creating an edgy brand manufacturing marketing · google website upgrades lab rats book review...
TRANSCRIPT
ManufacturingMarketing
ManufacturingMarketing
GORILLA MARKETING GORILLA MARKETING
ATTRACTING SKILLED LABOR
GOOGLE WEBSITE UPGRADES
GOOGLE WEBSITE UPGRADES
LAB RATSBOOK REVIEW
Nov
embe
r 12
-25
2018
Creating an Edgy Brand
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
COVER:
Gorilla Mill’s eye-catching booth at IMTS 2018.
FROM THE EDITOR | November 12-25 2018 | Issue 19
1 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
The wonderful thing about taking a hiatus is that it gives you a chance to step back, take a few deep breaths, and reassess where you are.
ManufacturingMarketingIssue 19
ManufacturingMarketing
ManufacturingMarketing
GORILLA MARKETING GORILLA MARKETING
ATTRACTING SKILLED LABOR
GOOGLE WEBSITE UPGRADES
GOOGLE WEBSITE UPGRADES
LAB RATSBOOK REVIEW
Nov
embe
r 12
-25
2018
Creating an Edgy Brand
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
Editor Dianna [email protected] Rachel [email protected]
Contact Manufacturing MarketingManufacturing Marketing is published by Huff Industrial Marketing and cre8d design37 Plaistow Road, Unit 7-245Plaistow, NH 03865(603) [email protected]
Subscribe to Manufacturing Marketinghuffindustrialmarketing.com/magazine
Magazine Archiveshuffindustrialmarketing.com/magazine/archives
Sponsor Manufacturing [email protected]
© 2018, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
SINCE OUR FOUNDING in June, we’ve published 19 magazine issues – and have been somewhat overwhelmed with the positive response, the time commitment, and the sheer energy required to publish every week.
Going forward, we’ll be publishing twice a month. We’ll have the same great content written with the same great purpose – to provide common sense marketing advice geared for small industrial manufacturers.
With that said, in this issue you’ll find some pretty neat stuff. First up is a write up of Gorilla Mill’s edgy marketing. We first encountered the manufacturer of cutting drills and end mills at the Eastec tradeshow in 2015 and have been smitten with them since.
We also attended the 16th Annual NH Governor’s Advanced Manufacturing Summit, sponsored by the NH MEP, where we listened to a panel of manufacturers discuss how they go about recruiting skilled labor. (When Dianna heard “newspaper ads,” she died.)
We’ve also got a new Made in the USA product recommendation, a new book of the week, and an explanation of why Google is sending out emails telling you they’ve “upgraded” your website. What?!
Have a fantastic week!–Dianna Huff, Editor, and Rachel Cunliffe, Designer
BRANDING
2 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
IN BRIEF
• Consider SEO before you do a site redesign. Plus, four other reasons to not ignore SEO. Read more
• Five reasons it’s cool to be an engineer. Reason #3: You’re focused on making things. Learn more
• Must read long read. Why Fujifilm survived and Kodak died. Bookmark for later
• She wanted to change her life. Woman breaks record for cycling around the world. Read the story
• It’s not about food. E-A-T = Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness for your website. Learn more
• 92,000 troops to get Made in USA sneakers. New Balance inked a $17M contract with DoD. Read the story
Gorilla Mill Puts the “Edge” in Marketing Its Mills and Drills By Dianna Huff
Attend a manufacturing tradeshow, such as Eastec or IMTS, and you can’t miss Gorilla Mill’s booth. It’s the one with the big gorilla, and even trees and other items, depending on the booth size (Figure 1).
The gorilla is a natural ice-breaker and brings people into the booth to talk – with many people taking selfies with it.
Founded in 1974 by Philipp Laubenstein in his garage, the Carbide Grinding Company, Inc. (dba Gorilla Mill) manufactures high performance drills, end mills
and cutting tools.Due to continued growth,
Laubenstein moved the company to its current Waukesha, WI facility in 1980. Today the company remains a family-owned and operated business. Laubenstein’s son-in-law, Kevin Cranker is CEO; Cranker’s son Nathan is the co-Operations manager.
When asked how they came up with the idea for the Gorilla Mill brand, Cranker replied, “We were a local grind shop custom making tools and wanted to take the company and its products national. We
Figure 1: Gorilla Mill booth at IMTS 2018
BRANDING
3 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
wanted new branding that would be edgy, but not too over the top.”
Management tried out various concepts and names over a three to four-day period. At some point, Cranker said, “Gorilla Mill” and the name clicked. (While employing similar branding elements, the company is not associated with the consumer brands Gorilla Tape and Gorilla Glue.)
According to Cranker, the team isn’t afraid to make fun of themselves in order to make their marketing stand out.
The product names, for example, play up on the gorilla / primate theme, with names such as Chimps, Silverback, and Baboon. To add fun and a bit of spice, the company uses bananas as a rating scale for their tools in its catalog (Figure 2).
Bananas played a prominent role at the 2015 Eastec tradeshow – with the peeled fruit holding the company’s carbide end mills.
In an aisle that featured booth after booth of drills and cutting tools laid out in flat, boring arrangements on tabletops, the banana skins were eye-catching and memorable – and yes, a little
cheeky, too (Figure 3).Due to its branding, the
company has built up a cool factor with their audience: “We can’t keep our gorilla-themed shirts and hats on the shelf,” says Cranker. “And, people do remember us from the trade shows.”
When asked what advice he had for manufacturers for creating an edgy brand, Cranker offered the following:
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – “We market to our end users – mostly machinists ranging in age from 20 to 60 years, who like the NFL, drink beer, and ride motorcycles. They use and heavily influence the purchase of our products.”
Figure 3: Gorilla Mill’s Eastec display
Figure 2: Catalog tool rating
STAY AWAY FROM “ME TOO”
BRANDING – “We’re in a cut-throat market where our product is a commodity. You can buy similar products on Amazon. To stand apart, it’s important that you figure out who your audience is, and create a brand that will resonate with them versus following what other people are doing.”
HAVE FUN – Cranker advises carrying your branding elements all the way through your marketing mix, from the website and product catalog to the trade show booth and branded schwag. “Don’t be afraid to poke fun at yourself,” he says.
HAVE A BIG VISION – “We want Gorilla Mill to become a household name,” says Cranker. “People refer to tissues as Kleenex® – meaning, they use the brand name to refer to what is now a ubiquitous item. We want Gorilla Mill to be synonymous with high performance drills / end mills, so we reinforce that message throughout our branding.”
Founded in 1974, Gorilla Mill is a family-owned company based in Waukesha, WI. All products are made in the USA. Visit www.gorillamill.com
JOB RECRUITMENT
4 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
Judging by what we heard at the 16th Annual NH Governor’s Advanced Manufacturing and High Technology Summit in early November, finding skilled labor is the biggest challenge manufacturers face.
In a packed, standing room-only break-out room, we listened to four manufacturers discuss what they’re doing to attract and retain labor.
Some of the tips were quite practical, such as Help Wanted signs. However, when we heard that manufacturers use newspaper ads, we almost died. Does anyone even read the newspaper anymore?
At any rate, we thought we’d share how other manufacturers are dealing with the challenge of finding and keeping skilled labor.
In this issue and going forward, we’ll provide job
Attracting and Retaining Skilled Labor
recruitment information to help keep you abreast of what others are doing to address this challenge.
ATTRACTING SKILLED LABOR
• Newspaper Ads• “Internet Pages”• Tech Colleges• Job Fairs• Local Correctional Facilities
(for people just getting out and needing a second chance)
• Recovery Programs (ditto)• Help Wanted Signs outside
the building
ADVICE: “Don’t be afraid to hire grey hairs.”
RETAINING HIRED WORKERS
• Communication is key – Management needs to be open
and transparent• Provide 401k, healthcare and
other benefits• Hold team-building events• Make an emotional
connection; show people how their work matters
• Bonuses are good but they don’t buy loyalty
ADVICE: “Build a positive culture; let go of negative people who are cancer.”
Two tips that were missing?
1. Using the company website to attract skilled workers searching online for jobs
2. Creating messaging targeted at stressed out workers who want to leave toxic startup cultures to work in a place where they’re valued (see Book of the Week – page 8)
JOB RECRUITMENT
5 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
Compare Summit Metal’s sign with a standard “Help Wanted” sign outside another manufacturer’s facility (above right).
It’s not very helpful.
People driving by don’t know what types of jobs are open, and even though it says to “Apply Inside,” a prospective employee would need to stop, note the company name and address, and then check the company website once time permits.
For more job recruitment strategies, read Issues 11 and 12 of Manufacturing Marketing Magazine.
We cover everything you need to know, from the Google Job Search box to creating the right website messaging that gets prospective job seekers to contact you.
Issue 11 How Google is Disrupting Job Search + 5 Strategies for Marketing Your Jobs
Issue #12 The Competitive Advantage of an Age-Diverse Workforce + Huntington Ingalls Case Study
In Issue 11, we featured Summit Metal Fabricator’s Help Wanted sign (above left).
Why we loved the sign:
• It’s big! – The sign is easily read while driving by at 30 mph speed limit.
• It lists the job openings – Welders, Ironworkers and Erectors/Installers please apply!
• It has a nice benefit – 100% paid health.
• Most important, this sign tells people where to apply online.
A person interested in a job can pull over and either take a picture of the sign or jump online really fast to learn more about the company – and then apply later.
Quick Tip: Add URL to Help Wanted Signs
Is your website working for you... or against you?
SCHEDULE YOUR 30 MINUTE APPOINTMENT
As a boutique marketing & design agency, we strategically create manufacturing websites that do the following:• Lower customer service costs• Attract skilled labor • Generatequalifiedleadsthat
become sales
If you’re serious about wanting to grow your business, by 10%, 20%, 50% or more, but your website is holding you back, let’s talk.
7 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Question of the WeekWhy is Google Telling Me It Has Upgraded My Website?!
The email from Google (right) made our heart race – that is, until we clicked through to view “the changes” and realized it was Google My Business.
Within this platform, Google is encouraging Main Street type businesses to create free websites – which you can then tie to your Google Shopping campaigns. So helpful!
Google creates the “website” for you using your GMB photos and other information. The website isn’t live until you hit the “publish” button – which we advise you don’t do.
If you’ve set up GMB correctly, your listing should already include the link to your existing website. That’s all you need.
Have a Google question?
Let us know and we’ll answer it in a future issue.
MADE IN THE USA
8 | MANUFACTURING MARKETING
Due to hard water, my eight-year old showerhead was clogged and no longer performing efficiently. It also couldn’t be taken apart and cleaned, which meant I needed to purchase a new one.
After a quick trip to the big box store to confirm all the showerheads on display weren’t made in the USA, I found High Sierra Showerheads online.
Made in the U.S. of solid, all metal parts, these showerheads are guaranteed to not clog – even if you have hard water! They also feature the patented Full Coverage Spray Technology and use 40% less water.
Sold. I’ve been using the showerhead now for about
three weeks. The Full Coverage Spray Technology is a fancy way of saying the spray pulsates and yes, it does feel like large rain drops. It was also very easy to install. I like it and highly recommend it.
Check the company out at: highsierrashowerheads.com
—Dianna Huff
Disclosure: Neither I nor the magazine are asked or paid to promote these products.
High Sierra Showerheads® RECOMMENDED BOOK
In his latest book, New York Times best-selling author Dan Lyons examines how large and small companies run experiments to change how we all work.
The experiments aren’t on mice – nor are they particularly nice. They’re being performed in real time on employees, and the result is that workers of all ages and management levels are stressed out, scared, and being dehumanized.
Workers are being squeezed into open offices where their calls, chats and emails are being monitored. They’re being told to become “machines” and forced to work at breakneck speeds without bathroom breaks. Many of them are now part of the “gig economy” where they’re paid single digit wages and no benefits – and where a software algorithm does the firing.
The antidote is building a hybrid workplace culture, one where technology is combined with good old-fashioned values such as trust, loyalty and a sense of family – something small manufacturers have in spades.
If you’ve wondered about new management fads such as Agile or Lean Start Up, or you want to know which employee retention practices will positively impact the bottom line, you’ll want to read Lab Rats.