I met a manufacturer recently who didn’t have a web site for his company, nor was he set up on any social media sites to promote his business.
When I asked why, he said he didn’t think it was the best way to promote his business. Instead, word of mouth, sales feet on the ground and maintaining strong customer relationships through top notch service and regular face-to-face visits was what was working, and had worked for him since forming his business more than two decades ago.
As a society, we tend to move in a herd-like manner when trends emerge that are promoted as being good for you, or good for your business. In this case, social media has become the belle of the ball and is pushed as an effective way to promote your business and your services. Indeed, the social media industry has grown so big that many companies now have employees dedicated solely to building and maintaining online activities to help promote a company and its products or services.
Social media is a good idea for businesses that offer products or services for consumers and want to reach a wide audience. It also makes sense for an OEM that manufactures consumer products. Does the same hold true for those in-between manufacturers, the Tier 1, 2 and 3 that support OEMs?
One of the challenges manufacturers face in the online world, whether it is simply a passive web site or a pull-like social media tool, is to set themselves apart from competitors at a global level. The Internet is called the World Wide Web for a reason: manufacturers aren’t just competing with companies down the road or in the next province; they’re competing with manufacturers in Indonesia, India and China. How does a company engage a potential customer on the web or through a social media tool? Can a video demonstrating machining, fabricating or welding processes from a specific brand of equipment look distinct enough against another competitor that a potential customer will take the next step to contact that business? Can you write a compelling enough “tweet”, or create an interesting enough You Tube video that will get people to contact you? And if you post a Facebook update and get lots of “likes” can this translate into new business?
Perhaps for some manufacturers, the answer to these questions is “yes.” For many though, I suspect the answer may be “I don’t know.”
Whether you’re using Internet tools or not, we’d like to hear from you to gauge whether The Internet of Things is indeed the next marketing revolution for manufacturers. SMT
