: I know a lot of our listeners wonder about this idea that you can grow a business without pitching the product. You’re a practitioner of this idea. Would you share with the audience how and why the concept of sharing knowledge and expertise can grow a business. Question 3: In the old days of the late 20th century and even early 21st century, the sales team owned the entire process from prospecting, to engaging, to closing the deal; the whole funnel or pipeline if you will.  These days, most of us are in agreement that the marketing function is responsible for the top and middle of the funnel and sales is responsible for the bottom of the funnel. Which part of the company is out there sharing the information like a podcast or a blog? Is it Sales, Marketing, PR or some other department?  How do you see it working in a practical sense? Question 4: It’s hard for manufacturers to devote the time and resources to a regular blog, podcast or webinar. Marketing and sales are usually very busy and running very lean. How does a manufacturer make the change, commit to a regular communication? Do they stop doing other more traditional activities? Get a loan to hire more people? Or is there another way? How big of difference can it make?  Enough to switch resources from print ads or trade shows? Challenge Question:  This week our challenge question comes from the CEO of a company that manufactures medical devices. Here it is “We’re a medical device company. Our business has been flat for the past 5 years. We’ve tried hiring more sales people, social media, content marketing and even blogging, but nothing seems to get any traction. My sales team is a bunch of dinosaurs (please keep this anonymous) who can’t figure out how to sell without demanding a rock bottom price. I read your book, The New Way to Market for Manufacturing, and I like the idea sharing expertise. We have 70 engineers on staff, how do I get them to share their knowledge and how do I transfer it to grow the business?”   Would you like a complimentary marketing plan evaluation?  This includes a 1-hour discover call, a 1-hour post-evaluation analysis, and a comprehensive look at your current strategies. Sign up at MMMatters.com/evaluation. If you have a challenge you’re facing or a problem, when it comes to sales and marketing, send it in as a challenge question, and I’ll pose it to one of our guest experts.  Email your challenge question to bruce@mmmatters.com. You can get a free copy of my book, “The New Way to Market for Manufacturing” by visiting MMMatters.com/ebook

Every once in a while, we share a re-broadcast and this week we re-broadcast a podcast that was recorded about one year ago on April 11, 2016. It's about creating content that resonates with a technical audience. The topic is about engaging with a target audience by creating educational, entertaining or engaging content. This discussion is especially germane if your audience is primarily made up of engineers or otherwise technical folks. MM 075 - Create Content that Educates, Entertains and Engages Guest: Rick Ellis, Engineering Audience Director at CFE Media Highlights: CFE media knows engineers are a unique audience with unique pain points, needs, wants, etc. Content Marketing Institute (CMI) Research says 82% of B2B manufacturers use content marketing but only 18% consider themselves effective. Content quality is more important than quantity content. Good content must do one or more of the 3 e's;  educate, entertain or engage. Engineers don't want advertising speak or marketing fluff. They want useful, real, accurate information. It's important to keep your audience engaged over a long selling cycle.  Give them content to make them want to come back. Rick and Bruce share a couple of stories about the power of reciprocity. Perhaps the reason only 18% are not effective is that the tactic is new for manufacturers and most are still learning (getting their sea legs). Rick talks about Schneider Electric as an example of a B2B manufacturer who is doing a great job with content creation and content marketing. 107% increase in enewsletter open rates and 1000% increase in page views because of using educational content. Manufacturing marketers should keep going with content marketing - this stuff works! Interview Questions: Question 1 –  How does content creation work together with content marketing? It looks like content creation (relevant and engaging) is a common challenge for manufacturers?  What do you hear from your network as to why it is such a big challenge? Question 2 – Why is/should content and the process to creating content be important to manufacturers?  Could you elaborate on the type of content you advocate?  Question 3 –  As mentioned above, only 18% of those manufacturers using content marketing feel it is effective.  What do you think is going on here?  Why is it so hard to be effective with content? Question 4 –  Could you offer a real life example of a manufacturing or industrial company that is successful with content creation and what deems success?  Question 5 –  Given the effectiveness of content marketing and assuming effectiveness correlates to effectiveness in content creation, is it something manufacturers should continue to pursue to gain advantage over competition or should they give up and revert back to the marketing tactics they’ve been using for decades like trade shows and print ads?  (elaborate on the answer) Challenge Question: This week we have a challenge question coming from the Chicago area, a mid size manufacturer of measurement instruments. “We love the idea of content marketing by offering helpful useful information to our target audience. The problem we have is that we are once removed (through our manufacturing rep network)  from the end user who is the beneficiary of the useful information.  Have you seen content marketing work with a dealer or manufacturer rep in between? What is the best way to approach it?” Share content with your top distributors to support them with content development. You can share useful content direct to the end user or direct to the distributor, both work well. Vince Giorgi podcast share a relevant story about how Sherwin Williams produces a magazine called STIR for end user painters to help distributors sell more paint. Send challenge questions to bruce@mmmatters.com,  Tweet a question at #mfgmarketing, or fill out the form here. Takeaways: Keep at content creation but make sure you understand the wants, needs and pain points of your target audience. It will pay off and you will become more effective as you advance the practice of content creation and content marketing.  

This week we discuss the importance of internally marketing your marketing strategy and tactics. Kevin Connor, a manufacturing marketing practitioner, shares his experience and lessons learned from various manufacturing leadership positions he has held over the years. Today’s Guest: Kevin Connor joins me on this episode.  Kevin is a practitioner of manufacturing marketing. Kevin has more than 25 years of marketing, sales, and strategic planning experience in large and medium-sized manufacturing organizations and distributors.  Kevin has experience and a passion to help companies elevate the strategic role of marketing within the organization. In this conversation, you will hear Kevin and I talk about marketing marketing.  It is critical to market externally, but also internally to the executive team.  Kevin shares his expertise in this area. You have something to gain from this conversation if marketing is already established or if leadership is considering a larger role for marketing in the company’s strategy. Kevin provides a lot of information and shares a five-point strategy that he has used to introduce and advance the role of marketing in companies. Establish your baseline. Attempt to quantify the business opportunity in the new way you’re recommending. Agree on the measurable goals and ensure agreement with the management team. Define the project timelines. Commit to reporting progress regularly. You’ll Learn: [01:55] - Kevin introduces himself to us and shares some of his background in the manufacturing marketing space. [05:58] - Kevin talks about the culture in manufacturing.  Only 20% of CEO’s have experience in marketing, and that percentage is probably even lower in the manufacturing industry. [07:22] - Kevin references a study by MAPI that indicates the role that marketing plays in various manufacturing companies. [10:45] - Kevin shares an experience from a project meeting that demonstrates where a lot of companies are with marketing. [12:12]- Kevin speaks to the CMO out there that is trying to figure out if pushing these strategies is “worth the fight.” He shares some of the variables that will help you determine the right answer for you and your company. [17:07] - Kevin provides a five-point strategy that he’s used to introduce and advance the marketing strategy within a company. [22:27] - Kevin talks about marketing marketing internally and reporting out the progress to the leadership of the organization. [29:14] - I share one of my experiences in marketing marketing with a CEO that illustrates the need to speak their language. [30:34] - Kevin answers this week’s challenge question. This question comes from a VP of Sales at a sign manufacturing company.  This person asks about convincing the CEO to invest in marketing. [36:50] - Kevin provides his actionable takeaways. When you’re promoting your marketing department as the marketing leader, it’s critical to consider your audience. Focusing on the lowest hanging fruit will help you build credibility. Interview Questions: Question 1:  Kevin, let’s say there is a VP marketing or CMO out there and he is worried about the commitment from his leadership to a content marketing program. He strongly believes in it, but is worried and wonders if it is worth the fight he expects. With your experience, what do you think? Is it worth the fight and how do you know if it is or it isn’t? Question 2: It’s usually about the culture, especially in larger, older organizations. Could you talk about the culture typically found in these types of companies and why it’s so hard to change a go-to-market strategy that wants fast results and is all about the bottom of the funnel? Question 3: OK, let’s talk nuts and bolts here. Based on your experience, what are some tips, tactics and even a strategy to introduce a knowledge based, content based marketing strategy to a B2B manufacturing company.  Let’s say a top 5 high level list? Question 4: I know a lot of our listeners are probably wondering, how long does it take to start to see results? 3,6 months, 1 year, 2 years? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from a VP Sales at a sign manufacturing company in the Portland OR area. Here it is: “We are a large sign manufacturing company selling to the end user with a sales team of 15. We have one marketing coordinator who doubles as the CEO’s admin. I read your book and some other references and I think we’re missing the boat by not having a ‘proper’ marketing team. I need to convince my CEO, also the owner, to invest in marketing. He’s a tough cookie. What are the top 3 most compelling reasons I could use to win him over?” If you have a challenge you’re facing or a problem, when it comes to sales and marketing, send it in as a challenge question, and I’ll pose it to one of our guest experts.  Email your challenge question to bruce@mmmatters.com. You can get a free copy of my book, “The New Way to Market for Manufacturing” by visiting MMMatters.com/ebook

This week we hear from a practitioner of using CAD files for lead generation. Nick Goellner shares his success story about how he revamped his manufacturing company website, and, using CAD files was able to achieve an incredible increase in leads. Highlights: Nick grew up with manufacturing and it's in his blood. As a marketing director, he revamped his website and started offering CAD files. [2:30] Reference past podcast MM 068 with John Major where we discuss the strategic use of CAD files. [3:00] Advanced Machinery Engineering is the company Nick mentions. Catalog Data Solutions is the engine behind offering the CAD files. [4:20] By offering CAD files, leads increased from about one per week to multiple leads per day. [6:00] Nick describes the nuts and bolts of how the process works from arriving at the site to getting the file to the sales process to requesting a quote. [8:30] Is offering CAD files a form of content marketing? Both Bruce and Nick believe it is content marketing. [12:20] Offering CAD files (or any regularly produced, high value content), helps make a website sticky. [17:45] If you have a large catalog of standard parts or a configurable custom parts. [19:15] Dorner Conveyor is another example of offering CAD for customizable products. [20:00] Question 1 –  Nick, to get us started, would you please explain to the audience what was the goal of revamping the website and, specifically, what were you hoping to achieve with the CAD file offering? Did you reach your goal?  Could you share some numbers like increases in leads, conversions or even new customers? Question 2 –  Let’s talk a little nuts and bolts. How does the process work, from a visitor searching and finding your site to finding the right file to downloading it and to placing an order? Question 3 – OK, they need to give up information to get the file correct? What do you ask them to provide? What else do you do with the information you collect for file downloaders? Question 4 – What about SEO and pay per click, does offering CAD files help with SEO and can you use it as a ppc campaign offer? One of the goals for websites is to make them sticky. In other words, we want visitors to return over and over again because the website offers such high value. Does offering CAD files help make a website a regular destination or are you seeing mostly new visitors and new file downloaders? Bottom line, what types of companies could benefit from offering CAD files on their website? Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes from a CEO at an industrial tools manufacturing company. Here it is “We manufacture consumable industrial tools. We were talking with a consultant the other day and he told us our sales funnel was upside down. His point was that because we’re offering product brochures at the top of the funnel and educational information at the bottom, it was backwards because we should be offering product brochures at the bottom and vice versa. What is your opinion? When, where and how should we be offering educational information and then product information?” Consider the HubSpot model where the top of the funnel is awareness, middle is consideration and bottom is decision. You will get better awareness and break through the noise when you share educational information. 97% of the people who see your product information are ready to engage with sales. They aren't interested in product specs until you have pass the first bar of credibility. Yes, your funnel is upside down. Move the awareness, educational content to the top and product information to the bottom. Takeaways: Really probe the needs of your audience before you choose a tactic like offering CAD files or creating content.

  Show Summary: Todd Hockenberry joins me on this episode.  Todd Hockenberry has been in the manufacturing business for almost 30 years.  He is the owner of Top Line Results, which specializes in leading top line revenue growth at small and medium sized companies with a focus on manufacturing, technology, and capital equipment.  Todd started Top Line Results after identifying a gap in the marketplace for inbound and digital marketing in the B to B world. On this episode, you will hear Todd talk about inbound marketing strategies.  Inbound marketing is about being able to be found by your prospects when they’re researching and evaluating their options via digital tools.  Inbound marketing also allows you to build engagement with the 97% of potential customers that aren’t ready to buy. You will learn that a website is at the core of a good inbound strategy.  Having a website allows you to tell your story through your website’s content.  Your website and content need to be up to date and tell what you do. The way you look and are perceived online helps with credibility. Data and analytics are very important to your marketing strategy. Data shows that over 90% of customers start an industrial search online.  60% of the business goes to the first company that’s helpful.  Search data can show you the gap between how many customers are looking for what you do, and how many are finding your site. Connect with Todd Hockenberry: Website: Top-Line-Results.com Todd Hockenberry on LinkedIn In this episode, you’ll learn: [00:46] - Todd introduces himself and shares his background. [04:11] - Todd describes the history of and philosophy behind inbound sales and marketing strategy. [07:47] - Todd shares that once a lead enters the sales side, it becomes about aligning with the marketing strategy that brought them to you through customization. [08:57] - Todd explains that inbound strategies impact your outbound marketing. [09:20] - Inbound marketing tactics are always changing. Todd teaches that you determine your strategy, but your target customers determine the tactics. You need to go where they are. [10:16] - Todd believes that a great website is vital for your company. You should tell your story through your website. [12:55] - There is a huge opportunity for manufacturers through inbound marketing because it is an untapped market. Todd explains that manufacturers need to view inbound marketing as part of their competitive advantage. [13:55] - Todd shares a case-study with us. He explains how this business found him and his business and what their issues were. [16:26] - Todd describes the process he and the firm went through to come up with a solution. [18:52] - In my opinion, people need to stop pitching the product and start sharing expertise. Todd says that customers have a different definition of expertise. [21:00] - You have a great opportunity to build trust by sharing pricing in marketing materials. This allows you to build a relationship on value and expertise. [25:01] - We go back to this idea of not pitching the product, but sharing expertise. Todd shares some ideas on how to overcome this type of thinking. [28:16] - Todd shares that Tube Form Solutions adopted these inbound principles to grow their business. [33:30] - Todd shares the results from this case-study and describes how the results were measured. [37:47] - I share that when you share expertise and knowledge with an inbound strategy, you get top of mind awareness, credibility, and reciprocity. [39:21] - Todd answers this week’s challenge question. This week’s challenge question comes from a Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a Midwest manufacturer of wood products.  This company has implemented strategies to generate more leads.  They are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and not seeing results.  Todd shares his thoughts on this situation. [45:20] - Todd shares two takeaways Start outside and work your way back to your plan. The world has changed from “buyers beware” to “sellers beware.” Your Resources: Hubspot blog post on the Tube Form Solutions case-study - https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-a-27-year-old-manufacturing-company-grew-sales-by-million-dollars#sm.00006ngn6jmy7dbm113ulj20us7oh Send in your Challenge Question: If you have a challenge you’re facing or a problem, when it comes to sales and marketing, send it in as a challenge question and I’ll pose it to one of our guest experts.  Email your challenge question to bruce@mmmatters.com.

This week we ask the question, "Is branding dead for manufacturers?"  Chris Wirthwein shares his experience and answers the question with some 'yes' and some 'no'. In short, a strong manufacturer brand can be a huge advantage if approached from a customer centric approach. Listen and learn if you should pursue branding or just let it die. Highlights: "Brand" is what you have and "branding" is what you do. Brand is a perception of your company. Branding is the things that you do that affect those perceptions. [4:20] Consider owned, earned and paid media for branding activities. Chris recommends emphasizing the owned type. [10:10] Interesting idea; what your sales people say to customers and prospective customers is owned media. Your employees could even be considered as owned media. [12:00] It's important to understand the difference between the corporate brand and the product brand. [14:50] Chris' book, The People Powered Brand, talks about the 5 foundations of a people powered brand: [18:20] Consistency Credibility Desirability Uniqueness Do-ability Poor brand alignment can cause a lot of problems including recruitment of talent, value of a company and profit. [21:20] Chris comes to the conclusion that branding is not dead for B2B manufacturers. Branding is, indeed, an opportunity to gain competitive advantage. [30:50] Interview Questions: Question 1: Let’s start off with some basic definitions. The words brand and branding get thrown around a lot…what are the definitions? We’re all familiar with consumer branding – Super Bowl ads, promotions, packaging and a big emphasis on imagery and social media buzz – is that type of branding that you would recommend for B2B manufacturers? Question 2: Most of the manufacturing marketers out there listening are operating on lean resources, few people and small budgets with a ton of stuff they need to get done each and every day. Stuff which may or may not include branding or building brand awareness. Why should a B2B manufacturer spend precious time and money into building its corporate brand? Are there some common characteristics of successful B2B brands? Is there a business case that can be made for putting money into branding? Question 3: We’ve established the definition and the reasons why brand awareness is important. Let’s get to the core of the issue. How does a manufacturer go about understanding what his/her brand is…and what it could and should be? The subtitle of your book is A Blueprint for B2B Brand and Culture Transformation. What does culture have to do with brand for B2B manufacturers? Question 4: So…bottom line…is branding dead for B2B manufacturers? Should they be prioritizing the tactical marketing like social media, webinars, digital marketing, email marketing and putting branding lower on the priority scale? So why don’t more manufacturers do the work of building their brand? Challenge Question: This week our challenge question comes from a CMO at a larger size manufacturer $2 billion annual revenue. Here it is: “I’ve introduced the idea of content marketing to our company where the product culture is extremely strong. Sales and Product rule the strategic decisions. I understand and the love the idea of using knowledge to gain awareness and even generate leads. But, I’m having a hard time selling the idea to the rest of the leadership team. I think the CEO will support me, but I get some eye rolls and snickers from the CFO and VP Sales. Do you have any tips or, even better, examples of how to overcome a strong product culture when content marketing is introduced?” Use customer information to support the hypothesis. Use the customer as the reason. Make the point that the competitors are not using content marketing and it is an opportunity. Tell leadership that you want to expose the vast knowledge contained in the experience of the employees. Put it in their world, ask them (leadership) to describe how they go through the buying process for a personal item, then ask them why the company is not meeting the customer in the same way. Takeaways: A brand is 80% behavior as compared to the logo, etc. There must be internal and external alignment around brand. hbspt.cta.load(2789653, 'fbbae10d-804b-4807-9967-671437c7ba70', {});

This week, we discuss the important differences between old school marketing and modern marketing and how manufacturers can and must adapt to survive. Manufacturers can gain an immediate and significant advantage when they shift from a company centered strategy to a customer focused strategy. Highlights: "Marketing is the most difficult part of business today." The biggest challenge and opportunity for manufacturing marketers is cutting through the noise of too many messages. [3:40] Strategic marketing is the messaging or the content of the marketing. Tactical marketing is the delivery of the messaging. If the message is incorrect the delivery will not matter. Frank shares a case study about why product features are not the best messaging strategy. [6:35]  4 pieces of the "Marketing Equation": [10:20] Interrupt Engage Educate Offer "There are only two people who care about your company name, you and your mother." [11:10] The days of the manufacturer forcing customers to buy the way they want them to buy are over. [15:00] To be successful with a marketing strategy you must understand the people in your target audience first and foremost. [16:10] A good message hits the customer's pain point head on. [19:40] Frank talks about the buyer's journey with a great example using sun rooms. [22:55] Is your marketing upside down and backward?  Find out here. [28:50] "Marketing is the process of connecting a person with a problem they have and don't want with a solution they want but don't have." [30:35] Interview Questions: Question 1 – If you had to pick one thing, what is the most important change that manufacturers should be focusing on right now to gain a competitive advantage? Question 2 – One challenge I see at a lot of manufacturers is the perception of the word “marketing”. I bet if we got 10 CEOs in a room and asked them to define ‘marketing’, we would get 10 different answers. I think one especially confounding idea is the concept of strategic versus tactical marketing. Could you give us your definition of marketing, including some practical examples of strategic and tactical? Question 3 – When it comes to a go-to-market strategy, I think we can agree, that the manufacturer must meet the buyers where, when and how they want to buy. The days of forcing a customer to buy the way the manufacturer wants them to buy are long gone. How does a manufacturer match their buyer’s behavior to facilitate a purchase and even a long term customer? Question 4– When we were discussing this topic, you mentioned to me that most manufacturers have their marketing upside down and backward. Would you elaborate on that idea and give our listeners some tips and examples about how they can get started in making their own marketing right-side up and forward facing? Challenge Question – This week our challenge question comes from an industrial automation company from the Chicago area. Here it is “We’re not a manufacturer, but we sell to a lot of them so I hope you can help us out. We’re trying to build our subscriber list by offering an email newsletter. We put out the newsletter once a month where we talk about new products, special offers and we highlight one of our senior managers. We’ve been promoting it on social media and the front page of our website along with trying to get our sales team to promote it. After a full year, the results are terrible. We have 49 subscribers and a pretty high unsubscribe rate. What are we doing wrong?” Stop talking about yourselves and start sharing information that is relevant to the audience. Use it to establish your firm as an expert. Consider increasing frequency to at least 2x per month.  Tag the newsletter with something that matters to the audience. Share a solution to a problem they have to establish your credibility and expertise. Takeaways: Cut through the blizzard of information with a laser focused message that addresses the customers wants and needs, then align your entire company around that message. Make the transition by becoming customer centric instead of company-centric. hbspt.cta.load(2789653, '3821fb74-ef24-4f12-94a9-52ac6312572d', {});

This week we discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing marketing. Learn about pitfalls to avoid, 5 questions to ask when you are deciding whether or not to outsource and a few great examples. Highlights: Manufacturers are well positioned to go through the process of choosing whether or not to outsource because they are likely to already have a process in place for other business functions. Here are 5 questions to ask: [4:00] What is the specific work that you want to accomplish? What is the frequency of the particular marketing activity? Do you have an in-house resource that can do the work? What is the cost for us to do the same work in-house? What is the opportunity cost to do it in-house? One of the important considerations for risk is that you are going to have to devote time to your outsourced resource. If you are unable to devote time to communications and management, the outsourcing project will not be effective and productive. [9:10] Outsourcing can be a very efficient means to get your marketing activities done. [12:00] To find good fit agencies or consultants to outsource consider LinkedIn groups, colleagues, web search or local business networking groups. Find a company that is already doing the activity that you need to get done. [13:55] Pitfalls to avoid include, choosing based on lowest price, watch out for buying more than you need especially when it comes to technology, not having the capacity to communicate with your outsourced marketer. [18:50] Interview Questions: Question 1 –  Steve, what are some important considerations a manufacturer should look at when they are trying to decide if they should or should not outsource marketing or a portion of their marketing? What are the risks a manufacturer should be aware of with outsourcing? What are the possible gains a manufacturer could realize from outsourcing? Question 2 –  OK, let’s say there’s a manufacturing marketing leader out there who has decided they are ready to outsource. What are the first steps to take? Is there a process they should go through? Question 3 – The biggest question on the minds of some listeners might be, “How do I find the right agency for me?” Could you offer some advice on finding a best fit agency? Question 4 – How about pitfalls? I’m sure there are some folks out there who have had bad experiences with outsourcing. What are 3 to 5 pitfalls to look out for when outsourcing marketing? Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes from a business development manager at a packaging equipment manufacturer. Here it is, “The reason for my email is that I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction of other packaging equipment manufacturers that have been approaching marketing this way (stopping the product pitch and sharing expertise). Even with the metrics, I'm having a hard time getting management to see the value. My thought is, if I can build a portfolio of examples of similar type companies along with our metrics, that I can successfully demonstrate the opportunity it holds for us.” Share some examples of what competitors are doing, even if it is the opposite. Show opportunity or even create a little fear that the competition is moving ahead with a similar tactic. It will be hard to find manufacturers who are using this tactic. That, in itself, is the opportunity. Be the first. Be the early adopter. The winners will be the first movers. Do an A-B test comparing a product webinar to a knowledge based webinar to prove the concept. The best way to get buy-in is to show how the strategy is driving revenue. Takeaways: It's not too late to put your marketing strategy in place for the year. Marketing is a skill set, not something that can be done on the fly or as a side activity. Know what you need before you start to search for a firm to outsource marketing. Outsourcing can be a very efficient and effective way to get marketing done, but it's not the solution for all firms.

This week we discuss how to use CAD files to increase website traffic and generate awareness. If you are manufacturing parts whether configured or stock, this tactic is a must have. Highlights: The crux of the idea is that as a manufacturer of a component, you should provide downloadable, usable CAD that makes it easy for them to use that file in their own drawings without having to create the model themselves. [4:45] Most engineers will not stick on a site that does not offer CAD. But, only about 50% use this tactic. That spells opportunity. [7:00] The 2D drawing can be more important than the 3D. The 2D has a much wider audience. [9:00] Learn how CAD works to help with SEO. You don't want the person looking for a part to leave your website to get the CAD file.  [15:00] Those companies that do not use this tactic will start to lose business to companies that are already doing it. [21:10] Interview Questions: Question 1 –  Let’s start with the logistics. How does it work? A real example would be great. Question 2 –  It seems like any company selling a part would be all over this. Is the practice widely adopted or are only a few savvy manufacturers reaping the benefits? Is it hard to do and/or very expensive? Question 3 – Would you please walk our listeners through the strategy and then through the tactical steps from a prospective customer visiting the site to downloading the CAD file to making the purchase? Question 4 – How does offering CAD drawings on a website affect SEO? Web traffic in general? Are there other benefits related to marketing and sales that we haven’t discussed? Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes from a VP Sales & Marketing of a Midwest manufacturer of steel tubing. Here it is “We’re a mid-size manufacturer of all types of steel tubing. We’re sold on the idea of gaining brand awareness and differentiating by sharing expertise. Our challenge is that we have no idea about how to get started since it’s all new to our sales and marketing team. What would you advise being the first steps?” The best way to get started is to understand a common problem that your audience faces where you have expertise. Share knowledge around that pain or problem. Build some content and distribute it to your target audience. As that content is consumed by your target audience, your reputation as the go-to expert will begin to grow. Takeaways: Don't wait any longer to start using CAD for your business. Be aware that you may never know the amount of business you are losing because they are going to the competitor who does offer CAD on their website.

This week our guest expert Marcelo Prado and I discuss the huge importance of digital marketing for manufacturers. It is really a matter of survival. Those manufacturers who are willing and able to build their go-to-market strategy around the digital world will win, those unable or unwilling will become extinct. Marcelo shares the why and the how. Highlights: See a webinar by MAPI, Invent to Survive. One of the problems is that many manufacturers and the leadership do not understand what 'digital marketing' really means. First you have to educate about what it means. A pilot program helps to demonstrate the strategy. [5:30] The most exciting part of digital marketing is that it allows manufacturers to engage with their audience in many different ways as they go through their buying process. [7:00] It is critically important to understand that customers are in charge of the buying process. When they finally contact the manufacturer, if you have not already been providing information, you may never make the short list.   [7:40] Digital adoption among B2B manufacturers is very low. This is the opportunity. But, it's hard because there are so many options available. [10:00] Fresh off the virtual press - Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic from MarTech. Marcelo's team finally told him, enough with pilots, let's go make a decision and go ahead. [12:50] The leadership team can be your biggest hurdle. You must bring quantifiable KPI to show them that there is a contribution to revenue. [14:20] The very term "marketing" can be a problem because everyone has a pre-conception and, many times, negative. We need to change that perception! [16:00] Marcelo shares a case study of a product launch that was wildly successful combining digital marketing with traditional marketing tactics. [18:30] Digital marketing is not meant to take a sales person's role but is meant to enhance that role by making the salesperson more effective. [23:45] If you think your customers are not going online to research a product, you're fooling yourself!  Even for multi-million dollar products, they go online to research and self-educate. [26:15] hbspt.cta.load(2789653, '60ca8bfb-f5c6-4ee1-b96d-61b74b8bf04c', {}); Interview Questions: Question 1 –  First, let’s level set. Marcelo, would you offer a definition of digital marketing, the contrast to non-digital marketing and a few examples would be great? There are probably some listeners out there believing that they can survive without digital marketing. After all, trade shows, print ads and a field sales team have always worked. Why is digital marketing so important for manufacturers? Question 2 –  What are you seeing when you attend conferences, talk to colleagues and such when it comes to adoption of these digital marketing strategies and tactics amongst the B2B manufacturing companies? Manufacturers are enthusiastic adopters of digital technologies on the production end and supply chain side, why is adoption so low for digital marketing? Question 3 – You shared an interesting case study for the MAPI report about a product launch that combined digital and off-line tactics. I know a lot of our listeners would love this idea for their own product launches, would you share that story (Video Borescope)? Question 4 – What would you say is the biggest challenge most common to manufacturers adopting a digital marketing culture and how can they overcome that challenge? Is it really a question of survival or am I being overly dramatic? Challenge Question: [send in your own challenge question] This week our challenge question comes from a test and measurement company in Connecticut. “We manufacture test instruments for the aviation industry. We’re in the early stages of advancing our marketing function from “old style” to “digital”. A big question we have is about the tools. We’re contemplating purchasing a marketing automation platform. Do we need one or can we be modern without that tool?” Yes, you need the modern tools to be successful with digital marketing. Just maintaining the database is critically important and you can't maintain the database without a CRM (customer relationship management).  A big opportunity for manufacturers is to manage the list of existing customers. Another important aspect of a tool, there are privacy laws that must be adhered to, it is impossible to manage it without a marketing automation or email service tool. You need to have the tools to prove ROI to really excel at digital marketing. Takeaways: Customers are now in control of the sales process. Understand the customer buying process and how they engage, not just from your firm, but how they buy in general. When you get started with digital marketing, start with experimentation and pilots, but move quickly from that phase and scale to product stage. Digital marketing is really a 'must do'. Transcript:  

Download the mp3 file. In this episode, we discuss the advantages that are available to small and medium size manufacturing companies because of their innate ability to make quick marketing decisions and relatively quick strategic or tactical changes. Adam is a practitioner who has proven this idea as a marketing manager working with and marketing to manufacturers. Guest: Adam Robinson, Marketing Manager at Cerasis Highlights: The reason that SMB manufacturers have an advantage is, simply, there is less bureaucracy and fewer people to approve content. You can also spread the word internally faster and easier. Take advantage of this difference. [6:00] LinkedIn Groups are a great place to share your message, knowledge or expertise with a target audience.  Choose a group and share knowledge. Ask a question and post answers. [11:00] Action Items - build a content plan to create content that your audience wants to consume; distribute content on a regular schedule; get the sales team and leadership involved with your content marketing strategy and execution. [14:30] Adam shares ideas how to get over the perception that marketing is a servant to sales. Show sales that marketing can be a powerful force to help sales achieve their goals. [20:00] Real life case study featuring Covington Aircraft and an image-oriented content marketing strategy. [22:00] The people in your target audience love experts. You can win in your market by becoming an expert in a subject that your audience cares about. [26:30] When you talk to manufacturing leadership about the role marketing can play in the business, talk about business fundamentals and answer their question "what's in it for me?" [29:15] Interview Questions: Question 1 –  First question, why is there an opportunity in this day and age for smaller manufacturers to compete and even overtake larger direct competitors? Question 2 –  Could you share a few specifics for our manufacturing marketing listeners out there. What are 3 to 5 action items they can take right away to begin taking advantage of the opportunity? Question 3 –  Could you share a real-life example where you were able to help a company achieve an advantage yourself by using this type of strategy and associated tactics? Question 4 – This all sounds great and I bet a lot of our listeners are really excited. But, the reality is, they can’t or won’t invest in marketing whether it’s new people or outsourcing. Usually, because the leadership won’t get on board.  What advice could you offer folks who find themselves in this situation? Challenge Question – Send in your own challenge question! This week our challenge question comes from a plastics manufacturer in Upstate New York. Here it is. “We’re a mid-size injection molding company and we’re having a tough time competing with the low-price production out of China. We keep getting underbid and I can’t reduce my prices any lower than the already are. I read your book (The New Way to Market for Manufacturing) and I’m interested in how I can grow by sharing expertise and not pitching our service. My concern is that it might take up to a year to start seeing results. Is that true? Is there a way to get faster results?” The fact is that it will take some time to establish yourself and your company as an expert. But, the sooner you get started, the sooner you will gain that expert position. Advertising and sponsoring content can help speed up the results. There are a couple of tactics where you can get faster results. Educational webinars are great for quick lead generation. eNewsletters are another tactic that can show relatively quick results. Takeaways: Be human. People want to deal with people. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Put it out there. hbspt.cta.load(2789653, '069e1b82-e384-4684-aff7-ab60a00695f0', {});   Transcript: Bruce McDuffee: Welcome to Manufacturing Marketing Matters, a podcast produced by the Manufacturing Marketing Institute, the center of excellence for manufacturing marketers. I'm Bruce McDuffee. Thank you for listening Hello, manufacturing marketers. Say, if you like the ideas and the strategy and the tactics we talk about here on the podcast, consider signing up for our free New Way to Market phone consultation with me. It's about 30 minutes long. We learn about each other and our businesses. I'll share a couple of fresh, innovative ideas specifically for your company. Just go to mmmatters.com/contact and fill out that form, and we'll set it up. Now, on to the show. Our guest expert today is Adam Robinson. Adam is the marketing manager at Cerasis. Welcome, Adam. Adam Robinson: Thank you for having me, Bruce. Pleasure to be here. Bruce McDuffee: Yeah. It's great to have you on the podcast today. I'm looking forward to our discussion. Folks, today, our topic, it's about the big opportunity for small and medium-sized manufacturers. What's that opportunity, you may be wondering. Well, the fact that smaller companies and medium companies can be more agile. This can be reflected immediately in their ability to leverage modern digital marketing strategy and tactics. There may be days where you're out there feeling like the big guys, just, they have all the money and all the power, and all the resources, and they just dominate that market place. That can be true to some extent, but today, small and medium guys have an advantage. A small company can reach the same customers, same prospects that the big guys can, not for a lot of money. Today, we're going to discuss the why and the how. Before we get into the interview, Adam, would you please introduce yourself to the audience with a little bit about your expertise and experience around the idea that agility can be a huge advantage for small and medium-sized businesses. Adam Robinson: Yeah. Sure. My name is Adam Robinson, like you said earlier. I work here at Cerasis, a third party logistics company as the director of marketing. I've worked in sales and marketing since I graduated from college in 2003, so for about 14 years. I've worked in digital marketing for about 10 years. If you've been in digital marketing for 10 years, that pretty much makes you an industry veteran because a lot of those practices have not been around. I mean, one of the first things that I did was work at a startup and instantly saw the value of digital practices by implementing an online form to take away the fax paper registration. It allowed us to decrease time for our customers to sign up, and we found that that was the biggest paying point. I really started to see how digital things, things that were less cost-intensive, less paper, if you will, improved process and helped you connect with your customers a lot quickly. Those fundamentals, back in 2004 when I did that with that company are no different than today. Just like you eluded to small companies can really take on the big guys because they have the ability to use something like digital marketing to reach them. Really found a passion for helping businesses in digital marketing, really got into social media in 2010, especially in LinkedIn. I think what I really was attracted to was goal-oriented marketing. When people told me, "Adam," when I first worked at a social media agency about eight years ago, "We want to achieve this. We could then develop strategies and use very inexpensive tools to go out and accomplish those goals." We do that today here at Cerasis. We use digital marketing to compete with the big guys. We are not the largest 3PL in the game, but I guarantee you, if you Google search anything around what we do in the way of logistics or transportation management, we're out there beating the big guys. We continue to get a lot of good leads, and we've been growing our business. It's a lot of fun to see results when you put it into play and it just keeps getting better and better. As you go after that, you have a lot more fun doing it.   Bruce McDuffee: Great. Thanks for that background. I pronounced the company name wrong? I said Cerasis, but it's Cerasis?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, that's interesting. It's a challenge. Phonetically, and about 100% of the time, people do say Cerasis because I think phonetically, that's exactly how you should say it. One of the biggest challenges we had was name recognition and people saying it correctly. I think we're always going to have that challenge, but more people know about our name more than ever. I'm happy that people are just saying it, no matter how they say it. Our sales people love now when they call up people are like, "I've heard of Cerasis." We quickly say, "Well, it's Cerasis." They're like, "I don't really care, because that means you've heard of us."   Bruce McDuffee: That's a great way to look at it. Adam, you have a lot of experience with digital marketing. I would say you're probably a pioneer. If you've been doing digital marketing for 10 years, you're a pioneer. Even more important, you're a practitioner.   Adam Robinson: Yeah, I do it every day.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, and that ... who's had success. Folks out there listening, Adam's not just set talking theory or ideas here, he's done it, he's proven it. This is going to be good content. First, let's get some context. Adam, a lot of our listeners are manufacturers and marketers working for manufacturers. A lot of them struggle to use modern marketing and digital marketing strategies, you know, things like SEO, even email marketing, paper-click, or content marketing. It's hard. It's hard to compete with the big guys when it comes to resources, people, and money. They don't have a lot of slack. They don't have time to step back and reassess and revamp their whole machine. Of course, they know about the tactics, they want to use them, and that's where we want to start.   The first question, why is there an opportunity in this day and age for smaller and medium-sized manufacturers to compete, and even overtake larger direct competitors? Why is that?   Adam Robinson: The easiest answer is you have less bureaucracy, and therefore you have less people to convince within your organization that digital marketing is valuable. Imagine if you were to go to a company and tried to execute new programs, or get content approved by a myriad of layers. In my years of doing this, I would say that the number one reason that marketers fail to get digital marketing off the ground is the inability to explain the value of digital marketing and blogs, and Tweeting, and sharing on Facebook to your bosses. Now, in a big company, imagine having to go to your boss, and his boss having to go to his boss, or his boss going to his boss to convince them to even get started.   Secondly, as you start to put content out into the wild, and people start to engage with it, and let's say someone disagrees with what you've written. Imagine the CEO sending you an email saying, "What is this all about?" Then, 18 other bosses piling on top of you? It's called "Paralysis by analysis." I think we're all familiar with that. That happens a lot.   I say, but the next big advantage, however, in a small organization, or small company, is that you have the ability to touch every single department a lot more quickly than a huge organization. At the heart of good content marketing is simply telling the story of your company, telling your potential customers, and your readers what makes you different, informing them and educating them on the things that your company is already an expert on. I guarantee you that at a small or mid-sized manufacturer, you know the exact person who's machining your product. You know the subject matter experts by name. You may have known them for years. As simple as this is, you just have to sit in front of them and ask them, "What do you hear out there in the marketplace? What are your challenges? What do you think our customers would like to be educated about that is also a value proposition for our company?"   For example, when I first came to Cerasis, the first thing I did, and I recommend any marketer do this, is I sat down with the leadership, and every department head, and then every single employee afterwards. I gave them all the exact same five to 10 questions. I said, "What do you think the goals of the company are? Who do you think our target audience is? What do you think they're going to care about? What's your value to this company, or to a customer, when they become a customer?"   If you sit down ... say you have 30 to 50 people in your organization, and you ask those same 30 to 50 people those questions, and you write them down or record them ... You can go back and review those notes, but just even psychologically, when you're done with that process, in your brain, you have already heard 50 versions of what the company needs to market. You get a very big picture of that. Then you go, "All right. I've already got a million ideas for content that I can start putting together, because I know all these subject matter experts' thoughts, needs, and desires, and what they think the customer wants to hear."   You can then put all that together and start creating content. Guess what you've already done, you've already gotten buy-in from every single one of those people, because you're telling their story. You're not telling your story, or what you think as a marketer. If you get siloed in what you think about, and you start applying all of these digital marketing ... "I need to do these tactical things because I'll write an SEO article. I need to construct it this way." Well then you're not really doing what people want to read. Human beings need to be brought to the forefront of content marketing. If you're creating content that your subject matter experts inside have said that they might read, well I guarantee you, the target audience is going to want to read that. Guess what, Google's not going to think you're trying to game their system and their algorithm. They're going to go, "They're creating good content for human beings," and they're going to favor you in the long-run.   Bruce McDuffee: I think what you're saying here, as far as reason it's easier for small and medium companies, there's a couple of reasons. One is you don't have to deal with bureaucracy, and you probably have access to the leadership, so you can talk to them about it, get their buy-in. One of the things, though, Adam, is do you think there's a big reason because of the modern way we get information? Mean, 20, 30 years ago, you had to have a lot of money to get your message out, because it was TV, radio, print. Now, a small guy can get out a better message than a big guy because of the internet and social media. Yeah, sometimes you'll still have to pay, but it's more of a level playing field. How does that play into the advantage?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, that's right. I mean, you can go in and you can install WordPress on to your website. A WordPress is just a simple content management system. There's a number of content management systems out there. You start publishing your content. You can establish your own social media platforms. For example, in a manufacturing community. I know it because I live and breathe it, been doing it for five straight years, but there are hundreds of LinkedIn groups. Unlike places like Facebook, or Twitter ... not that those don't have value. I'll talk a little bit about those two platforms specifically. A place like LinkedIn, you don't have to build followers for people to start seeing your content when you join LinkedIn groups. You're already joining a built in community where as soon as you post a discussion, you're reaching potentially tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands of professionals around a single relevant idea.   If you're a manufacturer who's manufacturing oil and gas products, there's an oil and gas group of 200,000 people. If you build content that educates and informs those people, where they actually want to read it, and you've powered it through interviews from subject matter experts within your organization, you're going to start seeing in your own analytics and your own traffic people from the oil and gas industry come to your website. If you construct those with good calls-to-action, and it's easy for people to get in touch with you, then an interesting thing starts to happen, they start getting in touch with you, you start to generate that magic currency that your boss wants to see, and that's a lead, right? A qualified lead.   I think that's why it's such a level playing field. Anybody can do that. It requires zero money to have a LinkedIn account, zero money to join a group, except for your time and a little bit of research using a search function.   Bruce McDuffee: You've had good success with LinkedIn groups then, growing your business through that type of sharing?   Adam Robinson: Yeah, absolutely. It does take a little bit of your time. For example two and a half years ago, there was a LinkedIn group API. There were a number of social media management tools that allowed you to more easily distribute your content into specific groups. Now, they've taken away that API because of spam abuse. There are a few people out there who make it worse for us good guys, who are really trying to create content that engages and informs. LinkedIn took away that API. That's fine. I'm okay with that, because I'm disciplined to record all the names of my groups, to put them into categories in a spreadsheet. If I create a piece of content that talks about the application of the internet of things as it applies to the manufacturing community, I'm only going to put that group discussion into those groups where that might be relevant. Oh yeah, I'm also not just going post a link, I'm going to ask a question around that idea to try and engage the audience. I'm also not just going to post my content, I'm going to be an active member of that community.   When you ask your own questions that don't include a link to your content, or you engage and provide thoughtful insight to someone else's discussion, and you do that with discipline over time, you better believe that when you post content and links to your blog or to your website, it'll be not seen as spam, or not adding value to the community, it will be seen as, "Hey, that's old Bob. He always likes to start discussions, and he's an active poster, but he also likes to give me thoughts on my stuff." The managers, the other members, they really value that community-driven aspect. By joining LinkedIn groups, you're already tapping into existing communities without you having to build them yourself, unlike Facebook and Twitter.   Bruce McDuffee: That's a great tip. Let's dig into it a little more, some specifics, Adam. For our manufacturing marketing listeners out there, maybe you could say three to five action items they could take right away to start getting advantage about this opportunity we're talking about.   Adam Robinson: Sure. I think a big tactic that I would apply is to, especially when you're creating content, is to build yourself a content plan that is backed by categories. Those categories should be driven primarily by what your target audience might want to read. If we go back to the oil and gas industry, and we think about all the decision makers in the oil and gas industry of your specific product, and you're going to know that best, and I recommend you determine that beforehand, but I'm sure you know that already. You might say that they're interested in X, Y and Z, and so you want to record those categories beforehand, and you want to make sure that you write a good amount of those different types of categories.   If I take it back to Cerasis, for example, our target audience are North American industrial manufacturers and distributors, primarily in the automotive aftermarket industry. Now, in the manufacturing side of things, there are a number of things that manufacturers care about. For example, technology in manufacturing, or the internet of things, or reshoring, because we serve the United States market, and reshoring or taking warehouses from abroad, bringing them back to the USA, is a big idea.   Now, we've gotten flack from some people who just don't get it, and they go, "Why are you writing about reshoring when you're a transportation, management, and logistics company?" I say, "Well, I'm writing about that because I may not care about that for my business, but I guarantee you, the manufacturing executive, who will ultimately make the decision on our product, does care about that. For him or her to become aware of us, I need to reach them with that content, so wherever, it be a LinkedIn group, a LinkedIn profile post, a LinkedIn company page post, a Tweet, a search engine result on a search engine page, I need them to go, "That's interesting to me."   We become a hub of information for those people, but I can't write about those things unless I do my work of recording the categories of the things that my target audience might care about. That requires a little bit of research to put those categories down.   Another tactic that I would give somebody, especially when it applies to content marketing distribution, is that you have to distribute your content. One of the things that I always say is ... I kind of ... a little twist on content is king, right? Content is king. You have to have the currency by which to entice your target audience to come back and speak to you, the goods, the where's. That's the content. If you're not distributing that ... and this is where I say content is king, and distribution rules the land. If you're not distributing that content regularly in Twitter, or in these LinkedIn groups that are relevant, then no one's going to see it. Before you have the big payoff, which we'll talk about in a little bit, search engine optimization, as you're creating this content, you have to start getting people to engage with your content, to come back and leave comments. Don't forget about social media distribution.   The third tactic I would employ is, there's a sales element to any marketer, right? There's always going to be a sales executive in this. You have to get them involved in your vision and mission for your marketing. You cannot operate in a silo. There can be no walls between you and your sales manager, as a marketer, because that content that you're creating is chuck full of juicy nuggets that are great things to send to a prospect. That's how you sell today. I guarantee you that in the sales process, there will be a problem as you're talking to your target audience, that if you've done your categories right, and you've listened to what your target audience wants from your internal interviews with your subject matter experts, there's going to be something that you've written that can be put in the sales person's email, or in the sales person's conversation that will empower them to create a more relevant conversation with that sales prospect. If your marketing strategy, and the consultative, informed, educated approach that you have in that content marketing strategy doesn't align in that sales process, it's going to be broken.   Don't just look at it as just generating leads, look at it as truly empowering your sales staff with really good content and information that will help them continue to peel back the layers it takes to close a deal.   Bruce McDuffee: This is challenging, because you know as well as I do, Adam, a lot of manufacturing companies have a long history, maybe 50, 80 years where sales rules. There's also, on top of that, many times with manufacturers, there's an internal cultural perception that marketing is setting up trade shows and placing adds, and maybe editing the webpages. To marketers I talk to, and manufacturing, they know, they get it, everything we've been saying, but to get over that hurdle is so important. I want to emphasize to that audience, you've got to get that alignment, like Adam was saying. You've got to show them how powerful marketing can be. Any tips on how they could do that, Adam? I mean, how does a marketer get over that hurdle?   Adam Robinson: Be explicit in your intentions, and clearly state that I am here as a marketer, to support your mission of being successful. I am completely bought in to your sales approach. Any good sales manager today, I think, would say, "Hey, my goal is to further the sales process, and I need collateral sometimes to do that," or "I need something that I can share to them that will make them think," or "Gosh, I have not been able to reengage this prospect. They're just not returning my calls. They're not returning my emails." I go, "Hey, have you tried sending them this blog post instead of, "I haven't heard from you lately," or leaving the 14th voicemail.   Sales is going from a tactical approach, just like marketing was for a while, to a very strategic, nuanced approach that requires a lot of context. When you create content, and you can point to thought leadership pieces, or that somebody picked up your publication, then that empowers sales to be more successful. My sales manager always calls me Oz, right? Like the Wizard of Oz. I'm the man behind the curtain for him, because I don't want to be the superstar. I think marketers, for a really long time, have tried to be the superstar, but we aren't. I think we're the fuel that powers the engine of sales. The more aligned you are to be explicit with your vision and your mission, that it's just ... We're just a part of their successful, then I think you get that buy-in.   Bruce McDuffee: Good. I think that's great advice. Let's talk about a real life example, Adam. Can you share with our audience a real life example where you were able to get a company into a position to take advantage of ... with their agility, to take advantage of this type of strategy and these types of tactics?   Adam Robinson: Yeah. I've helped a lot of companies breakthrough where ... I think when I do help companies, they never want to stop, because they may have had hesitations at first of putting themselves out there. For example, I had this client back in the day that I still keep in touch with called, ["Cubbington 00:22:03] Aircraft." They sold turbine aircraft engines, and maintained turbine aircraft engines a specific engine made by Pratt & Whitney called, "The PT6A." It powers a lot of turboprop engines. They also serviced the agriculture aviation market, and they did the old [Warbird 00:22:21] Radial engines, as well, the R-985, and the R-1340. They were looking to reach pilots who piloted those aircrafts and needed that engine maintained, of if they wanted to buy a new engine, they could sell that, and they needed to reach fleet managers.   There are a number of competitors in this space, but I think a lot of those engine guys, they're kind of like ... Think of a car shop. Imagine a car shop sitting there going, "All right, guys. We know this social media and this content is pretty important for us to do, but we have no idea how to do it." With them, we knew that they wanted to reach these pilots, and what we've found in our research is that these pilots have been asking people around the company ... They're very social in nature by what they do. Pilots love talking shot to each other about airplanes. They love showing pictures of each other, and so we've developed a strategy. It was very image-oriented, and we got them on Instagram ... There are 139 aircraft that had these engines that they support. Therefore, we said, "Okay, if the pilots care about the aircraft, but they are powered by these engines, if they're pilots of these aircraft, then they're going to need somebody to help them with the engines in order to keep it flying."   We said, "All right. We could sit here and talk about how to fix an engine, the ins and outs of the details of the engine, but at the end of the day, pilots might know about that. When you take your car in to get fixed, do you want to sit there and have your mechanic talk about how he fixed the engine, or do you want him to talk about maybe what you care about, and that he got the engine fixed?" All you care about is getting the engine fixed. You don't really care about the ins and outs of how it happened.   A lot of companies, they want to talk about how you do things. There's some aspect to that, but if that's all you're talking about, your audience is going to tune out. We started talking about the aircraft. We shared images of the aircraft. We talked about the history of those aircraft, but we always mentioned, "Oh yeah, they're powered by these engines. Oh yeah ..." at the end, with a call-to-action of any piece of content. "Book an appointment, so we can take care of that engine for you." We made it about the pilot community around those 139 aircraft. If you go on Instagram and you look up Cubbington Aircraft, they're at almost 20,000 Instagram followers, they have people liking their post. When you Google search the history of any of those aircraft, guess who's number one on Google?   It's less about the company, and more about the target audience. We just did that by following the process of interview the subject matter of expertise, people inside. Keep the target audience in mind, and create content that mirrors their real life behavior. Then, don't forget to ask for the business with a call-to-action.   Bruce McDuffee: Really, it comes down to what [inaudible 00:25:04] to mind, my mind is it comes down to knowing your audience, knowing their pain or ... Like the description you just gave, knowing their passion. When you know that, you share a content, relevant content, it's going to work, it's going to engage. It's really important. I mean, how many manufacturers out there are sharing content about features of their product and their boring stuff like accuracy, or speed? Audience doesn't care, right?   Adam Robinson: No, they don't. If you become a thought leader, right? Let's go back to the car mechanic as an example. If a car mechanic takes care of my problem that I came in for, but then at the end of the day, he also said, "Hey, Adam, I fixed your broken carburetor, but there's a line from the carburetor to this part ..." Forgive me, I don't know car engines too well, that's why I hire people. If he tells me, "Hey, the carburetor is all fixed, but I just wanted to inform you that if you continue to drive 97 miles an hour, it's going to put pressure on your transmission because this carburetor still needs to be broken in, and that could happen."   Every time I go to this mechanic, or every time he sends me an email reminder, he's given me information about my car and how I can do things to make it run better, and how if it gets worse, I need to make sure I call him. Well, first of all, he's staying top of mind with me. Second of all, he's building trust with education. People love experts. They love experts. They want to hear what makes you good, what makes you so smart, and you're talking about things that are relative to me and that I care about. When I have a problem, or I need something, or I'm looking to finally hire, I'm going to go to that company.   That's kind of the vision that we have a Cerasis. We think of ourselves in the marketing side of things, at least, and the sales process, much more as a publication than a company blog. We look at ourselves much more as a community, the manufacturing and distribution community at large, than we do as just trying to market to people. You have to really believe your own vision of that. You can't just be doing it because, "I'm in marketing. I'm tasked with this. My goal is to drive awareness. My goal is to drive leads." I'm not saying that's not what you're trying to do. Of course, that's your goal. You're driven by a vision of truly caring about creating a community, built and underlined by passion of your target audience.   Bruce McDuffee: Good. Makes sense. I imagine at this point in the podcast, there's probably some folks out there saying to themselves, "Well, this all sounds great." They're probably a little excited about it, and they want to do some of these things we're talking about to get the awareness, and the credibility, and the positioning as an expert, but the reality is they can't, or don't want to invest in marketing as a function, and with whether it's people or budget. Usually, it goes back to what we talked about earlier, that the leadership won't get on board. If a guy out there or a girl out there listening today, has a boss or a VP sales, whoever it is, that just doesn't understand it, what can they do today to start the conversation rolling?   Adam Robinson: You know, that's a really good question. I don't think you're going to be well served saying, "We really got to be Tweeting. We really got to be doing these tactical things." For example, my bosses, when they hired me, they hired a bunch ... The company never marketed before. They interviewed a whole bunch of people who were probably looking at doing more traditional things like newspaper ads, and magazine ads, and a bunch of trade shows, and those kinds of things. I came in, and I think I got the job because I didn't focus on necessarily, "We're going to be Tweeting or distributing in LinkedIn groups." I focused on the value and the outcome of what this could do, or what the purpose of it is." I became more strategic.   Just because we're using new tools for marketing, content marketing, social media, digital marketing, retargeting and advertising through digital means or email marketing, doesn't mean that a business owner who is an entrepreneur at heart, can't understand marketing and business fundamentals. You have to keep it fundamental. You have to tell them the purpose of why we're engaging in digital marketing. It's as simple as this, "Hey, boss, you told me your goal for the company was to grow by twenty million. Okay, great. You told me your marketing goals was to increase our brand awareness, and we hope that you can generate more inbound leads and more people coming to us instead of our sales reps having to cold call. Well, that's fantastic. I've developed a plan that is both going to benefit us in the short-term and the long-term. In the short-term, we're going to make sure we continue to reach this target audience."   You have to speak in those fundamental languages, and those fundamental words that people can understand. When you start coming out there with industry jargon, maybe they understand it, but what it the value of search engine optimization, right? What is the value of that long-term payoff? What is the value of going into these LinkedIn groups? If your boss asked those questions, you have to be willing to answer those fundamental questions.   "Well, I'm going to go into LinkedIn groups because this oil and gas group has 200,000 people, and I'm going to be able to reach a potential of 200,000 decision makers with our content that educates them. Boss, you and I both know that people love experts, and they want to be educated. I want to make us look like the authority, so that when they think of somebody to help them out with oil and gas manufacturing product, they're going to think of us. Oh yeah, while we're putting out this content that they're going to trust and engage with in the short term as we distribute that to get their eyeballs on it, I'm going to be doing search engine optimization tactics." The boss goes, "What the heck did you just say to me?"   I say, "Okay, boss, all that really means is, when's the last time you went to Google.com to search for a product or service. I guarantee you he goes, "This morning." I'm like, "Exactly, because you're searching for an answer. We're going to create content that answers our target audience's questions, whether it's about X, Y, or Z they care about, or even the things that we specifically do. Well, boss, it's going to take a long time. Search engine take a while for you to build up authority, and we just don't have it yet. In the short term, we're going to be doing these tactical things to bring eyeballs and awareness to us of our target audience." Speak in their language. Don't go too jargony with it, and focus on value.   Bruce McDuffee: Exactly. The boss is asking himself, "What's in it for me" when he's interviewing you or asking you these questions. Tell him what's in it for him, just like Adam just explained. Good. That brings us to the next part of the show, Adam, which is the challenge question. Folks out there listening, send in your question, keep them coming, email them to me bruce@mmmatters.com, or go to the website, and just find the menu for podcast challenge, fill out the form, send them in. I'll pose the question to one of our guest experts.   Today, our question comes from a plastics manufacturers in upstate New York. By the way, they're usually anonymous, or white-labeled like this. Here's the question, Adam, "We're a mid-sized injection molding company. We're having a tough time competing with the low price production out of China. We keep getting underbid, and I can't reduce my prices any lower than they already are. I read your book, the New Way to Market for Manufacturing, and I'm interested in how I can grow by sharing my expertise, and not pitching our service. My concern is that it might take up to a year to start seeing results. Is that true? Is there a way to get fast results? What do you think, Adam? What would you advise?   Adam Robinson: Sure. I think there's a couple of key parts to that question, three parts that I'm going to specifically address. You talk about low price, and the worry of China displacing you, because everybody's so cost-centric. That's true. That's reality. That happens. I think I would tell that person, "I bet you tell your sales people to focus on value." You said it yourself, expertise, you want to show them your expertise. If you've heard everything that we said today in this podcast, you know one thing that I think is important, that people still want to do business with people, and that you have to show your expertise. You have the expertise and the value, so create that content plan and start creating content with that.   Now, I'm not here to promise that the moment you start creating that content, that you're going to start getting leads and new customers, because that's not reality, and you have to set that expectation with yourself, because if you master some of these things and you start creating content and distributing in these things like LinkedIn groups, or you start building up your Twitter followers, it's going to take a while before people start building trust in your expertise. You don't just come out of the womb as an expert, you build that trust with whatever community you are, but every single day you don't do that, is a day wasted to start building it, so I would say don't be hesitant to start.   Now, after a while, if you continue to create content that human beings and your target audience actually care about, and you make sure that you're doing some really good on-page search engine optimization practices, and frankly that's just making sure that every piece of content you write is centered around a pretty centralized idea, Google will start [inaudible 00:34:34] your content, and start putting you in search engines. That might take a year to pay off, it depends on your market and your niche, and how well people are receiving your content, or sharing it or picking it up on other sites, those always super charge your search engine results.   What can you do in the short-term? Well, you can always advertise in social media and sponsor your content. You can always start distributing it into those groups, and that will help, but it's amazing that what Facebook ads and LinkedIn sponsored updates can do for you. It's also amazing that you can take possibly an email prospect list, or maybe you went to a trade show and you gathered email marketing, or emails from people that you talk to. You can give it for like constant contact that is as cheap as, I think, $79 a month. As you grow your list, that price increases, but you can email people any new content that you put out there. That's a good way to get people back to your website. I would say, you have to make sure that when you're targeting with these ads, or email marketing, that you want to make sure that it's relevant. When you're gathering email addresses, or anything like that, you want to make sure that you categorize them properly.   If you're talking like for example at Cerasis, I probably wouldn't email something regarding to how the internet of things affects manufacturing companies to my distribution lists, my distribution companies list, people who are distributors. You want to make sure that matches up. Do your due diligence whenever you're advertising to set your targeting to the appropriate people. Those are some short-term things that you can do, advertise, social media distribution, and email marketing to power that content that you're creating.   I think a lot of people often waste the effort that they put into one blog by publishing it and moving in. They forget to distribute it more than once. They forget to advertise it. They forget to use it in the sales process. They forget to blast it out through email marketing. Work that content until the search engine results start coming in. That is going to take anywhere from 90 to more days before you start seeing that traffic.   Bruce McDuffee: Okay. Good answer. Thanks, Adam. My two cents would be yes, it does take time to position your brand or your company as a go-to expert, as it takes time to get that top of mind awareness and that credibility in the market place, and you do that just like you're starting out asking the question about sharing expertise. Find that paying point that's common among your target audience, create content that addresses the paying point. That gets you to that position. Yes, that can take six months to a year.   However, there are a couple of tactics, just like Adam mentioned, a couple of tactics where you can get pretty fast results. One of them is, I've found is very effective for getting your qualified lead list, is an educational webinar. Create a webinar that shares expertise about that paying point, because people have to register for a webinar, they give you their information. If you have a pretty good sized internal data base, you could probably get a few hundred people right off just from that database, people who have forgotten about you, perhaps.   The second way to get quick results is set up an E-newsletter that also shares content. For the questioner, note that I didn't say anything about pitching that product, because that's not going to work, right, Adam?   Adam Robinson: Bruce, you probably get Cerasis' newsletter every day when we put out a piece of new content.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah. It's good stuff. Absolutely. It's like we've been saying all day, if you put out relevant, helpful, useful information, your audience is going to like it, and they're going to start associating that with you and your brand. Then, when the day comes around and they're ready to buy, you're going to get the call.   Adam Robinson: You know what, when we go to conferences with UPS, FedEx, right, these are name-brand companies, multi-billion dollar companies, I can't tell you .... The greatest feeling in the world is when their VP's come up to you and go, "How many people do you have working in your marketing department, because every time we Google anything in this industry, Cerasis is beating us. Why are you beating us? You guys must have just a whole bunch of marketing budget and a whole bunch of people." I said, "Now, up until last April, it was just me." This is possible with one person. The reality is that you just have to put everything you can into it and hustle it, and you can compete with the big guys. There's no greater feeling than to look at a guy from a company who's worth a billion more dollars than your company, and you eat them for lunch when it comes to search engine optimization.   Bruce McDuffee: There you go. It's doable, folks. It is doable.   Adam Robinson: Absolutely. Just Google freight class, and see who shows up when it comes to freight class. That's all I'm saying.   Bruce McDuffee: Well, Adam, to close out, do you have ... I always ask our guest experts to share one or two actionable takeaways. Is there one or two takeaways you'd like to leave with our audience? It could be a summary of something we've talked about, or a couple of nuggets they can do right away. What do you have for us?   Adam Robinson: When it comes to starting or venturing content and social media marketing, or trying to improve a program that you've already launched, I would say just don't stress yourself out too much. What I mean by that is just be human. Think of yourself in human terms. Remind yourself that although this is the internet, that more than ever, people want to connect with other people, that people want to read information that brings them value, so give that to them, and don't be afraid to give that to them. Don't be afraid to make mistakes either. That's what's great about all of this, is that you have analytics at the back end of all of this stuff. When I did this type of content, how many people responded in social media? Did this drive enough lead? Let the data be your guide, and don't be afraid to put it out there.   I've got to tell you, we write a blog post every day. We have a lot of planning in that content plan to achieve that. A lot of people go, "Well, how do you do that?" I go, "Because sometimes, I don't have a blog post for that day," but sometimes when I just kind of write out a post and put it out there in the world, I could tell you five times out of ten, those posts that I didn't plan, that I just wrote passionately, thinking about my target audience to give them what they wanted, those are the best performing posts that I always have, because it's devoid of paralysis by analysis, and it's full of passion. Just don't be afraid to put yourself out there, and meet your expectations, or don't meet them, but use the data to continue to improve.   Bruce McDuffee: Great takeaway. Thanks. Finally, Adam, anything you'd like to share with our audience about yourself or your company?   Adam Robinson: Well, myself, I absolutely love this stuff. I think you will too if you just put the passion behind it, you'll never work a day in your life. I never feel like I'm working, so I have the best job at my company. Speaking of my company, I'm really honored to be able to tell their story. I'm very lucky to have not to have convinced my bosses that this is important, they gave me that full autonomy. I know not everybody has that, but if you just simply are on the same page with your leadership, and you can get them to realize that there is value to this, and then you start to do it, and you prove it with your results, then it's going to be a fun experience.   Cerasis is such a great company to think that way. They built one of the first web-based transportation management systems before Google was even a company, back in 1997. They've not been afraid to innovate and put themselves out there. It's an extension to me. I feel a duty to my owners to tell their story. There's nothing more fun in the world. I'm completely blessed to be doing it as a job.   Bruce McDuffee: Adam, thank you so much for being a guest today on Manufacturing Marketing Matters.   Adam Robinson: Thanks for having me, Bruce. I enjoyed it.   Bruce McDuffee: That was Adam Robinson, marketing manager at Cerasis. For more information about Adam and Cerasis, visit the Guest Bio page, and see the show notes at mmmatters.com. If you like what we're talking about and other things we share in the podcast, and you want to take advantage of this type of opportunity in your market, at MMI, here we can help you. Take that first step. Go to the Contact page and we'll set up a free 30-minute consultation.   Thanks for listening to Manufacturing Marketing Matters. If you find this podcast helpful and useful, please subscribe at iTunes or Stitcher.com. You can download this episode on mmmatters, and get the show notes, and learn more about the podcast at mmmatters.com. I'm Bruce McDuffee, now let's go out and advance the practice of market and manufacturing today.  

Download the mp3 file. In this episode, we discuss the power and potential of LinkedIn for business development in manufacturing organizations. Bill Sterzenbach from Upward shares ideas, suggestions and real stories about how you, the manufacturing marketer, can and should use LinkedIn for business development; more qualified leads, higher conversion rates and a full sales pipeline. or go to mfg.mmmatters.com/ebook   Guest: Bill Sterzenbach, Partner at Upward Brand Interactions Highlights: There seems to be a bias against social media, therein lies a huge opportunity for the industrial enlightened. [2:50] LinkedIn is a place where professional go for growth. [5:50] 62% of B2B marketers find LinkedIn to be the most effective way to engage with their target audiences. The people who get the most benefit are those who understand the people who make up their target audience. [7:00] It's about people talking to people more than a brand talking to an audience. [9:30] Bill shares a case study about Parker Hannifin and Caterpillar are using LinkedIn well and having had great success on LinkedIn. [12:20] Here are three things you can do right now to have better success with LinkedIn: [15:20] Put in a practice to get more followers and set an objective. Post at least weekly on a regular basis. Use your internal team to help promote the channel. Learn about how paid or sponsored content works on LinkedIn. [19:10] It's a good practice to use both pay-per-click and LinkedIn sponsored content. [25:40] Get out there and do it badly, don't wait until it's perfect to start. [26:50] Interview Questions: Question 1 – Let’s start of broadly and talk about social media in general. How should manufacturers view social media when it comes to their business development? Is it table stakes in this day and age? Is it a good way to grow awareness? Is it a waste of time? Question 2 – Let’s zero in on LinkedIn. Rather than assume everyone knows what it is, would you first share, what is LinkedIn? How does it work? Real example of how a manufacturer might use LinkedIn… Question 3 – Sounds like it could be a pretty powerful business development tool. Suppose there is a manufacturing marketer out there listening, they have a LinkedIn company page, but aren’t doing much with it. What are 3 things they could do right away towards using that page for business development? Question 4– I know LinkedIn offers paid advertising. How does that work? A couple of examples would be great. Is there one ad type you recommend over others? (which one and why that one?) Is it for everyone? Challenge Question: Send in your challenge question! This week our challenge question comes in from New York, a manufacturer of industrial gases. Here it is, “I’m the VP Sales and Marketing at a company that manufactures and delivers industrial gases. I listened to your podcast a couple of weeks ago about sharing content to differentiate. Would that work with a commodity like Nitrogen or Oxygen used in an industrial environment? If yes, could you throw out a couple of examples on your next podcast?” Helpfulness is a great differentiator for commodity products. In a survey, purchasing and buyers will choose a company offering helpfulness over all others. The larger, more premier companies value helpfulness most. Better customers value service on the front lines and all around helpfulness. Use social media to prove your brand is helpful. TOMA + credibility + reciprocity = differentiation and bigger market share Takeaways: Set some goals for your social media program. Get buy-in from stakeholders. Offer from Bill and Upward - free lunch and learn in person or via webinar.  Prefer if you can bring at least 20 people. Fill out the form here and request to learn more about LinkedIn. Transcript: Bruce McDuffee: Welcome to Manufacturing Marketing Matters, the podcast produced by the Manufacturing Marketing Institute, the center of excellence for manufacturing marketers. I'm Bruce McDuffee. Thank you for listening.   Hello, manufacturing marketers. A quick reminder today, I'm still offering a free digital copy of my book. It's called "The New Way to Market for Manufacturing." You can get one with a short registration form at mfg.mmmatters.com/ebook. I'll put that in the show notes, too. Now on to the show. Our guest expert today is Bill Sterzenbach. He's a partner at Upward. Welcome Bill.   B. Sterzenbach: Pleasure to be here, Bruce.   Bruce McDuffee: Great to have you on the show today. Looking forward to it. Folks, the topic today is about how manufacturers can use social media. Mainly we'll be talking about LinkedIn, how you can use it for business development. I saw Bill present this topic at FABTECH down in Los Vegas back in November, and I can tell you it's powerful stuff. If you listen up, you can really learn how to use a tool that's available in social media to really grow your business. Before we get in to the interview, Bill, could you please introduce yourself to the audience and a little bit about your expertise and experience around using LinkedIn or other social media to grow a manufacturing business?   B. Sterzenbach: Sure. I'm a partner at Upward Brand Interactions. We've been doing online marketing primarily for about 10 years. I've been at the online marketing business for about 15 years myself. I primarily focus at our place on business growth for global industrial brands. We tend to look at tool systems and processes that can grow the business without respect to channels so much. That's kind of how LinkedIn made its way into our world. We were just looking at the different channels that are available objectively that may help businesses grow their pipeline.   Bruce McDuffee: Great, thanks for background. Bill, I know a lot of manufacturers have put up pages on social media. Probably the most common are Facebook and LinkedIn. I don't hear of too many manufacturers or industrial companies who are on Instagram or Pinterest or Snapchat, for example. Before we can get in to the questions, are you seeing the same type of thing? Or what do you see as far as adoption of social media by industrial companies?   B. Sterzenbach: I do see a strong sentiment or a bias against social media by a lot of the especially industrial B2B folks out there. I see that as a great opportunity for the enlightened marketers ...   Bruce McDuffee: There you go.   B. Sterzenbach: ... because there is quite a bit of opportunity out there. A great example, we'll talk to clients or I'll even talk to guys I know in the space, and they'll say, "Well, okay. Maybe I can do something on LinkedIn, but I'm certainly not going to be on Instagram." I'll say, "I personally just bought a $2,000-tool because of a company I follow on Instagram.   Bruce McDuffee: No kidding.   B. Sterzenbach: It was a B2B tool. So Instagram is a powerful channel as well. I would be hard pressed to name a channel that I wouldn't recommend. People say, "Is this the answer?" I say, "Well, we just need to help you with the question. The answer's always, 'Yes.' You just need to know what's my question. Each channel has its fit in your mix."   Bruce McDuffee: Got it. Good. That's interesting. Frankly, I didn't expect that answer, so we're already off to a great start here.   B. Sterzenbach: Good.   Bruce McDuffee: Let's start broadly and go more into that topic and talk about social media in general and develop [begin 00:03:50] what we were just talking about. How should manufacturers view social media when it comes to business development? For example, is it table stakes this day and age, or is it a good way to grow awareness? Is it a waste of time? Where is it on the spectrum?   B. Sterzenbach: I think it's table stakes if you have a pretty well rounded platform for your marketing. I think the companies that are out there doing it well today are in all the spaces. So I would say if you're playing in a space where they're doing it well, it's table stakes. If you're in, I'll pick on somebody, powder coating, for example, you look at powder coaters, a lot of those guys are working for OEMs and they don't really need to do a lot of marketing, and so it really isn't table stakes for those guys. They're getting most of their business right from two or three large OEM clients, and they're just chugging right along. But if you're in a space where you need to find those new clients, it's a must have. It really is. I think a lot of the folks that are out there doing it but they're doing it so badly that it doesn't really even count as doing it at this point.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, I see the same thing. That's interesting. You mentioned earlier that there's a big opportunity here, and I agree with you. It's like everything in manufacturing, not everything but a lot of things in manufacturing marketing, there's so much bad practice out there that there's an opportunity for those, what did you call them, Bill, enlightened.   B. Sterzenbach: That's right.   Bruce McDuffee: A huge opportunity. In this show, folks, we're going to talk about how you can capitalize on that opportunity. Let's zero in on LinkedIn because I know that's a specialty of yours, Bill. I guess we probably shouldn't assume that everybody knows what LinkedIn is, so maybe, Bill, give a good, quick description of what is LinkedIn.   B. Sterzenbach: It's broad. It's a social network for professionals. I used to say it's Facebook for grownups, but now everybody on Facebook is a grownup.   Bruce McDuffee: That's true.   B. Sterzenbach: It is a social network for professionals, but more importantly in terms of how we would look at LinkedIn as industrial marketers it's a place where professionals participate for growth. They might be growing their career, growing their business, or just trying to grow knowledge around the industry, but typically people that are out on LinkedIn participating are trying to grow in some way. If you keep that in mind and everything you do in LinkedIn, you're going to find a much higher success rate as opposed to just yelling at everybody on LinkedIn. If you know they're there to grow, you can tailor what you're putting out there to meet the needs of someone who's trying to grow in one of those three ... or some other way I haven't thought of but primarily in one of those three ways.   The crazy thing about the social media and the LinkedIn space is the greater majority, probably three quarters of B2B buyers are halfway done with their buying process before you hear from them. If they're out there making more than half of the decision before you talk to them, you have to ask what percentage of that decision is being made in the LinkedIn space? Without exception, when you stack LinkedIn up to all the other platforms, it's not even close. I think the latest statistic I looked at said 62% of marketers find it to be the most effective social channel for B2B marketing.   Bruce McDuffee: LinkedIn?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah.   Bruce McDuffee: Wow.   B. Sterzenbach: There's numbers that are even more telling than that, but LinkedIn is an extremely powerful network. Again, the people that are getting the most benefit from it are the people that understand their target. I tell people sometimes that if you were going to go deer hunting, it's so much more convenient to do it in a Walmart parking lot. You could get your little chair and you could put it in the parking lot. You could have your little cooler and just sit there and be comfortable all day, but that's not where the deer are.   It's a little like LinkedIn. If you're not in it, you have to go in the woods to get the deer, and these people are in LinkedIn. You have to go in to LinkedIn. You have to actively participate. Then one thing I recommend to people all the time is don't be in such a hurry to drag them out of the woods. If you can engage them in LinkedIn and stay in LinkedIn, you're going to find that the engagement's going to be longer and more meaningful as opposed to immediately trying to pull them to your website.   Bruce McDuffee: Interesting. That's a great metaphor: the LinkedIn forest.   B. Sterzenbach: Mm-hmm (affirmative).   Bruce McDuffee: Love that. What about, Bill, LinkedIn versus Facebook? Let my share my impression and tell me if you think it's right or wrong. I feel like Facebook is where people go for ... share pictures of their grandkids or their kids. They do family things and talk about vacations and non-professional things. Whereas I see LinkedIn as where you educate yourself on professional aspects. You improve your career. You make professional connections. Is that a clear separation? How do you see it?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah?   B. Sterzenbach: I think you're right. I think when you're prioritizing or you're triaging your marketing efforts, you have to start with the most obvious things. If you're just getting started in a social space or you have a limited set of resources, I would definitely start with LinkedIn. But once you've played out the LinkedIn space, once you feel like, "I think we're doing everything we can do on LinkedIn," then I think it does make sense to have a look at Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter. I should have changed the order. Twitter would have been number two and then the rest of the guys. I'm not saying that I feel like your position is this way, but I don't think Facebook is without merit for the B2B.   There's a guy, I think he works at [Etón 00:09:20]. He has this ... I don't know if he came up with it or if he just shared it with me, but he calls it B2I. He says it's business to individual. You have to stop looking at ... No one wants to be talked to by a brand, and nobody wants to talk to a brand. His point is as a brand let's stop talking to demographics and let's stop talking to categories. Let's just understand that people are on all these networks, and it's a matter of using the network in way that's comfortable for the person. If you are going to market on Facebook, you just need to craft your message to fit within that ecosystem. But there is still a place, even on Facebook, for industrial B2B activity.   Bruce McDuffee: You've seen some industrial folks have success on Facebook then?   B. Sterzenbach: I certainly have, yeah. They've been ... I guess the word would be sophisticated in their use. Again, it's an enormous channel. You just have to understand what the audience is there for and what they're after, and there's use there, for sure.   Bruce McDuffee: I guess that's the key. If someone says, "Which channel should I be on?" You should ask, like you said, the people who are in your target audience where are they, and what are they doing on the channels? Is that fair?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah, that's right. I would start with if a person said to me, "Which channel should I participate in?" I would say all of them starting with LinkedIn, then Twitter, then Instagram, then everything else. You're not probably going to attack them all simultaneously at least not with the same fervor that you would one. A case could be made for going after them all cohesively, but I think it's a little like to go to someone who's just getting into social and say, "Yes, you need to be on LinkedIn, but you also need to be in these other spaces, and let me start telling you about all the work it's going to talk to get there."   It's a little like advertising a Caribbean vacation by showing the guy sitting next to you coughing in the airplane the whole way there. Nobody is going to get excited about the trip. They're going to get excited about the destination. It's nice if they can get in one of the platforms. LinkedIn, obviously, being probably the most immediately effective and they get to sample the destination a little bit without going in to all of that background work that it would take to approach all of the channels simultaneously. While that might be academically a better approach, I just don't think you're going to influence people to do it by having them go through all of those fundamental steps just to prepare for approaching all channels.   Bruce McDuffee: That makes sense. That's good advice. Let's get back to LinkedIn. I strayed a little bit on that. I got excited about you sharing that information. On LinkedIn, could you share a real-life example of a manufacturer or industrial company who's having great success on LinkedIn and how they're getting that?   B. Sterzenbach: I would go straight to Parker Hannifin. They're a pretty large company. They're probably a, I don't know, $9 billion manufacturer. You don't get as industrial as Parker. They are in there. They are doing the stuff in the industrial space in a big way. They've a great brand, and they've got phenomenal products. Their presence on LinkedIn is staggering in a word. I mean they really have done a phenomenal job. They've got ... I haven't looked recently, but a shocking number of followers for their company page, and they get a very high level of engagement from their followers. They're really, really thoughtful in how they use LinkedIn.   We don't do Parker's LinkedIn stuff so this isn't a plug, but when they put something on LinkedIn, you can see the thoughtfulness and the care that they put in to the post. I believe that the readers see that, too. People respect your organization if you show some respect for them and what you put in their feed. They'll tend to stay with you a lot longer if you're putting quality things. Maybe not every single post that you put out there is directly applicable to their need, but if every single post looks like you put some effort into it and you respected their time, they won't unfollow you, so to speak. So I think Parker does a really nice job of working LinkedIn. I'm trying to think if there was another manufacturer that I saw out there. I think Caterpillar actually does a really nice job. I don't know how ...   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, I've seen that.   B. Sterzenbach: I don't know how orchestrated it is. I don't really follow them too closely but I see them in my feed. Just anecdotally, I've always had a pretty positive impression of what they were doing out there. I don't know what kind of results they're getting, but I feel that there's a couple of companies that are really capitalizing on LinkedIn well.   Bruce McDuffee: Is it fair to say that Parker Hannifin ... are they not pitching their products so much in their feeds and they're more sharing helpful information? Is that one way they're being more thoughtful and engaging?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah. It's a little bit of a mix. Every now and then you'll see something pop in there that is pretty directly tied to a valve or an assembly or a product, but it's always, not always, but most often when I see it, it's couched in some sort of usefulness or at least plausibly objective usefulness to the reader.   Bruce McDuffee: Fair enough.   B. Sterzenbach: I think that's the key is not being overly pitchy.   Bruce McDuffee: I've heard folks talk about a formula where you share four to one or three to one where four posts for helpful information and then one pitch for your product. I do that with some of my clients. It's pretty effective.   B. Sterzenbach: Then we'll talk a little bit about paid advertising. There's a whole nother channel within LinkedIn there that's even more directly and quantifiably effective. But I know I'm jumping ahead of you a little bit as far as ...   Bruce McDuffee: That's okay. That's okay. It sounds like LinkedIn could be a pretty powerful business development tool. Let's imagine there's a manufacturing marketer out there listening, which I hope there are a lot of them, and they have a LinkedIn company page. They put up the information; they're not doing much with it. Maybe they haven't even posted much at all. What are three things that that person, that manufacturing marketer with a LinkedIn company page could do right away to start leveraging it for business development?   B. Sterzenbach: I would say if you're directly approaching how do we build our company presence on LinkedIn, the first thing would be to start building a list of followers so think about what activity should you be engaging in to just get more followers. Because if you have followers, people are going to see your posts and engagement's going to increase so creating some sort of an objective around building followers.   Now the second thing would be post at least weekly to get started. If you're not posting regularly, habits can't be formed. That's where number three comes in, which is promoting your LinkedIn presence internally. I tell a lot of our clients support starts at home. What often happens is you'll have these marketing groups start a LinkedIn presence and the members of the marketing team aren't even supporting the posts they're putting out there.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, I've seen [crosstalk 00:16:12].   B. Sterzenbach: It's not out of some desire to be malicious. It's just everybody's so busy and you can't mandate it. If you tell your team, "You're required; your review will include how many times you've liked our posts," that's not going to work. But you can influence the behavior, and there's things you can do to incentivize your team to participate in your company's presence on LinkedIn without making it feel like some sort of fundatory activity, because nobody wants to participate on a social media platform from a mandatory perspective.   Bruce McDuffee: Fundatory. That's a good word.   B. Sterzenbach: That's right. That's right. It's fundatory.   Bruce McDuffee: So you just got a company page. The three things are, number one, make an objective to get more followers.   B. Sterzenbach: That's right.   Bruce McDuffee: Number two, at least a weekly post on a regular schedule.   B. Sterzenbach: Correct.   Bruce McDuffee: Number three, use your internal people, your employees, and encourage them to share without making it mandatory.   B. Sterzenbach: Exactly. That's why number two comes in to play because if you're not posting regularly, you'll never get your internal teams into a habit of supporting it. If you're only posting once every quarter or once every blue moon, they're not going to get in the habit of jumping out and looking for your posts so they can support them. So the consistency allows them to develop habits as well.   Bruce McDuffee: Makes sense. Can I ask on number one, in addition to posting on a regular basis, are there any other tricks you could share about getting more followers?   B. Sterzenbach: A big one is having folks in your organization that have an existing network to participate. For example, if you have a couple of people on your sales team and they have a pretty good LinkedIn network, going out to them and evangelizing your LinkedIn activities a little bit and asking them, "Could I ask you as a favor to help support our LinkedIn presence? It's going to bring you new leads. It's going to grow our business." So you're generating that activity.   There's a couple of just tactical things you can do. One of them is there's a button that you can download from LinkedIn. It's just a little piece of java script code. You can place that on your webpages of your website, and it just can live anywhere on the page. If the viewer of your website if they're logged into LinkedIn, the button'll say, "Follow." They can click it, and it'll just automatically follow the company without too much fuss. There's a couple of other things like that you can do to promote follows, but the idea is that first you have to start engaging in some activities that could even create an interest.   Bruce McDuffee: Sure. Okay, great. Thanks for that. Finally, I know LinkedIn offers paid advertising. You alluded to it a little bit earlier when you were trying to jump ahead. Let's talk about how does that work. I know a lot of the social channels now you have to pay to play when you're a business to show up. How does the LinkedIn paid advertising work? Maybe a couple of examples would be great.   B. Sterzenbach: I'm a big advocate of the sponsored content campaigns. There's a couple of ways you can use LinkedIn. You can do essentially display advertising, which are the ads that live across the top and down the right side. You can use their InMail platform, which is essentially sending mail. LinkedIn sends mail on your behalf to a list that you've created. Or you can do sponsored content, which essentially places a post in your followers' feeds, and it looks very organic. Now, when you sponsor a post, they're not your followers. They're anyone that you've targeted with the post.   There's some pretty funny stories about how specifically you can target ... The story I like most is a guy who was trying to get a startup going and he was looking for investors. He had a specific investor that he wanted to attract. He went in to LinkedIn and he created a sponsored content campaign. I don't remember the guy's name. Let's say it was Ted Phillips. He created an ad that said, "Ted Phillips, this is next your company. You should invest in it and here's why" or something like that. In the targeting he said, "I want to target my ad to this company, this role, and some other criteria." LinkedIn requires that your list be of a certain size, so it first said, "Your list isn't big enough." So he said, "Okay, also this role." It was CEO and vice president. He had to add vice president. It added two more people to his list. Pretty soon, he was putting this ad right in that person's feed regularly. He actually did secure funding. Ultimately, he said he spent $1.80 on the advertising.   Bruce McDuffee: That's awesome.   B. Sterzenbach: That's how he secured his funding. That's how finitely you can target your advertising. We'll run ads for clients that we say, "Engineers that have eight years of experience that work for companies that have 500 or more employees or 10,000 or more employees that are in these states." I mean you can get really specific. That really is, in my opinion, probably the most powerful aspect of LinkedIn is how tightly you can control that filtering. You're not getting the waste that you get on so many other platforms. You really are putting that ad right in front of the people you want to see it. You're always going to have some people who either accidentally categorized themselves incorrectly or intentionally categorize themselves incorrectly, but by and large the majority of the people who see your LinkedIn ad are exactly the people you want to see it.   We see that evidence playing out time and time again in these campaigns where we'll run a LinkedIn advertisement either for ourselves or on behalf of a client, and the people that arrive at whatever ultimate objective that we set for the program are exactly the kind of people we targeted with the ads. It is remarkably accurate in the targeting. It's one of the things, I think, LinkedIn has done really well.   Bruce McDuffee: Yeah, I agree. I've done some sponsored ads myself, and it's amazing how specific you can get.   B. Sterzenbach: That's true, yeah.   Bruce McDuffee: It's incredible. You're right. That's the real power of LinkedIn paid ads is that selection because I don't think any other platforms get that granular.   B. Sterzenbach: No, they certainly do not. Again, if you're targeting these ads in a way that speaks to someone who's there for growth reasons, you not only target the people that you want to target but you get an actual response. So many platforms, their click-through rate ... and in a lot areas, a 1%-click-through rate is phenomenal.   Bruce McDuffee: That's great, yeah.   B. Sterzenbach: So you're getting a great response rate and the type of people that you want to respond are responding. Another thing that's interesting about LinkedIn, if you're in a business where you would like to attract clients that are growth-oriented or that like to try new things or would like to learn or even if you target a demographic of prospect by the sheer fact that they're active on LinkedIn ...   Bruce McDuffee: Can you?   B. Sterzenbach: Oh, yeah. If they're active on LinkedIn, they are probably interested in growth in some way.   Bruce McDuffee: That's a good point, yeah.   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah. For example, I know a guy who advertises on LinkedIn. He doesn't work through us. He just does it on his own. One of the reasons he uses LinkedIn is that he wants people who are working to better themselves in some way, and so it's a perfect platform for him because most of the people on LinkedIn are there just to do that.   Bruce McDuffee: That's a great point. I never even thought about that. But it does; it's almost a self-selection segmentation.   B. Sterzenbach: It is, yeah.   Bruce McDuffee: That's great. Is one ad better than another? You mentioned sponsored content, InMails, the ads. Is one better than the other have you found in your experience?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah, sponsored content is head and shoulders above everything else. Now, I haven't done much with the InMail yet. I just haven't really found a good case for it. Not that there isn't one. To be honest with you, we spend so much time on the sponsored content campaigns, we really haven't had a reason to venture into the InMail yet. And people are a little uncomfortable with what they perceive as interrupting their prospects or their clients. So I suspect that InMail might be pretty effective. Personally, I haven't used much of it. We've used it a little but not a lot.   The other thing on the sponsored content, you can choose whether you want to pay by click or by impression so CPM or CPC. Paying per click, at least in our experience, is much more effective. It just looks like you get more at bats when you pay per click because I think economically LinkedIn looks at it like, "Well, if I'm going to get paid every time somebody clicks this thing, I'm going to show up more." It just seems like your ad gets shown a lot more when you go on the pay per click advertising basis.   Bruce McDuffee: I've seen the same thing.   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah, that's funny.   Bruce McDuffee: I've heard also that LinkedIn cost per click is a lot higher on LinkedIn than it is, for example, on AdWords. Is that true?   B. Sterzenbach: It might depend on the company, but our experience has been that that is true. As a matter of fact, we ran a campaign for our company, a test campaign. I basically took on one of my AdWords guys. There's a guy in ...   Bruce McDuffee: Oh, yeah?   B. Sterzenbach: His name's Jerrod, and he's ridiculously competitive. I said, "I'm going to run this LinkedIn program against the AdWords program you're running. I think I'm going to whip you." He was like, "Let's do it. Let's see what happens." He cleaned my clock.   Bruce McDuffee: He did?   B. Sterzenbach: Oh, yeah. The cost per click AdWords, it wasn't significantly lower but it was lower. The difference being, though, that a lot of the clicks on LinkedIn, I still maintain, were probably more directly targeted to the people I would want to see, but I think you can get more looks for the same money on AdWords. I tell everybody it isn't one or the other. It is not an either/or. If I were advising a manufacturer, I would say, "Don't even go near LinkedIn if you don't have a working AdWords program." Start with AdWords because that's just a good foundational advertising activity. Then go to LinkedIn but I wouldn't try to replace AdWords or Bing or [Thomas 00:26:00] with LinkedIn. I would at it as one more channel that I'm using to promote my business.   Bruce McDuffee: Got it. That makes sense. It sounds like from our discussion here, Bill, that every manufacturer out there should be using social media and at least using LinkedIn. Is that fair?   B. Sterzenbach: I would agree with that statement, absolutely.   Bruce McDuffee: That's what I'm getting here. I agree. This is the world we live in. This is the age we live in nowadays. Email's still powerful. You got to still do your email marketing, but you got to be out where your audience is. They're doing that investigation. They're checking out options. You have to be there so they can find you in that 50% of their first part of the buying phase.   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah, I would agree. I would encourage, especially your manufacturing, your industrial marketers, just get out there and do it badly. We work with enormous global brands. It would be easy for us to say, "Don't do it if you can't do it well." But quite honestly, so many things would never get started if that were the requirement.   Bruce McDuffee: Absolutely.   B. Sterzenbach: A buddy of mine I worked with for years used to say ... His parent company was in another country; I won't say where because I'm sure it's not true, but this is how he felt. He said, "They will start nothing perfectly." He said they're masters at planning and planning and planning until it's not even important to do anymore. I think people get caught up in that sometimes. I'd said go out there and do LinkedIn badly for a couple of years. If your option is to do it perfectly or not do it at all, I would say take option three, which is just get out there and start doing it badly. It's better than not doing it at all.   Bruce McDuffee: Absolutely. One of my favorite quotes was by Voltaire, I think in the 17th century, and it's, "Perfect is the enemy of good."   B. Sterzenbach: That's right.   Bruce McDuffee: That's one of my favorites.   B. Sterzenbach: I would agree with that.   Bruce McDuffee: Great. That takes us to the second part of the show here, Bill, and that's the challenge question. Folks, send in your challenge questions. Email them to me: bruce@mmmatters.com or hashtag them on Twitter @mfgmarketing. Any question you have about business development, marketing, even sales, send it in. I'll pose it to one of our guest experts. This week our challenge question comes in from New York. He's a manufacturer of industrial gases. By the way folks, these are usually anonymous. I just give a little bit of background. Here's the question, Bill. "I'm the VP of sales and marketing at a company that manufactures and delivers industrial gases. I listened to your podcast a couple of weeks ago about sharing content to differentiate. Would that work with a commodity like nitrogen or oxygen used in an industrial environment? If yes, could you give me a couple of examples on your next podcast?" Bill, what do you think?   B. Sterzenbach: Absolutely. Every commodity still has differentiators. As the builder of your brand, you get to pick what those are. The one thing I would say that we see time and time again, especially in commodity-type spaces, is a big differentiator is going to be service, or more accurately what we call helpfulness. We recently interviewed a group of, I don't know, I think 11 enormous B2B industrial buyers so procurement and purchasing folks from companies that buy things like valve seals and the components that make up products. One of our questions was, "What's one of the top criteria you have for working with a discretionary partner?" so someone who isn't on some list of 'go here first.' By and large, they said, "Helpfulness."   Bruce McDuffee: Really?   B. Sterzenbach: Yeah. What we heard time and time again was the vendors that are able to help us solve problems and are helpful in walking through our decision process are the vendors that we'll typically select. I was surprised. It isn't surprising when you really think about, but I was surprised to learn the larger, more premier organizations tended to value helpfulness and service, and the smaller, what you might call your core customers, tended to value speed and price. There's no crime in valuing speed and price. It's just when there's a lack of anything else, speed and price are important in a commodity, but if you can illustrate helpfulness or customer service, you are going to differentiate yourself from most of the people in the commodity space.   One of the things that we do with our program is we listen to all calls, and so we listen to literally thousands and thousands of calls every month. One of the things that we find is the evidence that we had ... Actually this is what led us to do this study. We found that better customers typically value services. So you end up with the self-fulfilling prophecy situation where you have organizations that maybe they don't value helpfulness or service and they don't include it in their brand, they don't talk about service, so when customers call, the customer doesn't typically experience great service. So the customers that are wonderful move on, and the customers that are core stay. They end up getting more and more core customers, hiring more and more people who really don't value service because they customers really value price and availability first.   Bruce McDuffee: Self-fulfilling.   B. Sterzenbach: It's just a terrible cycle. It's not a terrible cycle. Some companies really do want to serve those are only after price and availability. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you want to move up that quality of customer ladder a little bit, the go-to is going to be service. It's not easy either. The first thing that has to happen is your team has to understand that helpfulness and friendliness is part of who you are as a company. If they aren't taught that regularly, they're not going to demonstrate that day-to-day.   To circle back to your question, it feels like we've taken a big loop here, but my point is you can use social media to illustrate that a core component of your brand is helpfulness and service. It's not so much talking about how helpful and what great service we provide, but talking about the things that support that element of your brand. If you say, "98% of our industrial customers have been with us for three years or longer," that says that there's something that's keeping those customers. That's the kind of you can share. Now, that might be a little salesy, but that's the kind of thing you can share on social media where people can scan through, see that, log it away, and move on. You're communicating something other than the typical commodity elements about your brand.   Bruce McDuffee: Great, great answer. I'm going to add in my two cents here, folks, is on that helpfulness aspect. The way you differentiate with content is to develop content that addresses a problem or a pain point that's common to the people in your target audience.   B. Sterzenbach: That's right.   Bruce McDuffee: We've been talking about that today. You've got one company out there that says, "We've got this feature, this feature, this feature. We're low price, and we're fast." Then you come out and say, "Well, let's understand our audience. Let's understand a problem or a pain where we have expertise. We can help you. We're going to help you solve that problem." The problem, of course, is related to the thing you're trying to sell, naturally.   Solve that problem and you get three things from your audience. You get credibility because they're going to say, "These people know what they're talking about." You get top-of-mind awareness because they're going to remember you. Just like Bill mentioned in the LinkedIn feed, you start to see a regular trickle of helpful content. They're going to remember you. You're going to be top of mind when the day comes and they're ready to buy nitrogen or oxygen, you're going to get the call. The third thing they get that you get is reciprocity. When you give a gift of knowledge, helpful content, useful content, the person who received it wants to reciprocate. The way they do that is by buying from you even if it's at a higher price. That's what I would look at. Anything to add there, Bill, before we move on?   B. Sterzenbach: No, I would agree with every bit of that. It's one of those things you almost have to experience to truly believe.   Bruce McDuffee: You do. Once you experience it, boy, is it powerful.   B. Sterzenbach: Mm-hmm (affirmative).   Bruce McDuffee: The final part of the show, Bill, is takeaways. I always ask our guest expert to share one or two takeaways. It could be a summary of a couple of things we talked about, or it could be a couple of actionable nuggets to go forward. What do you have for our audience today, Bill?   B. Sterzenbach: I would say the first thing would be to set a goal today. It's going to take five minutes. Sit down and say, "By July, I want to have posted this many posts and gained that many followers." Even if you say, "By July, I'd like to have 10 posts and five followers," set some goal. Then get buy-in from your internal team. You can't force them to do it but you can influence them. Bribe them, beg them, do whatever you have to do to get them to participate in your efforts, but start by just setting a simple goal and move forward with it. I share this people and often they'll say, "But it's just something I write on paper." I say, "Yeah, but it's like a diet." A diet is just an empty wish until we don't eat the first thing. It goes the same way here. Until you do the first thing, which is write your first post, even if it's terrible, you're really not doing it. It isn't that hard if you set out to just do something. Even if it's wrong, just get started.   Bruce McDuffee: And give yourself permission to be bad at it, right?   B. Sterzenbach: That's right. Because you're not going to be as bad as the worst no matter how hard you try.   Bruce McDuffee: That's right. That's true. Great, two great takeaways. Thanks Bill. Before we sign off would you like to share anything about yourself or your company with our audience?   B. Sterzenbach: Sure. To your point of reciprocity, we are big on giving. If there's anyone out there and they have a sales force of 20 people or more, that's where it gets worth it for us to do these complementary lunch and learns, Upwards does offer ... it's a free lunch and learn if you can get 20 teammates to come to either the webinar or in person, and we'll take you through specific things you can do tailored to your organization to grow your pipeline through LinkedIn. You can bring your sales guys into the call. You can bring them into the meeting, and we'll give them actual activities they can start engaging in right away to build their personal pipelines. We've found that either in a webinar or in-person formats, the sales guys walk away feeling like it was a really, really effective use of their time. You can just go to our website at goupward.com and you'll see there's a 'Contact Us' link and just say, "Hey, I'd be interested in having you guys talk to us about LinkedIn."   Bruce McDuffee: Great. That's a great offer. Thanks Bill. I'll put that in the show notes as well, folks, so you can ... I'll put a direct link and you can go sign up if you feel the want. Bill, thank you so much for being a guest today on Manufacturing Marketing Matters. I know I learned a lot today. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience and just thank you.   B. Sterzenbach: Thank you, Bruce. It was great being here.   Bruce McDuffee: That was Bill Sterzenbach, partner at Upward. For more information about Bill and Upward, visit the guest bio page and check out the show notes at mmmatters.com. By the way, if you are subscriber on iTunes for this podcast, consider leaving us a review. It helps us get found and helps us spread the word to help manufacturers advance their practice of marketing.   Thanks for listening to Manufacturing Marketing Matters. If you find this podcast helpful and useful, please subscribe at iTunes or Stitcher.com. You can download this episode of MMMatters and get the show notes and learn more about the podcast at mmmatters.com. I'm Bruce McDuffee. Now let's go out and advance the practice of marketing in manufacturing today.  

Download the mp3 file. or go to mfg.mmmatters.com/ebook MM 064 - Website Tips for Manufacturers Guest: Tim Doyle, VP Sales at TopSpot Highlights: A top performing website must be first, aligned with your business goals. For example, one goal for a website may be to act as a sales generation engine. Another often forgotten goal is to make the website useful for customers and employees. [5:25] Tim estimates that less than 10% of industrial websites are top performers. Therein lies the opportunity for competitive advantage.[7:50] Is your website designed as a 'don't make me think' design? Tim mentions this resource, 'Don't Make Me Think' by Steve Krug. [9:15] Well crafted content that is relevant is one important essential piece of an effective website. [11:05] A website is not a statue, it is a laboratory that requires consistent maintenance, updates and continuous improvement. [14:30] Top 5 things you should do right now to improve website performance [15:30] Set up tracking and monitor results. Have an original benchmark. Analyze your sitemap in the context of identifying who you are and your differentiators. Use a free tool called Screaming Frog. Evaluate your site architecture for intuitive use and logical progression. Make sure the call-to-action is obvious and is it working. Test it. Incorporate multivariate testing in support of continuous improvement. Good Content Management Systems include WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and, Tim's favorite, Modx. For ecommerce, Magento. [21:10] CAD drawings are fantastic for conversions on your website.  Check out Catalog Data Solutions. [23:20] If you hate your website, here are some website tips for manufacturers who want to build a new site. [25:00] An often overlooked value add for your site is to use professional photography highlighting your value to the target audience. [26:30] Send in your challenge question here. Interview Questions: Question 1 –  Let’s start off at 30,000 feet and then drill down. How would you characterize a top performing website? What percentage of websites that you see are top performers? Question 2 –  I think a lot of us and our audience judge a website intuitively. Could you propose a framework of sorts for evaluating a website?  (any references you could recommend?) A website must serve many masters; customers, prospective customers from the outside, then there’s HR, Finance, Executive leadership, PR on the inside.  Does a company have to choose one area to focus on or is it possible to serve all masters? Question 3 –  Let’s drill down into some details. What are the top 5 things (in order of importance) that we should focus on to build a new site or make an existing site into a top performer? What about the platform or content management system (CMS), what are the best ones for a B2B manufacturing website? Question 4 – Suppose I’m a VP Sales & Marketing for a B2B manufacturing company out there listening. I’m thinking to myself, my website sucks. In a quick list, what are my first 5 steps towards making it into a top performing, lead generating, sticky website machine? Challenge Question –  This week our challenge question comes in from the a VP Marketing at a San Diego area from a medical device company. Here it is “We make a medical device that measures blood coagulation. Our customers are hospitals and blood labs. One of our 2017 goals is to increase website traffic by 30% to ultimately increase the flow at the top of our sales funnel. Do you have any tips about how to increase website traffic for a medical device manufacturer?” First, define your goal. Be specific. Learn what your visitors are interested in achieving. Analyze the internal site search for insight into what your audience is looking for when they visit. It must be a holistic approach, not just one or two tactics. Use Google Custom Search, paid version, for internal search queries. Takeaways: Strive to build your website in a 'don't make me think' style. Use analytics tools and make sure you understand them or are able to use them for continuous improvement. TopSpot offer:  Contact Tim at tim@topspotims.com for a FREE website audit.  Put the words "Site Audit" in the email subject knowledge. Transcript: Bruce McDuffee : Welcome to Manufacturing Marketing Matters, a podcast produced by the Manufacturing Marketing Institute, the center of excellence for manufacturing marketers. I am Bruce McDuffee. Thank you for listening.     Hello manufacturing marketers. Thanks for tuning in to our show today. As a special offer to our loyal listeners, I'd like to offer a free PDF copy of a book that I authored specifically for manufacturing marketers. The mission of the book, just like this show, is to help you manufacturers or marketers, or business development pros working for a manufacturer, to advance your professional careers in marketing, and also advance the marketing function at your company.     The book is called, "The New Way to Market for Manufacturing". You can get your copy, again it's a PDF copy, at mfg.mmmatters.com/ebook. I'll put that in the show notes too, so you don't have to write that down. There's just a short registration form, no other requirements. Please check it out.     Onto the show. Our guest expert today is Tim Doyle. Tim is the Vice President of Sales at TopSpot. Welcome Tim.   Tim Doyle: Well thank you, Bruce. It's a pleasure to join you.   Bruce McDuffee : It's great to have you on the show. You're up in the Chicago area, is that right?   Tim Doyle: I am.   Bruce McDuffee : You guys get some snow up there today?   Tim Doyle: Icy rain. Icy rain, I'd rather have snow frankly.   Bruce McDuffee : We got about four or five inches here in Denver.     Folks, today our topic for discussion is the website, in the context of B-to-B manufacturing companies. We're going to discuss what makes a great website. Perhaps what makes a bad website. Why there are so many bad ones out there. How you can have one of the best websites in your space. If you want a website that works for you by creating demand and creating leads, then listen up. This show is perfect for you.     Before we get into the interview, Tim, would you please introduce yourself to the audience with a little bit about your expertise and experience around industrial websites.   Tim Doyle: Well, absolutely. Thank you so much. Bruce, as you mentioned, I'm Vice President of Sales at TopSpot. I actually have 30 years in industrial advertising. Like yourself, I'm one of the old dogs.   Bruce McDuffee : I'll say it. You started when you were 10 years old then.   Tim Doyle: Correct, absolutely, with crayons, crayola, drawing diagrams of actuators.   Bruce McDuffee : That's how I imagined it.   Tim Doyle: Yeah, I went to school for it at Western Michigan. I [inaudible 00:03:05] in advertising and immediately transitioned into industrial advertising. Growing up in the Detroit area, that was kind of a natural for me. Very quickly on, I actually was aligned with what many people would know if I mentioned the brand, but it was a very well-known industrial directory. My entire career has been content based and key word based. My transition to the web was quite seamless actually.   Bruce McDuffee : I know exactly who you mean. The old directory, yeah. We don't have to name them, but yeah. I can picture them. Good, that's great. That's a great background. So you were a pioneer in websites then it sounds like.   Tim Doyle: Yeah, back in the late '80s, we were actually developing searchable CD-ROM catalogs for bearing manufacturers, actuator manufacturers, all kinds of companies to help them target their demographic.   Bruce McDuffee : Great, thanks for sharing that background.   Tim Doyle: Sure.   Bruce McDuffee : I was thinking. We were chatting a little before the show here, Tim. I would wager that 95% of the manufacturing marketing audience out there have a business website, maybe even a little higher. I would also bet that probably only about a third are really happy with their website. This is just anecdotal. Are you seeing the same type of thing, or are you seeing something the opposite? What's your take on that?   Tim Doyle: No, I would agree with that. Frequently, people put up a website and they think it's just work. Then they're disappointed. Even the people who are happy sometimes, aren't doing the things that really give them an understanding of how to improve. I would say you're right about a third of people are happy, but that even then they're missing out on some opportunities.   Bruce McDuffee : Agreed. That's what we're going to talk about today folks. How can you get your website to work for you, and help grow and build your business? First question, Tim, let's start off at high level, 30,000 feet, and then we'll drill down. How would you characterize, or how would you define a top performing website?   Tim Doyle: I would suggest that a top performing website is in alignment with what your goals are as a business. If you have a set of goals, is the site clearly articulating what is in alignment with what those goals might be? If that makes sense. Do you have tracking in place to measure over time so that you can make adjustments, to put that data into play?   Bruce McDuffee : Goals should probably be more than just, "I want to put up a brochure website, lists all my products." Goals should go beyond that like- Can you talk a little more about that?   Tim Doyle: One of the goals of a website is to produce business. I call it making it into a sales engine, so to speak. Is it providing you with a continuous stream of high quality opportunities that are in the demographic you're going after? If it's not, then it's not in alignment with one of your most important stated goals. You have to analyze that.     Other goals of the site could be, "Is it assisting you with your current customer base?" That is often forgotten about. "Could the website assist you with your customers and make you more sticky, educate your customers, be a true resource for your customers"? In that vein, "Is it also assisting your employees, and potentially doing their job, or informing them?" That can often be an overlooked goal or maybe a agree-upon goal of the website. Many times it's not doing that.     Then you've got sales reps. "Is the website an asset to them? Is it helping them do their job?" That is also an overlooked opportunity. In many cases, the website is failing in that regard.   Bruce McDuffee : It's like really any business development or marketing endeavor first step, decide what your goals are. Build that foundation. Makes sense.   Tim Doyle: Correct.   Bruce McDuffee : Great, Tim. Have you seen a lot of websites? Let's talk industrial or manufacturing websites, Tim. I'm sure you've seen probably hundreds. I don't know, maybe thousands out there. What percent would you say, I know this is anecdotal, are great websites that are really killing it with the business goals, and doing everything they can do?   Tim Doyle: You know, it's pretty low. Believe it not, I'd say maybe 10%. Even within that 10%, if they don't have a process of continuous improvement, then they're missing out on opportunities going forward. I know that sounds low, but it's what I see.   Bruce McDuffee : No, it's what I see too. I would believe 10%. As you said, maybe even less. Folks listening out there, this is ringing opportunity for you. Right, Tim?   Tim Doyle: Oh absolutely.   Bruce McDuffee : If it's only 10% are good, and the website let's face it, that's your focal point. That's where people find you. That's where they form an impression of you. That's where they evaluate you, on your website, without talking to anybody. There's an opportunity, folks. If you can make yours 1 in 10 top performing, talk about a competitive advantage. Wow.     Tim, I think a lot of us in our audience out there, just humans, will judge a website intuitively. Do we like it? Does it seem easy? Is the colors pleasant? Whatever it is. Maybe as a professional website person, if I may, could you? Maybe there's a framework or some specifics you could share with us for evaluating a website, whether it's our own or whether it's someone else's.   Tim Doyle: Absolutely. Is it built in what I call a "don't make me think" style of architecture? There's actually a book on usability. It's an old book. There was a rewrite on it. It's by a gentleman by the name Steve Krug called "Don't Make Me Think". Particularly in the industrial space, let's just say you're targeting engineers or engineering titles. Engineers typically, and I apologize for any engineers in the crowd, they don't suffer fools well. When they land on a page on a website that doesn't meet their needs, they're out very quickly. It has to do with what they immediately evaluate on the page they're landing on. If you're doing your job right, they not necessarily landing on your home page. They're landing on an internal page.     The entire structure of the site needs to be crafted in that "don't make me think" style of architecture. Meaning it gives you good visual cues in the navigation at the top, the internal navigation on the internal pages, the calls to action, the request to quote buttons, things of that nature. Maybe the downloadables or the videos, are they easily retrieved and used? Is it easy to take action on any given page?     We all put sites through that benchmarking and auditing when we land on a page. When it doesn't meet that criteria, typically we're out. It's like a phone number or an address that might not be easily visible. It causes frustration. That's a problem.   Bruce McDuffee : Big problem.   Tim Doyle: That's a serious problem. The other thing, by the way, is content. When a website doesn't meet the needs of say, let's use that engineering persona again. It doesn't have educational, instructive content, then again, it's frustrating them. It's not meeting their needs. They might very likely just leave the page. You always have to think about well-crafted content that comes from your voice as a company.   Bruce McDuffee : Product information is not enough. Is that what you're saying?   Tim Doyle: Right. We actually have an acronym for it. We call it "b smart". Things like brand, size, material, application, requirements, type. Then you could add to that certifications or industry specifications of some type. It could be SKUs in some way. Most of our clients are contract or applicators, but we do have some distributors, so it could be model numbers and SKUs. You have to think about content and a content strategy from that point of view.   Bruce McDuffee : Sure, that makes of sense. To step back, the book was called, "Don't Make Me Think". It was by Steve Krug?   Tim Doyle: Krug. Yeah, it's an oldie but a goodie.   Bruce McDuffee : Sometimes the oldies are the best. Sometimes the oldies are even more relevant today than the newies. I can relate to that completely.     Tim, I had a client. I still work with him. One of the first things I did when I started a few years ago, was to evaluate their website. I went in to look at their website. They were selling electronic instruments. Evaluate the website, and the first thing I told them is, "You know, it's really hard for me to buy something from you. It's hard to get a quote. It's hard to see your prices. It's hard to see how I'm supposed to buy." Big problem. If it's hard for your clients to make a purchase or get the information they want, big problem. I agree with you, Tim.   Tim Doyle: Absolutely.   Bruce McDuffee : A website, and we alluded to this a little earlier, a website has to serve many masters. You've got existing customers. You've got prospective customers. Then you've got other things like human resources, finance, maybe investment, executive leadership, public relations. A website has to serve all of these and sometimes more. Tim, in your experience, does a company have to really pick one of those and focus on it at the expense of others? Or is it possible to serve all those masters well?   Tim Doyle: It is possible to serve them all. Again, it comes from a comprehensive content strategy really. If you did have to choose, you're typically going to choose in the area of new business development. But when you think about that, that is a huge content need, right?   Bruce McDuffee : Sure.   Tim Doyle: If by doing that, you're quite often meeting the needs of some of those other stakeholders. Then because some people don't have the resources to go live with the new website to meet the needs of all the stakeholders, you just have to make sure- We're going to talk about this is in a little bit. ... that your site is built in a CMS that allows for scalability so that you add over time. A lot of people think of a website, they think that they know that they're done. They think of it as a statue. You build a statue. You put it in the square, and what happens? Pigeons sit on it.   Bruce McDuffee : They do more than that on it.   Tim Doyle: [crosstalk 00:14:25]. Yeah, we think of it as a laboratory. Your website's a laboratory. Even if you go live with what you believe at the time to be terrific content to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, no, no, no, you're not done. You have to have a system in place of evolving that content based on that data analysis over time. That's how you get the most out of your website.   Bruce McDuffee : Got it. So it's an ongoing, continuous improvement project really.   Tim Doyle: It has to be. That's what the top performers do. They have that in place.   Bruce McDuffee : They have a team or maybe they hire somebody to continuously keep that content fresh.   Tim Doyle: Sure. Absolutely.   Bruce McDuffee : Great, that's good to know. That's good advice. Let's drill down a little bit more into some details. I'm going to ask you for a list. What would say are the top five things? If you can prioritize, that are our listeners and that we should focus on if we're going to build a new site, or make an existing site into a top performer? What are those top five things you would suggest?   Tim Doyle: I think the first thing you need to do is set up tracking. Most people would say, "Yes, I've got Google Analytics on the site." But they never look at it. They've never checked to see if it's set up right. You have to an original benchmark. Google Analytics, when set up correctly, is an excellent tool to do just that. It will help you analyze the traffic to all the pages on your site, and any conversions that are occurring, and events that are occurring on the website. So that you have an original benchmark to look to. That can give you guidance in your content. Number one, Google Analytics and benchmarking the original data.     The second thing would be analyze the site map. Look at the site map. The site map is a list. It's the list of all the pages on your website. I call it "Your roadmap to success" because it shows you okay, this is the current content on my site. This is how it's labeled, the content theme of these pages. You have to look at that and say, "Okay, to clearly describe who I am and what are my unique differentiators as a supplier or a potential supplier." If the site map is done correctly initially, it will do that. You will clearly define who you are, knowing that that site maps going to grow over time. So you'll have top level pages and then sub pages that come off of that. If you've ever seen a site map, it's like a tree. It just comes down and then you've got branches coming off of it.     So number one, analytic benchmarking. Number two, analyze your content through your site map.   Bruce McDuffee : Quick question on that, Tim. What if someone's wondering how do I find my site map? Is there an easy way to do it?   Tim Doyle: Your web developer may have put a simple link down at the bottom. Sometimes you can after the .com, you could put /sitemap. There are other tools too though. You can use a tool called Screaming Frog.   Bruce McDuffee : Sure, I've heard of that.   Tim Doyle: Screaming Frog, it's a free tool, but you can get a paid version of it. It will allow you to crawl all the crawlable pages that it sees on your website. That can give you a sense of the content pages on your site. Screaming Frog. It's an easy download.   Bruce McDuffee : Great, thanks.   Tim Doyle: Sure. Then number three, you want to look at site architecture, your site architecture. Is it intuitive, as we were just talking about? Does it meet that "don't make me think" style of architecture?     Four and five, let's talk about four. You want to make sure that your calls to action are very obvious. A call to action is like a button that says, "request quote". That's a call to action. Is it very visible? The next thing would be are you doing testing with variables? If you've got calls to action on your website now, have you ever tested different versions of them to see which perform at a higher level? Again, benchmark the before and after picture. But you may have a request a quote link in the upper navigation. Then you test an obvious button on every page persists in the same location to see if you get a better engagement with the RFQ form.     I'm amazed at some of the performance improvements you get just by subtle tweaks to a button, or the language on a button, or even a form. You can test different versions of forms with different fields in them. You may have a more complex form. You may have a simpler form. In the industrial world, you should make sure that all of them allow for attaching a file because particularly with the contract fabricators, you want to get the drawing.   Bruce McDuffee : Right. Good. So number one, analytics, and benchmarking. Number two, make sure you have a site map that makes sense. Number three, make sure your site architecture is easy to follow and makes sense. Number four, make sure your call to action is obvious. Then number five was testing the variables. Is that right?   Tim Doyle: Yes. Multivariate testing, also known as conversion improvement.   Bruce McDuffee : Sure. Those are great five steps folks. If you want to make your website better, look at those five things first. Probably not the end of the list, right Tim? At least a good start.   Tim Doyle: Oh, I know. You could go on and on, absolutely. If you start with that, you're in a good place.   Bruce McDuffee : Great. Thanks. What about the platform or the content management system, the CMS? Do you find that some are better than others? I know Word Press is a widely used CMS. What are you seeing? What would you advise when someone's picking a CMS?   Tim Doyle: Yeah, Word Press is the most popular one. I would say about 60% of the websites on the web now are built in Word Press.   Bruce McDuffee : Is it that high?   Tim Doyle: Probably. The challenge with that is, is that it's a prime target for spammers that try to inject malware on your site. We do see hacked sites quite a bit. The main tip if you have a Word Press website, or any CMS for that matter, is make sure you are continually updating the version and the security updates on the CMS.     But also, particularly for Word Press, the security updates on the Word Press plugins, there's a lot of plugins that Word Press uses. Quite often we see this with manufacturers quite a bit. They don't even know all the plugins they have on their site. They don't update them, the security updates. They will get malware injected in the site. Be careful. It is a good CMS though. It's very intuitive. It allows for an easy crawl by the search engines. It's got a great editing tool.     Having said that, there's some other ones out there that are very good too. There's obviously one called Drupal. That's an open source CMS as well. There's one called Joomla. Both of which are very widely used.     The one that I prefer though, it's one that maybe not as well known. It's open source. It's extremely intuitive. It's called MODX. You can Google it, or go to YouTube and Google it. You'll see the backend editing tool and some interesting features and functionality of the CMS. The reason I love MODX is it's very secure. They keep control of their plugins and the contributors for the plugins. It also allows for a very easy crawl by the Google bots. So your content reveals itself very efficiently to Google. The editing tool is extremely intuitive. As a matter of fact, when you log into the editing tool in MODX, the file structure on the left looks very much like Microsoft Outlook. The icons on the editing tool look just like Microsoft Word. Even without any training, you can typically figure it out. Then with some training, you get some advanced knowledge on it. You can really take ownership of the content on your site, so CMSs.   Bruce McDuffee : Pretty easy to use?   Tim Doyle: Yeah, very easy to use. Those are the non-e-commerce platforms. If you are in e-commerce, say you're a distributor and you've got 20,000 SKUs, you might be looking for something like a Magento platform. Magento is a very well known e-commerce or quote cart platform.     Then if you are into components like bearings, or variable speed drives, or things like that, you might want to be providing CAD drawings. CAD drawings, are in my mind, at the top of the food chain as it relates to a goal conversion. Because when you specced in, you get purchased over 90% of the time because the purchasing agent typically doesn't swap out what the engineer has specced in. It has been our experience. If you are a distributor or a component manufacturer, in that way would want to provide CAD drawings, there's an excellent tool out there by a company out of San Jose called Catalog Data Solutions. You may have heard of them.   Bruce McDuffee : Sure.   Tim Doyle: It's an excellent CAD library that you can easily integrate. We've integrated dozens with MODX websites. It makes for a very robust content environment on the site.   Bruce McDuffee : I've heard that from other folks too. It seems like this might be one of those opportunities for some manufacturers is if somebody downloads your CAD file, it's a pretty strong buying indicator isn't it?   Tim Doyle: It's a rifle shot indicator. [crosstalk 00:24:10] It's one of the most accurate methods of getting specced in right there is if you're offering up CAD drawings. It's excellent.   Bruce McDuffee : I've heard that too. That's a bonus for the show folks. CAD drawings, use it to get more business.   Tim Doyle: Absolutely.   Bruce McDuffee : The last question before the challenge section, Tim. Suppose I am a VP Sales and Marketing for a B-to-B manufacturing company. I'm out there listening to the podcast. Maybe I'm thinking to myself, "Boy, my website sucks." In a quick list, what are my first five steps? Maybe this is the same as the previous question, but I hate my website. It's not working. Is there another list? Are there things I should start with, for example, to redo that website? I'm going to redo the whole thing.   Tim Doyle: Well, some websites can be worked with. Again, if it's built in a good CMS, if it's mobile responsive, and it's just a matter of adding content and images and things of that nature, that's fine. But if it's a static website, if it's in an old CMS and not an updated version, it's not mobile responsive, you don't want to put lipstick on a pig, to be crude.   Bruce McDuffee : That's okay.   Tim Doyle: You really got to analyze, "Where am I?" In most cases I see lately, it's rebuilding the website.   Bruce McDuffee : Start from scratch.   Tim Doyle: Because it's not worth putting money into the old site that may have served you well. But very often, design standards for websites now have changed so much because of it's a multi-screen world, you don't know what size screen someone's going to be looking at your site on. Particularly with millennials, when you look at millennials, they grew up looking at their smart phones for the most part. Acquiring information through tablets and smartphones. You have to have a website that really sizes properly to meet those needs.     Some of this would be yes, does the content on the site clearly articulate who you are, what you do, and the industries you work with. That could be an easy one to look at beyond the CMS, how old it is.     Do you have high quality images? One of the best investments you can make as a manufacturer is in professional photography. It is very much not thought of by many of the clients that we initially start talking to. It's the easiest thing to do is get great imagery of the components you're machining. What looks better than a well-machined piece of 316 stainless?   Bruce McDuffee : Absolutely.   Tim Doyle: It just glistens. Or a piece of titanium that's machined with lots of value added. Get good photography. It's an asset to your company that you should continue to add to that archive. Have a process of continually adding to your image library. Frankly, it's a transferrable asset of your company. You sell the company, and you've got a 10 year archive of imagery. It has value. The value that it adds to your website is immense because it can take a good design and make it great.   Bruce McDuffee : As opposed to stock images off of?   Tim Doyle: Exactly.   Bruce McDuffee : Got it.   Tim Doyle: That's a big mistake. Big mistake to use just simple stock images all the time.   Bruce McDuffee : That's interesting.   Tim Doyle: [crosstalk 00:27:28] you do.   Bruce McDuffee : I have never come across that with my clients. That's fantastic advice. That's great.   Tim Doyle: Then the quality content, quality images, obviously the navigation, you talked about that earlier, and the architecture, and then the tracking. Obviously, the tracking, people forget about it. They don't really know how to look at the data. That is an obvious one where you would engage an outside firm. Because even if you hire someone who's pretty good at content development, you can't think that they're going to be an analytics expert too. Then the obvious calls to action of course, and the multivariate testing, which we talked about earlier. Those are some of the things that you might want to think about if you're a VP of Sales and Marketing [inaudible 00:28:08] a manufacturing company.   Bruce McDuffee : Thank you. I suppose one of the, like you mentioned early on in the show today, one of the most important things is to sit down before you even begin and say, "What are our goals? Who are we serving? What do we want this site to accomplish? What will a successful site look like?" Things like that. Lay that foundation, like you said earlier.   Tim Doyle: Yeah, exactly.   Bruce McDuffee : Good. Well, that's great advice. Folks, I'll put all of the mentions and the links that Tim mentioned in the show notes so we can take advantage of all his great suggestions. Tim, that brings us to the second part of the show, the challenge question. Folks, send in your challenge questions. These are questions from you that you send into the show. Then I pose them to a relevant expert. Well, I try to match it up to the expertise of the guest. Just email it to me. Bruce@mmmaters.com. Or you can hashtag it on Twitter at mfgmarketing, and I'll pick it up and I'll pose it to our guest expert.     This week our challenge question comes in from a VP Marketing in San Diego. By the way folks, these are usually kind of white labeled. That's how most folks want them. VP Marketing from the San Diego area, from a medical device company. Here it is. "We make a medical device that measures blood coagulation. Our customers are hospitals and blood labs. One of our 2017 goals is to increase website traffic by 30% to ultimately increase the flow at the top of our sales funnel. Do you have any tips about how to increase website traffic for a medical device manufacturer?" Tim, what do you think?   Tim Doyle: Well, it's the same advice I would give anybody. But we have to look at the goal, and we have to define the goal. Is increasing the traffic by 30% a top of the food chain goal? I would say well, anybody can increase the traffic 30% utilizing certain tactics or strategies. Is it the right traffic? We have to go back and look at the persona we're going after and target content and strategies that we know is going to resonate with them. Because we want to position you in front of those specific types of specifiers in hospitals and blood labs at the precise moment they realize they need to look for someone like you.     Knowing that, we want to look at certain things like, "How do they, when they have a need, search for these types of machines or systems that analyze blood coagulation?" One of the ways to do that would be to analyze what people are typing into your internal site search. If you have internal site search on your website, look at a date range of say six months to a year, and see how are people querying the content on your site. You know the internal site search. Bruce?   Bruce McDuffee : Sure.   Tim Doyle: It is the most underused tool for content analysis, for learning the intent of when people come to your site. You can learn exactly how they're thinking about it. When you think about blood coagulation, I think some people call it an INR. It's just another way of saying machine that analyzing anti-coagulation or coagulation. You can go either way with that, I believe.     The goal is to, I assume, increase sales. That's the number one goal. They're thinking that just by increasing traffic, we're going to do that. That's not always accurate. We got to go back to the goal is to increase sales. We got to get the correct people to the site. That means we have to use data, and iteration over time, to achieve that goal. Iteration of content over time.     I know I'm getting kind of deep in the weeds here, but you have to make sure that you've got very accurate KPIs, Key Performance Indicators, as to what you're doing. Having an original benchmark, rolling benchmarks over time, start developing the content, this is on-page, in collaboration with potentially articles on a blog.     Now you got to understand what does an article on a blog do? It typically brings visitors they're trying to educate themselves. They don't convert to an action at a high rate. But it puts out signals of trust to Google, Bing and Yahoo, so it's helping you achieve your organic optimization goals in totality.     Then you've got the on-page content that resonates with these potential buyers when they land on that page. With the proper calls to action, and the proper content, you should compel them to an action.     There's no magic bullet. It comes with a content strategy, based on analysis of the personas you're going after, and then tracking and benchmarking over time.   Bruce McDuffee : So just starting a blog, and blogging three times a week, that's not enough? Or is it enough?   Tim Doyle: No.   Bruce McDuffee : That's not enough?   Tim Doyle: No, it's not enough. You have to have a whole system approach. Blogging's great if you've got great articles. Typically comparative in nature, this versus that, you know what I mean?   Bruce McDuffee : Sure.   Tim Doyle: It can be a good place to start. What are your unique differentiators? How can a machine like this add value, either in speed or efficiency, or accuracy? It could be how to calibrate one, or things to look out for. Five things to look out for with blood coagulation measurement system. But you have to have the on-page content. That's the content on your landing pages that clearly articulates information about your systems, information about the way you approach the industry, things like that, brand size, material application, environment, and type. Remember, "b smart".   Bruce McDuffee : So the two work together.   Tim Doyle: Exactly. They work very much together. Now beyond that, once you've got your page, your on-page content very solid, and you've got a blogging strategy, then you can think about things like email blasts, and acquiring and building over time very accurate lists of potential customers to put out a message that is clearly supported by the content on your website, and the content in your blogs. Maybe video content, things like that.     There's no short path to success. It has to be strategic. Then you've got to execute based on a plan. Then evolve it over time based on data analysis.   Bruce McDuffee : It's a holistic approach. There's not one single tactic. That's interesting.   Tim Doyle: It has to be. It has to be a whole system approach.   Bruce McDuffee : You really need a professional, someone who really knows this stuff. You can't just give it to the marketing coordinator, who sets up the trade shows it sounds like.   Tim Doyle: No, it's not that you can't have someone who's pretty good at something in house. You do need to pair them with experts to assist them. Because you can't expect one person to be an expert in data analysis, an expert in content development, an expert in conversion improvement. You can't hire those unicorns.   Bruce McDuffee : Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Well, that was a great answer to that question, Tim. One thing you mentioned that the internal site search. For our listeners out there, you're saying that you can go in probably Google Analytics, and see every term that someone typed into that internal site search.   Tim Doyle: Correct. Some of the most valuable data you will ever get to look at.   Bruce McDuffee : I bet it is.   Tim Doyle: It gives you insights not just into content development, but frankly, it can give you insights into maybe some new service offerings that can take your business in a new direction.   Bruce McDuffee : Wow, that's powerful. It's not that hard to put it on your website either.   Tim Doyle: No, Google Custom Search, it's $100 a year for the subscription. Do not use the free version.   Bruce McDuffee : Okay.   Tim Doyle: Do not use the free version. Use the paid version. It's about $100 a year, worth every penny. Typically, it should be placed in the upper right hand corner of the website in the header. That's where people expect to see it, persistent on every page. You want them to use it. Now people like it. They like to use it. You want them to use it because it helps you refine your website. It gives you the strategy.   Bruce McDuffee : It gives you intelligence. That's great. That's a great tip.   Tim Doyle: Yeah, it's awesome. It's fantastic. It's so simple. I love simple stuff.   Bruce McDuffee : Yeah, it sounds simple. I'm going to put that on my website. That's great. All kinds of great tips today. Well Tim, that takes us to the final section, the takeaways. I always ask our guest experts if they would share one or two takeaways, maybe reemphasizing something we talked about, or maybe a couple of actionable nuggets going forward. What do you have for us today, Tim?   Tim Doyle: I guess keep it simple, on that theme. Can you truly say that your website is built in a "don't make me think" style of architecture, with tremendous content? If not, reassess. Do you have great analytic tools in place with data that you understand, or have access to people who can help you understand it, for continuous improvement?   Bruce McDuffee : Great, thanks Tim. Great takeaways. I know everyone is paying attention to this episode. Finally, before we sign off, Tim. Would you like to share anything about yourself or your company, TopSpot, with our audience?   Tim Doyle: Sure. TopSpot is an industrially focused web development and search engine marketing and analytics firm, based in Houston, Texas. We work nationwide and internationally. We specialize in working with industrial companies, manufacturers, and distributors. Of our 750 plus clients, I would say 90% of them are manufacturers and distributors, many of them contract fabricators. It's a core competency. I would offer, if you would like to reach out, Tim@TopSpotIMS.com. I'd be happy to do a quick audit of your website for free, and give you some tips and some personal guidance. No obligation.   Bruce McDuffee : That's a great offer. Thanks, Tim. I'll put that in the show notes folks, with Tim's email. That's a great offer. Take advantage.   Tim Doyle: Sure, just in the subject line, just put "site audit".   Bruce McDuffee : Site audit. Will do. Well, Tim, thank you so much for being a guest today on Manufacturing Marketing Matters sharing the knowledge, and tips, and experience, and those great examples. I know I certainly learned a lot today.   Tim Doyle: Awesome. Thank you so much for asking me. It's been an absolute pleasure.   Bruce McDuffee : That was Tim Doyle, Vice President Sales at TopSpot. For more information about Tim and TopSpot, visit the guest bio page and check out the show notes at mmmatters.com/podcast.     Finally, don't forget about that copy of the book. This is a limited time offer. The book's called, "The New Way to Market for Manufacturing". Just go to mfg.mmmatters.com/ebook.     Thanks for listening to Manufacturing Marketing Matters. If you find this podcast helpful and useful, please subscribe at iTunes or stitcher.com. You can download this episode of mmmatters and get the show notes and learn more about the podcast at mmmatters.com. I'm Bruce McDuffee. Now let's go out and advance the practice of marketing in manufacturing today.    

Get a free digital copy of “The New Way to Market for Manufacturing” (short registration form). MM 063 – Channel Partner Sales Strategy for Manufacturers Guest: Debbie Pierce, CEO Nitromojo Highlights: Sometimes trying to decide exactly who the manufacturing customer really is can be confusing for manufacturers. [4:00] The most successful manufacturers have great communication, visibility, […] The post MM 063 – Channel Partner Sales Strategy for Manufacturers appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Check out MMI Webinar Production Service. MM 062 – Differentiation – What is it? How to get it? Guest: Andrea Olson, Founder & CEO Prag’madik, Author of No Disruptions – The New Future for Mid-Market Manufacturing Highlights: “Marketing is about communicating, positioning and perception” [3:00] When you ask your customers about how they perceive your differentiation or […] The post MM 062 – Differentiation – What is it? How to get it? appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

How are we doing? What topics should we cover in 2017? Please complete this short 4 question survey if you have a few moments. Manufacturing Marketing Predictions for 2017 Guest: Tom Repp, Owner and Principle of The Repp Group  Manufacturing Marketing Predictions: Tom Prediction 1 –  In each mfg. sector there will be one company […] The post MM 060 – Manufacturing Marketing Predictions for 2017 appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Global Manufacturing and Content Marketing Check out this new email service from MMI – Email Marketing – Small Business package Guest: Pam Didner, Global Content Marketing Strategist Highlights: The global manufacturing marketing strategy and tactics will depend a lot on the product type and the way the audience uses the products. Sometimes it is homogeneous, […] The post MM 059 – Global Manufacturing and Content Marketing appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Top 5 Industrial Marketing Trends for 2017 Check out this new email service from MMI – Email Marketing – Small Business package Guest: Amber Cooleen, Director, Marketing Communications, IEEE GlobalSpec, Engineering 360 Highlights: Listen to the entire IEEE GlobalSpec webinar, Top 5 Industrial Marketing Trends for 2017.  (registration is required) The 5 industrial marketing trends […] The post MM 058 –Top 5 Industrial Marketing Trends for 2017 appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

2017 B2B Manufacturing Content Marketing Research – the inside scoop Check out this new email service from MMI – Email Marketing – Small Business package Guest: Lisa Murton Beets, Research Director at Content Marketing Institute (CMI) Highlights: Take a look at the research, B2B Manufacturing Content Marketing The most successful manufacturers have a written strategy […] The post MM 057 – B2B Manufacturing Content Marketing Research – the inside scoop appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Our 3 Most Popular Podcasts from Fall 2016! MM 052 – Robert Rose talks about the power and potential for content marketing MM 047 – Donald McNaughton talks about how the new leadership role of marketing in manufacturing depends on change management MM 048 – David Meerman Scott talks about the new rules and old […] The post MM 056 – Quarterly Roundup – Three Most Popular Podcasts Fall 2016 appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Lead Generation with Content Marketing Guest: Vince Koehler, Marketing Director at Sales Benchmark Index (SBI)  New from MMI:  Mentor Mastermind Group, the Alliance, for manufacturing marketers.  Learn more and sign up for a regular membership or a free 30 day trial.   Highlights: Check out the SBI podcast at www.salesbenchmarkindex.com Vince shares his definition of content […] The post MM 055 – Lead Generation with Content Marketing appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Return on Investment in Manufacturing Marketing  Guest: Michael Brenner, CEO Marketing Insider Group  New from MMI:  Mentor Mastermind Group, the Alliance, for manufacturing marketers.  Learn more and sign up for a regular membership or a free 30 day trial.   Highlights: Michael Brenner’s book (co-authored with Liz Bedor), The Content Formula – SlideShare presentation  Marketing has a […] The post MM 054 – Return on Investment in Manufacturing Marketing appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

Demand Generation for Manufacturers Guest: Carlos Hidalgo, CEO and Principal at Annuitas  New from MMI:  Mentor Mastermind Group, the Alliance, for manufacturing marketers.  Learn more and sign up for a regular membership or a free 30 day trial.   Highlights: Carlos’ book, Driving Demand  Carlos shares an excellent definition of ‘demand generation’ as a perpetual process. […] The post MM 053 – Demand Generation for Manufacturers appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).

How to Gain Significant Advantage with Content Marketing in Manufacturing  Guest: Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer at Content Marketing Institute  New from MMI:  Mentor Mastermind Group, the Alliance, for manufacturing marketers.  Learn more and sign up for a regular membership or a free 30 day trial.   Highlights: Content Marketing Institute standard definition of “Content Marketing” . […] The post MM 052 – Robert Rose talks about the power and potential for content marketing appeared first on Manufacturing Marketing Institute (MMI).