I just returned from the STAFDA show which was held in Charlotte, NC. It was the biggest one in some years.
The show, for the most part, was upbeat, and the economic forecast for the next few years looks promising for the construction market.
I talked to several manufacturers and they seemed happy, for the most part, on the turnout for the trade show. The last day didn’t set any records, but most trade shows don’t.
In talking with several distributors and a few buying groups that were there, they confirmed that they were having great growth in 2014 and expect it to continue into 2015.
It was nice to go to a distributor/manufacturer meeting where both sides were positive. Hopefully the crystal ball will be right.
I know we all know “CONTENT IS KING” and we focus on putting out good stuff. But we should be just as focused on building the list to whom we’ll be sending all this valuable info. There are so many sources for gathering data from trade shows, PR and leads from advertising. We need to formulate a plan to separate them by market, industry or other criteria so specific targeted messages can be sent with a strong call to action.
It’s a fact that if you have an engaged database of subscribers, you have a captive audience, not only for them to read, but to share. I recently read a post on problogger.net by James Penn entitled, 10 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers For Your Blog that I thought brought home some key points.
Among them are:
Use multiple opt-in forms – have 3-4 in your newsletter template. The more you have, the better the chances of them signing up.
Offer a freebie for signing up – Give them a report, industry trends or white paper for signing up.
Use your most popular posts – They will continue to bring in traffic.
Create special reports on industry issues – Use already existing content to create.
Ask readers to join your email list – What better way to get people on board.
These are some great tips. What are you doing to increase your email lists?
Each month we’ll be featuring a blog post from our friends at MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network). MAGNET’s mission is to support, educate and champion manufacturing in Ohio with the goal of transforming the region’s economy into a powerful, global player. You can visit MAGNET online at manufacturingsuccess.org.
Sauder Woodworking and MAGNET Find A Way To Innovation
When Sauder Woodworking began seeing less growth and profits, the company couldn’t afford to invest in innovation, yet truly needed to explore new markets. By reaching out to MAGNET, the Sauder Company received structured guidance towards innovating a new kind of product and ensuring its financial success. In this video, you’ll learn how MAGNET helped lead the Sauder Woodworking Company to create the innovative and commercially successful WoodTrac Ceiling System.
If you listen to the media, we all should be fat, dumb and happy since business is just rolling in and we can’t handle it all. I know housing starts are at an all-time highsince 2008, road and bridge contracts are now being released, automotive production in this country is setting records and most industrial indicators for manufacturing are on an upward trend.
So saying all of that, how are you doing? Most of our clients (manufacturers) are having modest growth but have a hard time figuring out why (getting new business or stealing it from competition).
Would you be so kind as to take a one-question survey?
If you’re going to create good content, shouldn’t you have some basic parameters in place before doing it? If not, you’ll be writing about everything to no specific audience and the results will be less than desirable.
So what’s holding you back from writing down your content strategy? My guess is you’re not sure where to start. You know that the document doesn’t have to be complicated. It needs to cover some basic points for you and your team to focus on when creating content. It’s also good to share with the rest of the team so everyone is on the same page.
Slide Credit: Convince and Convert
A recent post by Jay Baer outlines very simply what you need to do to create a strategy in 7 steps. Here are some highlights:
Objective – What are you trying to accomplish? Deliver leads, create awareness?
What makes you different – You need something that’s going to set you apart. What is it?
Metrics – How are you going to determine the success or failure of your efforts if you don’t define a way to measure it?
Define your audience – Who do you want to talk to and why?
Audience needs – Do some research to find out what their needs are.
Content execution – What are you going to write about and when? Where do they get their info as you want to deliver it there instead of them having to go look for it.
Content promotion – Once it’s written, use social media to create a bigger buzz.
UPS recently released a study they did on the behaviors, preferences and perceptions of industrial supplier performance.
Industrial distribution was once dominated by family owned companies built on personal relationships. Things are changing, and now suppliers (whether they are distributors or manufacturers) need to be not only aware of, but be a part of the online movement.
The UPS study surveyed 1501 online. The respondents were either sole/joint decision makers and the survey included only stock only products (no special orders). Annual spends ranged from under $50,000 to over $250,000.
Here are some insights from the study that I found interesting:
40% of those surveyed were only on the job for less than a year.
23% were on the job less than 5 years.
50% of purchasers say having a catalog and sales rep are important in making a decision.
More that 50% are making purchases online.
33% of purchasers spend most of their budget online.
34% say they go outside their existing supply base to make an online purchase with a new vendor.
Preferred research methods for new products were websites and search engines.
Are you still with me? So what does that me for you? It’s an opportunity for you to keep the business you have and expand outside your normal trading areas. Yes, buyers are concerned about quality, availability, price and delivery. But they are also interested in an integrated system that makes the buying process easy — from picking a product to making hassle-free returns.
Suggested action items from the survey:
Online selling is changing they way people buy things — embrace e-commerce (but not exclusively)
Continually improve the customer experience — make it easy for them to purchase from you
Be in the right place at the right time — utilize SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) to make sure people find you when they are looking
