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Think about the experience of walking into an Apple store. Or the ease and simplicity of making a purchase on Amazon — 30 seconds, one click, and you're done. More and more, B2B buyers expect B2C buying experiences. In light of that, what does “customer experience” mean to you? On today's episode, I talk about customer experience with Sultana Mangal and Annie Dohle, both Account Executives at Gorilla 76. Here's what we discussed: What kind of experience B2B buyers expect How to differentiate your B2B brand beyond your physical product Tips for creating amazing new customer experiences in the first 100 days To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Executive, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here

In today's podcast, I break down a simple three-step framework for what a mid-sized B2B manufacturer should be doing to fill the sales funnel in 2021. This year, we still can't rely on trade shows or other in-person meetings. Here's what I recommend you do instead: Focus on the right people from the right companies Create amazing content specifically for them Distribute that content consistently to as many of the right people as possible To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

Artificial intelligence...machine learning...blockchain...digital transformation. All buzzwords marking the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 4.5.   In this episode of the podcast, I talk with someone who's right in the middle of it all. Justin Goldston, PhD is a professor of project and supply chain management at Penn State University. He works closely with the Penn State Sustainability Institute to blend technology into organizational sustainability efforts.   Justin and I discussed: What we mean by Industry 4.5 How new technology will impact the workforce in manufacturing Should we worry about new tech or embrace it? ...Where to go to learn more To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

What is Voice of Customer? How can Voice of Customer be used to curate tailored content across your industry? Why is this important? These are a few of the many questions answered on today’s show with industry expert, Dave Loomis. In this episode, Joe Sullivan of Gorilla 76 speaks with Dave Loomis, President of Loomis Marketing on episode 28 of The Manufacturing Executive podcast. Our dynamic conversation covered... How do you facilitate a voice of customer meeting? What are the benefits of a voice of customer meeting? Understanding the pain customers feel and ideal outcomes Want more resources and information? For more ways to serve others as an individual or business, Dave has written a book called Marketing Is Everything We Do. Dave also suggests checking out New Product Blueprinting by Dan Adams and Jobs to Be Done by Tony Ulwick. To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Manufacturing Executive podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Somewhere along the way, we all run into that guy... The customer's procurement guy... The buyer. And with supply chain disruption fresh in all our minds, it's time we talked to that guy. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Aaron Brimer, a supply chain leader and founder of the Manufacturing Procurement Guy podcast. We talked about mitigating risk through smart procurement practices. Aaron and I discussed: Second sourcing Inventory management Negotiation ...And the role engineers play in the buying decision To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

I asked listeners what topic they wanted to learn more about on the podcast.  You said "expanding into international markets." So I put the word out among my network and discovered today's guest. He founded a gas company in 2002 that now does business in many foreign countries. My guest on this episode is Ashley Madray, executive vice president of Gas Innovations, a producer, purifier, and packager of specialty gases. Ashley and I discussed: Who he is, how his company began, and how it expanded internationally Common challenges to international expansion The impact of doing business globally To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

The workplace is experiencing a massive transformation. I thought we should start at a high level and talk about that. So we did. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Jon Franko (I just call him "Franko"), my co-founder here at Gorilla76, about how to grow a great team rooted in relationships. Franko and I discussed: What employees value most in an employer right now A little thing we do called “Retention Brainstorming” and how it can help you How to use Glassdoor to your advantage To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

If we create an environment where people on the production floor can help the company be better, they're more than happy to use their knowledge to do it. Unfortunately, many supervisors and managers have not been given the training, development, and coaching to do the job on their own or to help the company grow. On this episode of the podcast, Gayle Noakes, a 20+ year veteran of the manufacturing industry, joined me to talk about building leaders at all levels to achieve business results. Gayle and I discussed: Giving people the right training for their roles Creating the right balance among activities in complex manufacturing roles Whose voices we should be hearing — but often aren't — on a daily basis To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

It's time to face reality about sales channels, technology, and how people buy. E-commerce is going to dominate sales. Business was moving in that direction pre-COVID, but the pandemic dramatically accelerated those trends. You can fight this reality, or you can grow with it. On this episode of the podcast, I talked with Kevin Haar, chief operating officer at Super Bright LEDs, about the transition to e-commerce. Kevin and I discussed: What e-commerce can offer now that it couldn't in the past The impact of online sales in different parts of the organization Roadblocks and challenges in e-commerce adoption To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

We'd all love to create content and then sit back and wait for the phones to start ringing. But that doesn't work. You have to be proactive. Learn how and where your prospects and customers go to consume content online and deliver it to them in those channels. The only content that works is the content that's actually consumed. On this episode of the podcast, I invited Matt Sciannella, Senior Strategist at Gorilla76, to talk about content distribution. Matt and I discussed: The reasons we need to be talking about content distribution Why the mindset around the downloadable ebook is starting to change When you should venture onto a channel other than email, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

You know the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But do you practice that philosophy as a manufacturing leader? Does it influence who you hire? How you manage your team? The way you interact with your stakeholders?  On this episode of the podcast, I invited Dan Erschen, the owner of Wisconsin Metal Parts, a contract manufacturer of metal parts and assemblies, to talk about servant leadership. Dan and I discussed: Dan's personal battle with MS and how it has shaped who he is today What servant leadership is and the benefits and challenges it brings to manufacturing companies Dan's advice about how to start shifting culture through servant leadership To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

When the mandated industry shut down in Michigan happened, one Millennial sought new ways to engage his current customers and share the benefits of automation while working from home. He turned to LinkedIn. Seven months later, his content has reached over 1.5 million views, and he's amassed more than 10,000 followers. On this episode of the podcast, I invited Jacob Hall, the Manufacturing Millennial, to discuss everything from embracing technology and creating video content to engaging young professionals in the workforce and building a personal brand on LinkedIn. Jake and I talked about: The value of video on LinkedIn for personal branding Why face-and-voice communication is your differentiator How to get past vanity metrics when evaluating your content's performance Sponsored by Cadenas Partsolutions To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

The term thought leadership has gotten tossed around a lot the last few years. But what exactly does thought leadership mean? Does it simply imply that you write a blog or that you spoke at a local Chamber of Commerce event? Or is thought leadership something more than that? How did you become a thought leader anyway? On this episode of the podcast, I invited Bill Sherman, COO and thought leadership practice lead at Thought Leadership Leverage. Bill helps clients who want to use thought leadership whether it's to fill a sales pipeline or influence how people think and act. Bill and I talked about: The four elements of thought leadership How thought leadership can impact your organizational and personal brands Why people struggle with content insecurity  Sponsored by Cadenas Partsolutions To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

Twenty years ago, we barely had enough info to measure our impact. Today, manufacturing marketers are overwhelmed with data, and everyone wants to sell us software to find, store, clean, surface, and use that data. Why is data such a big buzzword in business, especially manufacturing? On this episode of the podcast, I invited Jon Thompson, co-founder and senior partner at Blue Margin Inc, a company of 38 consultants and engineers who help mid-market companies with an emphasis on industrials use their data to create growth. Jon and I talked about: Why data needs to go from the c-suite all the way to the frontline worker The idea of numbers as a motivator The biggest challenges manufacturers face when controlling and using their data Check out this resource we mentioned during the podcast: The Dashboard Effect To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

What comes to mind when you think of a great business leader?  Someone with all the answers? Someone who grinds away working long hours? Someone with such deep experience and expertise that you don't need to question his or her guidance? Or is a great leader someone who leads by empowering the people around them? On this episode of the podcast, I invited Kevin Snook, CEO of both Saxagon and LUCIDi4 and author of the Amazon bestseller Make It Right, to talk about leadership in the manufacturing sector.  Kevin and I discussed: Empowering the frontline employees to make decisions A 5-step framework for leading a manufacturing organization A leader's 2 roles Avoiding the slippery slopes of manufacturing leadership To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

From Industry 4.0 to 3D printing to wearable technology, there are so many advancements happening in manufacturing. But it's easy to get sidetracked by these shiny objects. We need to focus on the problem or goal at hand first. And then APPLY the right-fit technology accordingly. On this episode of the podcast, I invited Jonathan Hensley, co-founder and CEO of Emerge Interactive, a digital product consulting firm that works with companies to improve operational agility and customer experience. Jonathon and I talked about: Digital products and services that might be applied in the industrial sector Customer experience in the data Changing operations, supply chain disruption, and labor retention in the manufacturing space To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

After I go, what happens to my company?  Every successful business owner eventually faces that question. In some cases, the succession plan seems obvious. In others, it's not at all clear.  On this episode of the podcast, I invited Nick Jackson, Principal of the Mendota Group, which acquires small to medium-sized manufacturing, distribution and service businesses. Nick and I talked about: The difference between a financial buyer, a strategic buyer, and an active investor A step-by-step process for finding an advisor when selling your company What happens after a deal gets closed To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

Many manufacturers rely on events to generate pipeline. What do you do when events shut down? On this episode of the podcast, I share three tangible ideas for reallocating your marketing budget to keep a steady flow of leads coming while trade shows can't help you do it. Make the shift from brochure marketing that's all about you to genuinely helpful content marketing that's about your prospect. Market to your existing customers. Your email list is gold. Learn how to do video based prospecting. It's a lot easier than you might think. Resources we talked about: I Need What’s In Your Brain: Extracting Expert Knowledge for Content Marketing w/ Toby Wall Video-based prospecting: An easy, but comprehensive guide Loom.com for easy prospecting videos 4 ways to build your ultimate list for cold outbound email To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

We hear grumblings about automation taking away job opportunities. But inside the manufacturing sector, companies are struggling to find high quality, consistent human laborers. The real challenge facing the industry is this: Baby Boomers are exiting the workforce, and there aren't enough people in the skilled trades to replace them. Gary Konarska, Executive Director & CEO at American Welding Society, joined this episode of the podcast to discuss how to attract and retain high quality labor. Gary and I talked about: The opportunity cost of college and the value of learning a skilled trade  How to address the shortage of welders Ways to attract fresh talent through creating great content How to upskill the current welding workforce Resources we talked about: Careers in Welding by AWS Leveraged Learning To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.

What happens when your competitors are talking about themselves but you are producing resourceful content? You win!  So how can you write helpful technical content for manufacturers? First, it needs to come from the brains of subject matter experts. Second, you need to extract that knowledge from their brains and use their insights to fuel your marketing strategy.  Toby Wall, thinker and senior writer at Gorilla76, joined this episode of the podcast to discuss how to create great content in the manufacturing space. Toby and I talk about: Where should content expertise originate? Why should subject matter experts expect to play a role in content creation? How do you extract expert knowledge and turn it into credible content? Resources we talked about: They Ask, You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Marketing How to extract expert knowledge from your team and turn it into incredible content “I need what’s in your brain” – Why we insist on interviewing subject matter experts To ensure that you never miss an episode of The Manufacturing Show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or here.