For the past 9 years, I was focused on helping manufacturers and other business-to-business (B2B) organizations grow their sales. For the past 3 years, I’ve been working on a Marketing for Manufacturing book so I can help even more companies.
After some significant prodding from NIST’s MEPU trainers and my internet marketing associate in Pennsylvania who is also a co-author, it looks like the marketing for manufacturing book is going to be published before the end of this year. Based on feedback from past classes, the book should be helpful to several manufacturers and manufacturing consultants.
The book has these characteristics:
- The emphasis is on the need for growth of manufacturers.
- Chapters are stand-alone. The book can be used as a step-by-step implementation guide or as a quick reference.
- A core theme throughout the book is improving business growth through increasing sales leads.
- It identifies risks to avoid and offers specific solutions for improving your manufacturing marketing implementation work.
Some of the working chapter titles include:
- Three quick & easy improvements for increasing your chance of online sales leads
- The four steps process to optimize your current website
- How to work with a website designer (hint: they are not marketers!)
- Website usability: best practices & massive mistakes
- Calls to action that drive sales
- Will social media work for me? it depends on several things
- Proven social media techniques for success
- Facebook integration
- YouTube videos that educate, entertain, or inform
- LinkedIn networking & industrial communities
- Blogging without blogs (news, tips, & customer-focused help)
- Email-based interaction with Constant Contact and Mailchimp
- Emerging techniques & recommended approaches: Google+ and Twitter
- Offline marketing that creates visits and sales
- Why your website stinks
- Pay per click advertising – what to use, when to use, and what to avoid
- Integrated marketing: maximizing growth with online, offline, and operations strategy
- The manufacturing study – where failures occur & top growth opportunities.
The current plan is to publish digitally for Kindle devices and the Kindle app on Android & iPhone. We will also offer a traditional book for handy use as a reference. We are still playing with concepts for the physical book format – traditional bound for reading or ring bound for stay-open quick access.
Let me know if you have other areas where you need help or ideas for your manufacturing company. I will either write a small article on the subject or have it listed as a potential chapter.