Manufacturers aren’t typically marketing-driven companies. But they should be. Because their existing customer bases and referrals aren’t enough to cut it anymore. In this solo episode, I’ll be covering 8 guiding principles for marketing manufacturing in 2022 I’ll be covering: - The power shift from seller to buyer - Understanding who makes up the buying committee - Creating value to gain attention and trust - Turning the knowledge of your industry experts into marketing assets - Capturing deman...
Jan 25, 2022•37 min•Ep. 85
Tell me a platform where you can post 15 times and have 40,000 followers. Today’s guest throws out a TikTok in five minutes before breakfast every morning — and has incontrovertible proof that it absolutely drove 100% of the preorders for a new product. In this episode, I interview Todd Clouser , Senior Brand Marketing Manager at Refine Labs, about the power of TikTok marketing in the trades. Join us as we discuss: - The potential for TikTok videos to educate students and new tradespeople - Stun...
Jan 18, 2022•32 min•Ep. 84
When it comes to improving your company's ethics and compliance… Any changes you make will only be as good as the culture supporting them. And today’s guest, Emily Miner, Senior Advisor in LRN ’s Ethics & Compliance Advisory Practice, joins the show to share the best ways to cultivate that culture. We discuss: The evolution of E&C Why ethics and compliance and organizational culture are inextricably linked The importance of understanding the differences in the experience of culture for v...
Jan 11, 2022•31 min•Ep. 83
Companies that go international are 20% more profitable on average. For most manufacturers, the only thing stopping them from reaping the rewards of going global is the fear of the unknown. But with a little guidance, you can make sure your international ambitions don’t get lost in translation. And there is no better guide than today’s guest, Wendy Pease, Owner of Rapport International, who joins the show to share her tips for going global. Join us as we discuss: - How to decide where to do busi...
Jan 04, 2022•37 min•Ep. 82
Consumers adopt technology faster and adapt their behavior more readily than businesses do. How can we bring those positive consumer traits into manufacturing? In this episode, I interview Todd Leebow, President/CEO at Majestic Steel USA, about consumerizing the industrial supply chain. Join us as we discuss: - Traits of consumers that manufacturing should adopt - Why convention is the antithesis of innovation - What changes when we recognize that manufacturing is technology - Supply chain oppor...
Dec 28, 2021•25 min•Ep. 81
Content marketing is key in manufacturing, but video content is king. Let’s be honest, not everyone will sit down to read in-depth articles on a topic. They just don’t have the time. But a short video? Everyone has time for that. Jeff Long, Founder of True Focus Media, joins me to talk about why video content is an ideal way to showcase your expertise, demonstrate your products, increase leads and sales, and boost your SEO. In this episode, we discuss: - Why teaching is an underutilized marketin...
Dec 21, 2021•33 min•Ep. 80
Founded in 1985, the Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the exchange of knowledge and advancement through tech. With over four thousand members across the globe, it’s a uniquely powerful force for the evolution of manufacturing. Our guests today are manufacturing experts, laser-focused on creating a courageous culture and fierce advocates for transparency: - Marc Braun: Executive Coach at MDB, Chairman for the AME, former President of Cambridge...
Dec 14, 2021•31 min•Ep. 79
Anyone in the industrial sector knows that we need to get the next generation excited about manufacturing. But what about the generation after that? How about starting with a story? That’s how Megan Preston Meyer, Writer/Publisher at Meyer Publishing, is doing it with her Supply Jane supply chain children’s stories. In this episode, we discuss: - Why you need more than data — you need stories - How Supply Jane and FIFO are teaching the supply chain - Why business doesn’t have to be boring (even ...
Dec 07, 2021•24 min•Ep. 78
Manufacturing is the backbone of the modern world… But the manufacturing sector has been lagging severely in the marketing department for a long time. The good news? This only creates opportunity for you to get out ahead of your competitors. Today, I’m joined by Allison DeFord, Founder and Trailblazer at FELT Marketing for Manufacturers, for a discussion of 5 key concepts every manufacturer needs to understand about their marketing — from common missteps to untapped opportunities. We cover: Huma...
Nov 30, 2021•51 min•Ep. 77
One of the biggest challenges in the industry today? Upskilling the country’s workforce for careers in advanced manufacturing. Training centers and technical schools need to step in to fill the skills gap, but many of them are still training for the jobs of yesterday. It’s time to modernize workforce education. Kathy Walker, Founder & CEO of eKentucky Advanced Manufacturing Institute (eKAMI), joins the show to discuss eKAMI’s innovative and unconventional training program, which is upskillin...
Nov 23, 2021•25 min•Ep. 76
There’s no shortage of orders for most manufacturers out there — The problem is finding the talent to help fill them. How do we finally close the manufacturing skill gap? Mike Nager, Founding Member of the Solution Center within Festo Didactic, which helps students learn hands-on manufacturing skills through its innovative Learning Factory, believes it all starts with education — and manufacturers need to do a better job educating. In this episode, we discuss: - The root of the skills gap - The ...
Nov 16, 2021•22 min•Ep. 75
At the outset of the pandemic, trade shows were one of the many facets of business imperiled by the crisis. But every crisis presents an opportunity for innovation. And for today’s guests, Clive White, CEO, and Zach Person, General Manager, at Ensitech, a company that heavily relies on trade shows for garnering business, pushing past the initial pandemic panic ultimately paid off — fast forward to today, and they’ve revolutionized the trade show booth. They join me to discuss: - Their digital-an...
Nov 09, 2021•34 min•Ep. 74
There are a couple of super easy ways to totally flop at a trade show: Not having a live demo. Not having enough personnel. Not prioritizing relationships. Not being selective with products. Not having strategic marketing on the other 363 days of the year. Not understanding the economics of the entire endeavor. Okay... more than just a couple. In this episode, I interview Gorilla76’s Matthew Sciannella, Thinker & Strategy Director, and Jon Franko, Thinker & Founder, about all things trad...
Nov 02, 2021•35 min•Ep. 73
What manufacturers should do is stop moaning about the lack of skilled talent and start partnering with grade schools (yes, as young as eighth grade) to show young people, especially young women, how amazing it is to build a career in manufacturing and engineering. But how? In this episode, I’m speaking with Meaghan Ziemba, Owner, Copywriter, and Copyeditor at Z-Ink Solutions and Host at Mavens of Manufacturing, about her calling to create an educational network to inspire youth to pursue manufa...
Oct 26, 2021•47 min•Ep. 72
You probably don’t need another reminder that the pandemic changed the world — when it comes to manufacturing, the deepening labor shortage and increased supply chain difficulties are obvious. And there are two ways you can think about these issues: You can either hope that they’re temporary and wait for them to get better — or you can face the world as it currently is and do something about it. Today, I’m speaking with Rob Tracy , Consultant at Rob Tracy Consulting and author of How to Fix a Fa...
Oct 19, 2021•25 min•Ep. 71
Traditionally, marketing teams in manufacturing have depended on CRM supply data to get a picture of their customers. However, there’s an untapped well of customer insights that many overlook: IoT data from manufacturing facilities. Using this data, marketers can target specific campaigns to specific customer bases and create messaging that truly resonates with customers. In this episode, I sit down with Jan Pingel , Product Leader of Digital Solutions at Ingersoll Rand , to talk about how IoT i...
Oct 12, 2021•34 min•Ep. 70
If you think ecommerce isn’t for you, you’re wrong. You need to leverage ecommerce immediately (arguably with pricing, too) to increase your visibility and make it easy for your ideal buyer to make a buying decision on a Friday at midnight online. In this episode, I interview Curt Anderson , eCommerce Evangelist for Manufacturers at Ecommerce MGMT , about why ecommerce matters so much for manufacturers — today more than ever before. Join us as we discuss: -Why manufacturers should quit being “th...
Oct 05, 2021•39 min•Ep. 69
Only a tiny fraction of your total addressable market is ready to buy right today. Does that mean you ignore everyone else? Of course not. You need to get their attention, gain their trust and when it’s time to buy, they’ll turn to you… But only if you make it easy. There’s no guest today, just me, Joe Sullivan, your dutiful host and Thinker & Founder at Gorilla 76, and in this episode, I’ll be going over the 8 ways you can make it easier for your buyers to buy. Subscribe to The Manufacturin...
Sep 28, 2021•25 min•Ep. 68
There is no reason manufacturing needs to be dominated by men — even if it, historically, always was. Yet today, as other sectors become more representative, one look around most manufacturing sites and you’ll notice the lack of women immediately. Why are we lagging behind? And more importantly, what can we do about it? My guest today, Lesley Ledwell Dukelow , Company President at Ledwell, is a 4th-generation female leader of a family-owned manufacturing business and she has some ideas about how...
Sep 21, 2021•26 min•Ep. 67
If you’ve ever been curious how well management takes care of its employees at any given organization, there is one really simple way to find out: Check out the employee bathroom. That may seem funny, but… think about it — if management can’t take care of the bathrooms, how well can they really be taking care of its employees? That simple test is wisdom today’s guest, Mark Whitten , President & CEO at Spartanburg Steel Products , has learned over years of successful leadership in which he ha...
Sep 14, 2021•35 min•Ep. 66
You hear people talk a lot about a labor shortage in manufacturing and automation and robotics are a great way to tackle it. Not just to replace jobs — but to find more workers. If only we could get over manufacturing’s technology hesitancy problem. Today’s guest, Erik Nieves, Founder at PlusOne Robotics, can help you do just that. That’s because, in his years of experience in robotics, he’s seen a solution to every excuse for why automation won’t work. In this episode, we discuss: -The problem ...
Sep 07, 2021•30 min•Ep. 65
Without our dealers and distributors, who would sell our products? Without us, what would they sell? We need each other. Why then is the relationship so often strained? Today’s guest, Tom Paul, Founder & CEO at BAM!, says it doesn’t have to be. All it takes is a little work from both parties… and maybe reading at least one 25-year-old article. In this episode, we discuss: -Why the manufacturer-dealer relationship is so often fractured (and 3 steps to fixing it) -The solution BAM! has created...
Aug 31, 2021•31 min•Ep. 64
If your content strategy starts with whether there’s keyword search volume around your SEO terms, you’re starting at step five. Here’s step one: conduct customer interviews to learn what they value and prioritize. In this episode, I interview Gorilla 76’s own Grace Wright and Aaron Weekes, both Thinker and Strategist, about creating winning content that starts with customers, not keywords. In this episode we discuss: -Making your customer’s success the object of your content -Getting the right m...
Aug 24, 2021•39 min•Ep. 63
Data collection, automation, robotics — these are things reserved for the budgets of the biggest companies out there, right? Wrong. Anyone can do it with one simple trick: Just get started. That’s the simple advice shared by our latest guest, Aaron Prather, R&D Evangelist for FedEx Express, who is deeply passionate about both topics — and if you don’t believe me, just check out his LinkedIn. In this episode, we discuss: - The benefits of data collection, automation and robotics for your busi...
Aug 17, 2021•25 min•Ep. 62
You’ve probably heard about the infamous skills gap in manufacturing — a problem only made worse by the pandemic. It has the potential to affect our lives in profound ways; even our national security is at stake. And if we expect to solve it, we need to get creative — like, say, starting a nationally-televised Skills Draft? That’s one of the creative solutions today’s guest, Dr. Jason Scales, Business Manager, Education at Lincoln Electric, proposes to avoid the coming skills depression. In this...
Aug 10, 2021•32 min•Ep. 61
At first, his entry into the manufacturing industry was out of a need for survival. But it quickly grew into a passion to encourage those who want to become a better version of themselves to embrace the hope, pride, and success to be found in manufacturing. In this episode, I interview Tony Gunn, General Manager at MTDCNC Global and Founder and CEO at Your Tea of Life, about his amazing career trajectory from being kicked out of three colleges to entrepreneurship. In this episode we discuss: How...
Aug 03, 2021•39 min•Ep. 60
The manufacturing sector is desperate for more diversity in gender, generation, race, ability, and other underrepresented populations. Quite frankly, the situation is dire. Your business won’t survive unless you create a more diverse and inclusive culture, both organization- and industry-wide. In this episode, I interview Andrew Crowe, Founder of the Elevate Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Justin Sherman, Founder at Equity Machine Works SPC, about attracting young, diverse talent in manu...
Jul 27, 2021•58 min•Ep. 59
Video messaging is not just a new technology to learn, it's a way to connect with human beings that aligns better with how people prefer to communicate these days. It allows you to lead with your very best asset — yourself. In situations where face-to-face sales meetings are not always possible, recording a video allows others to take in your message when it’s convenient for them, builds a feeling of psychological proximity, and offers more personalized interaction than a wall of text. On this e...
Jul 20, 2021•49 min•Ep. 58
You know you need clearer insight into your customer to build better products or deliver more valuable services. One way to get that insight is by listening to your sales and customer service teams. What are they hearing firsthand? But there's another source of insight that you might not have thought about — search data. What can you learn from the words your prospects and customers type into Google or YouTube before they decide what to buy? In this episode of The Manufacturing Executive, Derek ...
Jul 13, 2021•32 min•Ep. 57
Manufacturing got left behind as the software industry progressed rapidly over the years. It’s time to catch up, and innovators like Adam Keating make it possible. As the Co-Founder & CEO at CoLab Software, Adam embraces the engineering approach of problem-solving. His team enables 2D and 3D CAD collaboration which has changed the game for manufacturing businesses, especially in the last 18 months. What we talked about: Adam’s Hyperloop adventures and the emergence of CoLab Software Manufact...
Jul 06, 2021•26 min•Ep. 56
