a BROADcast for Manufacturers

Kurt Anderson founded an e-commerce company in 1995 that was ranked three times on the Internet Retailer Magazine's Top 1000 E-Commerce Companies. Since selling that company, Kurt has served as an e-commerce consultant serving manufacturers. He is the author of Stop Being The Best Kept Secret, and the founder of b2btail.com an e-commerce resource guide for manufacturers.

Curt: When it comes to niching, no one wants to niche down, but what do we say when it comes to niching, Kris? I would like to niche down till it hurts! Who wants a niche down? Who wants to tell that customer, no, I'm not a good fit? I've had two clients this week where I'm just not a good fit for them and it's not going to work out. You have to niche down, and you have to understand your limitations which you're not always great at. So a couple of years ago, I started doing all these webinars and what I preach is E-commerce to manufacturers, and boy, this COVID thing really kind of lifted this topic to the rise. We are all in this manufacturing space, and all three of you probably will attest to this, they tried to be a little bit of everything to everybody so my answer to your question, is we want to laser focus on that ideal client, focus on what your absolute best at, stay in your strike zone and just crush it for that client. 

Curt: So I put out a post on LinkedIn which asked, "How big is the b2b e-commerce market going to be in 2028?" The answer is 25 trillion dollars which forecasts for 18% growth year after year! What I found when I had my E-commerce business years ago, I didn't have to be the smartest guy in the room, just being in E-commerce I was almost guaranteed 20% growth year over year just by being in E-commerce and some of those years were 40-50%, it was just part of it. 

Curt: If you are a manufacturer, and you're wondering what this configurator thing that she's talking about, it's just this little tool to put on your website, for your ideal buyer, that soulmate to engage with you as quickly as humanly possible. The configurator, what it does is Lori, you remember we'd love to preach at our little DWI workshops, "How can I help that ideal buyer, that soulmate make a buying decision on a Friday night without having to wait for us to open up our doors on a Monday morning?" That's exactly what that configurator does, and if you reach out to GenAlpha or Earthling Interactive, both of them will be more than able to help set up a powerful configurator on your site that connects you with more of your ideal customers! 

And so much more… 

Visit b2btail.com!

Connect on LinkedIn!

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  

Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Erin: I happened to come across this really interesting piece that examines a regional phenomenon where the manufacturing industry is just doing really well, however, the labor shortage has been a real challenge for those folks and across the country. The piece did a nice exploration of all the factors that are really limiting hiring in the manufacturing industry and I thought we'd just kind of talk about that today because that's on everybody's minds. 

Lori: What really struck me in the article was that Southeast Pennsylvania has over 10,000 manufacturing positions that go unfilled every year!

Erin: That just slows things down across the board, because anytime somebody has to be absent, you're just not able to fill that gap which puts so much pressure on the folks that are there. One of the things they explored was this sort of impression impairment for the manufacturing industry. They're saying that people when they think about manufacturing, think that it's dirty, it's loud, so it's not a good job. The article unpacks that notion and I just thought they did a really neat job of sort of dispelling those myths, but also helping us understand why they exist in the first place.

Kris: I found it really interesting when the gentleman that they interviewed who has now been in manufacturing for 16 years said, "I thought manufacturing was dirty," and then he said, "Having been in a manufacturer for mining equipment for many years, I never got dirty!" So really, the stigma and the belief that people have about manufacturing is still something that has to be overcome and I think that's one of the many challenges that they're facing, but I thought that was so interesting that I really connected with his feedback there. 

Erin: You know what's funny is that it's a stigma now, but in the past, getting dirty used to be a point of pride to show hard work in the manufacturing industry. Still, for many folks that are still in the manufacturing industry that still exists and it's hard to contribute to this sort of fixing the impression of manufacturing as not being dirty, because it's a point of pride, and that's a huge cultural transition.

Kris: I do think there is value that you gain and you feel from that accomplishment of doing the hard work that sometimes does make you dirty. I think it all has to be unpacked to try to find the right people with the right skills for the right jobs because there are all kinds of different jobs. In the article, it says that they've been stressing the importance of working closely with local high schools, trade schools, and colleges to get more young people involved with the industry and to buck the stigma of manufacturing work as undesirable. Here's my question to you guys: Is that the solution or is there something else? 

Erin: So Kris and I are planning an event at the Ford Festival which celebrates innovation, entrepreneurship and technology. We'll be working with some local manufacturers to do a panel on entrepreneurship and manufacturing which will get at a solution where we train young people and then they'll go work for somebody, but they're a lot of young people who are excited about being entrepreneurs, and we have not made the connection that you can make things and be an entrepreneur.

Lori: I'd say get in at a younger age because there's a lot of stress when someone's in high school and they have to make these major decisions with no information. I wish that the educational system did a better job of leaning into someone's personal interests to guide them down a path that creates long-term success for their career.

And so much more!

Read the full article!

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  

Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Meaghan is the host of the Mavens of Manufacturing Podcast which celebrates women in manufacturing from the shop floor to the C-suite. She interviews some amazing guests on her show and has been an advocate for women in manufacturing, and has been working to attract people of all ages to the manufacturing industry. She is also the owner and founder of Z-Ink Solutions which is a copywriting and copy editing service that provides impactful text and memorable storytelling for a variety of brands and industries. 

Meaghan: Yeah, so I thank you again for inviting me to your podcast. I'm really excited for the conversation. And anytime I get to share, you know, news about Mavens or Z-Ink, I get really excited about it because a lot of people know me through mavens, and not so much Z, which is actually the first thing I started before Mavens. So I'm a technical writer by trade. I have a master's and bachelors. I said that backward, but that's okay. A bachelor's and master's degree in professional and technical writing. I am a UWM, which is the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, alum. So when I left high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. And I have that typical story where my parents pressured me into going into college. And I always tested well with writing and storytelling, my English teacher, I was the favorite almost always, in all of my English classes. My sister got the math gene, I got the word gene. So it's kind of funny to have us in a room together because she'll spout out numbers and I have no idea what she's talking about. But, um, when I got into college, I was spiraling kind of out of control. And then I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter and decided to move back to Wisconsin I found out about professional and technical writing and my teacher gave us a great assignment on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And there were like 12 to 15 students within that class and he went through each of our instructions and had 12 to 15 different end results, which was really interesting. It opened up my eyes to how information is interpreted differently across different people and cultures and even countries. So when I graduated, I started out in the trade publication industry and learned about engineering and manufacturing that way, and it was a lot of fun. And then a lot of different people learned about their passions and why they were in the sector. And I tried to get out of it and go into higher education and do some marketing for higher education but I got really bored out of my mind. So I decided to get back into engineering and manufacturing and work for several companies within their marketing departments. But even with that opportunity, I had a lot of fun, but I really missed getting to know different people in different areas. And I loved going to trade shows because it gave me an opportunity to actually meet different people from different companies and learn their stories. And I tried to take what I learned from them, and apply it to the companies that I worked for, to get people really excited about some of their products and stuff. Because if you're engineering or manufacturing, not everything is really exciting. Some of it is really technical and boring. So you got to find that, that hard string that you can pull for people. So I talked to my husband, and I was like, Hey, do you care if I start my own freelance company, because I feel like that's gonna actually feed into everything that I love doing. I can work with different people at this time, are Simon, my 18-year-old daughter, and then we have two toddlers. And I was like, this way I can pick my hours and I can be home more for them, and not have to leave, I can keep my office at home and be able to do that work-life balance that I've craved so much. He's like, Yeah, go for it. So I started seeing solutions. And I am not like your, I don't want to say typical girl, because I feel like I'm categorizing women in certain ways. And I don't want to do that. But I have tapped us. I used to have a motorcycle. I like doing different things. I like riding motorcycles, and digging in the dirt. So I mean, with how the market is changing, and the some of the challenges that we're experiencing right now, especially with workforce development, and getting people into the sector, you can't really do the same thing that we've done over the years like we have to change it up a bit and really attract the next generation. And how do you do that? You have to talk the way that they talk to you have to act the way that they act. And they're not all alike, they don't really delete any, like profanity or anything from their language. And I'm not saying to fill your marketing stuff with that. But that's where I came up with this, this is not your grandmother's copywriting. Like, I like to be able to share what my client's personality is, through writing, I don't want to take that out, I want to be able to share who they are, and what they're thinking. And that's where I think my superpower is. A lot of people think writing just comes naturally. And it really is a process. If you want to do technical writing or any kind of copywriting or copy editing the right way, you really need to develop a strong trusting relationship with the people that you're writing about. And so it takes me a while to develop these trusting relationships. And sometimes I don't get it right on the first ride, but that's okay. Because we're just getting to know each other. It's like any other relationship that you have. And I really want to show who those people are through the writing. So that's why I just started to have that tagline. It's not your grandmother's writing, because it's not covering up any of their personality. It's letting that shine through. And I think that's one of the differences that I have that makes me unique from other technical writers or other copywriters and editors. I really take the time to build a friendship with my clients because I want to make sure that how they are as an individual comes through the text that I'm writing for them. So that's where that tagline came in. And the way that xe into cells was then was my last name. So that's what the z is and then ink, I-N-K, I was doing a little wordplay so instead of having IMC I did INK. Because you get ink from a pen.

I'm also a mom, and you've talked about being a mom and about just what that means for you and your role. But I'm, I'm curious what, what that means for you, and in bringing your clients' personal voice into the work that you do in the writing that you do, and your mission to bring diversity to manufacturing how that human voice helps accomplish those goals.

Meaghan: Yeah, so when I was growing up, it was just really strange. For me to see the distinctiveness and how my dad was at home versus how he was at work. It seemed like there were two different people. And I can say that, because I worked with him, which was a very interesting opportunity. But in manufacturing, and engineering, I kind of saw that with a lot of people, like they acted one way in front of certain people. But then when those people weren't around, they acted a different way. And I didn't know if that was necessarily helping them or hurting them. I feel like humans are humans, we make mistakes, and that's okay. But if you really want people to develop a trusting relationship with you, you have to have that transparency, because if you don't, then it comes across as sort of insincere, and, and authentic. And that can really hurt your brand. So I've worked with companies. And, um, unfortunately, I've worked with companies where they updated their core values. And they talked about how important these core values were, because oh, this is who we are as people. But then behind closed doors, they said some things that were very hurtful and demeaning, and not very supportive of some of their employees. And it was really sad to me that that happened. And I think that we have enough challenges going on in the sector, we need to stop that. So I'm a huge advocate for calling that stuff out. And educating people not calling them out in a way where you're insulting them, because I don't think that adds to the conversation. And I don't think heated conversations help people learn. So I read this book called Crucial Conversations. And it is really a helpful book, if you haven't heard it, have initial conversations, Crucial Conversations, the author is escaping my head. But it's such a great book because it really gives you some tips that you can use to diffuse a heated conversation. And it helps you look outside of what your personal story is, and how your emotions connect with your story, to really look at another person's personal experiences, and how to like, kind of adjust that conversation. So it's not so heated. And I think that's important. And, you know, I think it's just fun to see the authenticity from people. I love working with working moms. I feel like we all have something in common when it comes to kids not listening to you, or the girls' things that they do, or the destructive things that they do. It helps you build a network for things that you know, you might have felt alone on, you actually have that connection, and you can grow and move forward. And you can actually, you know, talk to someone else about it. So with some of the guests that I've had, they actually become really good friends with them, which is great. And it's funny because we talk about some of the ridiculous things our kids do. And there was a point in my life for a while where I was like, Man, I'm the only person feeling this way and this is really hard for me. I don't know if I am making the right decision. And I don't know if I can keep going with this because I feel like I'm a bad mom. And then I have other moms who are like, “No, that's completely normal, it's time, just keep going, you'll get over that moment, and it will just make you stronger.” So it's great to have that network. And I think you wouldn't have those opportunities if you stopped being who you truly are, and kind of covered up who your authentic self is.

I think it gives people an opportunity to, like, with work-life, you know, everybody's on a deadline, and like, you have to get this done. And if it doesn't get done at the end of the world, and things come up in life that you can't control. Like, if my kid gets hurt, because he thought jumping off a table is a great idea. You know, it's gonna take some time for me to like, pick him up, bring him to the hospital, if he needs stitches, or if he's sick with the flu or something. Or if my daughter, you know, she got into a car accident, I had to drop everything to go get her. And I don't have time to message people I don't have time to explain, I can only explain it after I know everything's okay with her. So I think allowing people to be humans, gives them that flexibility that they need to balance that work-life balance out, like if things if something doesn't get done tomorrow, I know, in some instances, it needs to get done. But in most instances, it's okay. If it waits. You don't have to get it done right away all the time. So I try to make people understand that, like, if you have something come up, and you need to cancel, or if you miss accidentally because you got distracted, I'm not gonna hold that against you, we can always reschedule and it's, it's okay. Because it happens to me all the time. Like I get distracted by my kids all the time. And I'm just like, I have to reschedule this because my kid is going nuts right now. And he fell off with something and I need to try to give that.

Meaghan: So one example I'm going to call the company out right now AI automation is in the automation space, hence their name. But I actually am interviewing Nonna Young, who is the founder of a nonprofit called get girls going. And it's a nonprofit that helps black teen girls gain the leadership skills necessary to be an entrepreneur, and it's across sectors. So it's not just engineering and manufacturing. It's all markets. And I think it's really great. That, you know, I was able to connect with her because of automation. So I do some work for AI automation. They were talking to me about mavens and manufacturing. And they're like, Do you need any more guests because we have some really great women that we could recommend to your show. And nano is one of those women, they had an employee of, I don't know how many years ago, but they had an employee who was working with them who knew not on a personal basis. And that employee came to them. It said, Look, she's trying to get this nonprofit off the ground, can we help her and they actually partnered with this nonprofit, and gave her some legroom in terms of promotional and marketing materials. And they actually donated to her organization. And they're helping her get her feet off the ground, which I think is phenomenal. And I've heard other companies do that as well, too. There's a machine maintenance company called Augury who I interviewed, Artyom is his name. And we were talking about some of the community things that they help support. So with their employees, if they're part of some nonprofit organization outside of where they try to learn about those organizations. And then they themselves try to get involved, whether it's providing sponsorship, donations, funding, or even people to participate in some of the events that they're doing. So like for some of the cancer groups that are out there, they either do like 5k, runs, or walks or they do like food drives and stuff to help raise money for cancer research. They try to get involved with that. And I think showing that you care about other people's interests, and then helping support that, in some way, is really helpful, and showing your surrounding communities that you're willing to do these opportunities to help grow other individuals in a positive way. And those were the two companies that I thought of right away. There are other companies, one individual, Andrew Crowe, is actually a CNC machining instructor in St. Louis, and he's doing this American manufacturing Renaissance store. And he is basically targeting students in urban city areas who might not know what modern manufacturing is, or might not even have the funding to have those classes in those communities. So it's really great to see him get out there. And companies like McMaster came to sponsor such an event. Because without that funding, he wouldn't be able to go from city to city like he's doing to do that. So. So events like that, if you're in manufacturing, and you know the backstory of it, providing sponsorship is a huge way to support di efforts. And I'm trying to do more of that as Maven. So being a startup company myself, I don't have a lot of funds yet to sponsor things like that. But I try to volunteer my time. So with Andrew, I'm trying to help promote it as much as I can. I try to connect them with individuals that I think would add to the tour. I'm going to be reaching out to different cities that I will assign near Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. I'm going to reach out to my connections there and connect them with him. And then I'm going to look for sponsorships and stuff for him because I think what he's doing is really important. And it's going to take a village and we all need to be proactive. So if any companies out there are listening and you know if events like that are targeting D&I efforts, you know, ask how you can help volunteer time if you don't want to invest money because again, time is just as valuable as money. And if you can, you know, donate a booth or set up a table or even provide speakers, like someone who can talk about the technology or you're creating that that's just as beneficial in my opinion. There's a gentleman named Matt Goosey, who owns a machining shop. And one of his quotes was to put your boots to the ground. So I always use that now, like I'm putting my boots to the ground, and they're gonna do what I can and ask questions and learn what I can. One of the things that I'm doing is I'm actually working with my own community, the high school that I graduated from, I'm trying to get a robotics team started there, and then also get Andrews tour to swing through the city. So that's another thing that I'm working on right now, which I'm excited about. I hope that happens. I don't know. I've never done a robotics team before. So I'm learning as I go with that. So it's interesting.

And so much more… 



Visit Z-ink Solutions!

Listen to Mavens of Manufacturing!

Connect on LinkedIn!

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  

Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems.

Sarah is a logistics and supply chain expert. She is passionate about collaboration, transparency, diversity, and doing better business. She’s the host of the popular podcast Let’s Talk Supply Chain! 

Sarah: Yeah, and it's so important, right? What you said about the fact that we have not had any relief or you know, supply chain professionals supply chains in general haven't had the relief that we need. It's sort of been one disruption after another. And you know, I have multiple friends in the industry who are supply chain professionals. And throughout the pandemic, actually, I checked on a lot of Supply Chain Leaders, because what was happening was that they were checking on their people. But the people above them weren't necessarily checking up on them. And I think we're going to talk about this a little bit later on in the interview. But people are at the heart of the supply chain, people are at the heart of this industry. And we've got to really, and I started throughout the pandemic, a buddy check that I was doing every Friday to just encourage people to tag people in the industry to say, Hey, how are you doing? Hey, I'm thinking about you, hey, I'm just checking in. And it was really important. And it's still important to this day for us to be able to check in on each other and provide each other with a safe space to vent because they might not be able to vent within their current environment. And there are a lot of challenges, you know, and some people thrive on it. Right? That's why we're in the supply chain. We're natural problem solvers. And this gets us going and gets us excited. But then there's also the mental challenges around having to do that day after day and shifting and pivoting and And so really, really important to check up on each other, check in on ourselves, give them give ourselves some grace, give others grace for what we're going through, and you know, hopefully, we're gonna see some relief because supply chains, not just the people, but supply chains need a chance to be able to have some relief from all of this disruption.

Sarah: Yeah, I mean, if you think about supply chain, right, it starts out with sourcing, right? So there's sourcing, there's purchasing or procurement, then there's manufacturing, then you're moving the goods, either by air, by truck, by ocean, then they go into a warehouse for distribution. And then they are out for delivery, either to a retail location or to a consumer's door. So if you think about the supply chain, as it is, and how many people are along the way of that chain, and how many people are involved, just to get one package to your door. relationships do matter. I was recently at TPM. And there the mantra of the conference was relationships matter. And it was bringing people back together, right, bringing people back together, bringing people back in person to really kick start those relationships. Again, we've kept some relationships going through zoom and different things like that. But the relationships really matter to a successful supply chain. And when you think about, you know, some of the other things that we're thinking about in the supply chain as well, which is diversity and inclusion and sustainability, relationships matter for those to be executed. And for us to all come together and collaborate, which I always say collaboration is the future of business. And for those audio only, I have a sign behind me. And that's what I'm pointing to. And so that collaboration, that relationship is really important for successful supply chains, successful businesses, and successful professional and personal life as well.

Sarah: That's a really loaded question. Because there are a lot. You know, I talked to some of my supply chain professional friends. And we talk about some of the challenges that they're having. Some of the challenges are that pre-pandemic, you know, their KPIs were at 100%. And now they're at 50 or 75, if they're lucky. And you know, upper management is kind of like, what are you doing, what are you doing wrong and just, you know, sometimes not having that support of really understanding what they're going through on a daily basis and that they're actually doing what they need to do, but there's so many other forces that they're dealing with, that need to be accounted in that equation. So that's a really big pain point is really the empathy, the grace, the support within an organization for your supply chain teams. I think the other one is the great resignation. I mean, listen, there are people leaving jobs on a regular basis, there are people taking jobs and then leaving jobs. You know, trying to find that talent, and for the talent to try to find the right organization to work with. Having a hybrid approach is very difficult when you're bringing in new staff members, right? Because sometimes you're in the office, sometimes you're not, they might not feel supported right away. And so you have to work through all of that to keep them in the position that they've been hired for some time. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of people management. So there's not only mindset management, there's people management. And from a supply chain perspective, it's sort of like, what are we doing? Right? Where are we going to spend our supply chain risk dollars? And so a lot of companies are taking a look at what that means to them? Where do we manufacture, where do we source raw materials? Are we manufacturing the finished product? Are we going to continue? Where are we manufacturing the finished product? Or is there another solution for us? Because there's a lot of risk dollars spent in manufacturing in China versus manufacturing locally. But there's also risk dollars there as well. And so where do we want to spend those? What does that mean to our supply chains? What does that mean to our business? Are we going to invest in AI machine learning robotics, to be able to do it more closer to home, potentially, because that would offset labor costs. So there's a lot of things you know, being discussed. And like you said, there hasn't been any relief. And so they're kind of being pulled in all sorts of different directions. And that's a very difficult place to be to keep supply chains running smoothly. But then also thinking about what's our next move? And what sort of the future of our supply chains within this business?

Kris: And I would definitely say that your programs have been a resource for people, because you have conversations, it's probably therapy for many people just to listen, and to have a place to go to hear other professionals talking about it. I also know on a recent one of your shows, you had somebody that is in the sourcing industry to help, you know, so you know, if they want to outsource some of their supply chain to others, there are companies out there that can help, you know, take some of the relief. And I think those are things that maybe in the past, you know, you didn't think about in your procurement areas or some other areas of the business. But now, you know, with the great resignation, and some of the other things happening, those are real opportunities, and maybe things that people need to be looking at.

Sarah: Yeah, that's a great point, I'm so glad that you brought that up. So a lot of our podcasts are really geared towards companies within the supply chain and what they're doing. So we talk about their culture. So if you're looking for a new place to work, you know, you should listen to those episodes just to see what they're doing and if it resonates with you, but they also come on and talk about what they do. So one of the challenges supply chain professionals have is I want to make changes, I want to implement technology, or I want to look for a new provider. But where do I go? Well, one of those resources is our podcast, because you can listen to it in your own time, and find out whether that's the solution for you without going through their sales process. And then reaching out to them when you know that it's something that you want to do. And so that's what we've really done with our podcast. So the podcast is very different from others out there. Because it's thought leadership, but it's also very focused on who's out there to help you and what is out there to help you and why you would want to work with them and things like that.

Sarah: When I started and I told people I had a podcast, I mean, the looks, I don't know about you. But the looks that I got were like, are you crazy? But um, one of the reasons why I started it was because my dad, we had a family business there was a freight forwarding business and one of the things that we needed to do was really be able to tell our brand story. And I was listening to a lot of podcasts at the time. And if anybody knows who Lewis Howes is, I was like, well, if Lewis house can have a podcast, my Aunt Sarah Barnes, Humphrey, and he's got millions of downloads. I'm not even close to that. But it was kind of like, yeah, you know, why? Why not? And so I asked a gentleman from my customs department to be my co host. And really, it just started out around conversation, but also to be able to provide the industry with a place to go to find out who's out there, who they can work with. And so it's kind of stayed the same since. And we've kind of stuck to why we started it, right. The initial name of the podcast was to babes talk, supply chain, tongue in cheek, I mean, back then, marketing and supply chain, I mean, let's not even go there. I wanted to push the boundaries of the industry. And that's why we called it the Baverstock supply chain because I had a guy and a girl. And it was kind of funny. But the story goes that in the fall of 2017, my dad ended up closing his doors, and I was like, Oh, my God, I didn't have a team, I lost my co host, like, and I had, I had companies paying to come on the show at that point. And I was like, I gotta keep this going, like people are depending on me. And so I had to learn graphic design, social media website design, and then in January 2018, I decided to start the women in supply chain series. And that was really just because I wanted to hear their stories, I wanted to hear how they got into the supply chain and what that journey looked like. But by April 2018, no women would come on a show called Two Babes Talk. Oh, I rebranded it, let's talk supply chain within a week, which was the craziest week of my life. But we've continued on that journey. So one podcast a month is dedicated to women in the supply chain, we also do a blog every month as well. So we can feature 24 women a year. And then the rest of the month, which are weekly episodes, are dedicated to companies within the industry dedicated to providing information that supply chain owners can use to make decisions within their business and their supply chains, around vendors and technology and to get educated. But I've also, I also hear from a lot of people that just come into the industry that they love listening to the podcast, and that's how they learn about the industry and the different aspects and who's out there and why and things like that. So it's kind of an evolution from a name perspective. But we've really stuck true to what we started to do. But also my vision was also to create this platform. So I could give others a voice. And that started with the women in the supply chain that started with having companies on the show. And it's really just evolved from there because we now have people supply chain owners and companies hosting their own shows across our platform. And so now we're starting to see that vision sort of come to life as well.

What the live stream has done for us is really been able to tap into other conversations and be able to have other conversations. And so our lives my live stream show is called Thoughts and Coffee, it's weekly on Tuesday morning. And I've had consumers come in through our YouTube channel, and be like, I'm here because I want to know why my package is delayed. And I want to understand what that actually means for me. Right. It's also extended into opportunities, like I was just recently on BBC, and talking about kind of like the trucker strike and different things like that. And so what the pandemic did was really transitioned the supply chain into the digital world from a digital media perspective and really shone a light on those conversations. And then now that supply chain is just being used so much more. There's a lot more curiosity. People are really understanding what it actually means to them personally. Whereas they didn't really like the package that showed up at my door. And now I feel like E-commerce grew like 300% over the pandemic. And like so many more people decided to start buying online. And so, you know, it's that innate curiosity that we have as human beings that are just sort of like, well, how does that magic happen?

Sarah: Yeah, well, the crystal ball is kind of fun. Um, I don't have one, I can just sort of go by what I'm hearing and maybe what I'm thinking, No, but um, you know, Costco, one of the biggest indicators for me late last year was that Costco had chartered three vessels until the end of 2022. So to me, that's an indication that they're like, this isn't going anywhere. And we need to protect ourselves. Right. So that was a clear indication. I think the other part of it is that we do need to see some relief. And until we do see some relief, I don't know, I don't know how it can change. I don't think we're ever going to revert back to pre-pandemic, we are now in the new normal, it's our normal, right? I think, you know, rates will, will come down, but I don't think we're gonna see pre pandemic levels again. And I think people are thinking about things differently. And so to me, if we're thinking about things differently, and we're entertaining innovation from a new angle, and we're, we're changing up the conversations, we're bringing in new perspectives. You know, mindsets have really shifted, and so it's a real exciting time to be in the supply chain. Do I know where it's gonna go? No, do I think it's just gonna reset and go back? Absolutely not. Okay. I, but it's exciting to see what that's gonna look like.

Supply chain is a competitive advantage for any business. And they're really, they're really understanding that now. Right? Because they're feeling the pain. They're feeling it at the bottom line, they're like, how do we do this? How do we do this better? How do we make it a competitive advantage? And they can totally do that. And there's tons of ways to do that. And like I said, you know, it's really just a matter of those conversations. And what I think we went with before is, what works for everybody works for everybody. And now, you know, even in our personal lives, right? We always thought that medicine was good for everybody, or we sort of blanket everybody together in a particular category. And now we're looking at ourselves holistically, and being like, oh, what works for you doesn't work for me, and that's okay. And I think we're starting to see that in supply chains as well. And so I think we're just gonna see innovation, new conversation. And that's why it's so exciting.

Kris: Thank you so much for, you know, letting me talk about it because diversity and inclusion is definitely a passion of mine. And it's something that's not only important to the supply chain, but I think important to business and industry in general. And you talk about employee retention, well, you've got to get them in the front door first. And the next generation is saying, diversity and inclusion is a must have and not a nice to have anymore. And so if we're looking for that next generation of perspective, and innovation and things like that, it definitely needs to be something at the forefront. So when I started the woman in supply chain series, it was about providing that platform and being able to hear the stories because at the end of the day, that's how we learn, right stories. Sell facts, right. And so when we're listening to a story, regardless of whether we're a woman or a girl, or a male listening to it, we can really gain a new understanding and perspective from listening to somebody and listening to their journey and their stories. And so I wanted to because diversity and inclusion is way more than just gender. And so in February 2020, I put out my live stream. I was like, I'm going to expand my diversity and inclusion. And I had no idea what I was going to do. And you know, by April or May people were asking me, What are you going to do? What are you going to do? When is it coming out? When is it coming out, and I still didn't know what I was gonna do. I sort of speak things into existence sometimes. And so July 2020. I had this idea to do like a red table talk, but for podcasts, and about diversity and inclusion. So on a monthly basis, we've got a blended podcast. And I bring five different people from different walks of life together to talk about diversity and inclusion within the workplace. And they share perspectives, they share stories. I'm a little biased. But I feel like magic happens in every single episode. When we click the stop recording button, I've had people tell me, thank you, you know, because I feel heard today, I've had a person of color who's a woman. In my age ism episode, once we were done recording, tell a white, middle aged man, thank you so much for sharing your perspectives. And so that is the magic that can happen around creating safe spaces and having these types of conversations. And through my work on the blended podcast I wanted to do more. And so we extended that into the blended pledge October 2021. Because one of the biggest barriers to seeing diverse voices on stages is travel. Because organizations can only support so much. And most of the time, they're there supporting the sales side of the organization, the upper management, the C suite, that kind of thing, going to conferences and speaking on industry stages. And I think now we want to hear from everybody. But to get a diverse voice to the stage, there needs to be support, there needs to be collaboration from a number of different people. And one of the biggest barriers is that they have to pay out of their pocket for travel, which they might not be able to do. And so they say no to speaking engagements. And so we are now putting together grants to cover travel so that more diverse voices can say yes, and we can see a visual change on industry stages. And so we've got a GoFundMe for individuals to join us to make an impact. But we're also providing exclusive grants to...

Lori: I’m going to start today’s episode by leading with a bit of a story of what I learned over my years of running my business. When I started, I was ignorant and thought that I had to do it all on my own and figure everything out by myself even though I truly had no idea what I was doing! For some reason, I had the belief that when I figured something out, I shouldn’t share it with others because they should have to figure it out on their own as well. As I have developed in my professional career, my thoughts around that have evolved and I actually feel the opposite way now! A couple of years ago I attended a networking event and met a new agency owner. She was in the same mindset as I was when I first started my business so I offered to connect with her and I just shared everything I learned in the 10 years I had been running my business. She was amazed that I would be so open with my experiences and from that connection, we now have such an amazing relationship where we share wins and send opportunities to each other. That brings us to today’s topic which is cooperating with your competition. 

Erin: When we're looking for definitions of competition, I think the good thing that competition does is it drives us to do better! Ultimately, competition is about the drive to achieve. There are a bunch of unhealthy things that can go with that, but that's the part that we need to keep alive and we need to kindle in our business and throughout our business. But co-opetition is a behavior and it's the behavior that helps you do better, and that helps you be better. So who or what is a better resource for achieving greatness than other folks doing what you do? So the co-opetition is really about achieving with your peers.

Kris: When it comes to I guess the definition, I like to think of a pie and when it's competition, one company gets the whole pie and oftentimes there's a winner, and there's a loser because someone gets 100% of the pie and the other gets zero. But when it's co-opetition, there could be some sharing of the pie, and often, when we think about it in terms of business and going after a business deal and being rewarded and earning the business of a customer, my hope is that when we are cooperating with our peers to solve a problem for a customer, maybe the circumference of the pie can grow. Now, you might not get 100% like you were in competition, but if you're doing well for the customer, the customer wins and we win in helping to bring our strengths together to solve the problem for the customer. 

Kris: I've always been an athlete, and I have been in individual sports like I ran cross country, and while there's a team aspect to cross country, there's also that individual aspect. I also played basketball and soccer where you need a team in order to succeed. I always loved team sports, and I loved bringing out the best in everyone that was competing and I feel like I learned that early on. Now, as I've grown and come to be a professional and I'm in my career and I'm going after business and running a company, I realize that we have strengths in our niche where we play and other friends and competitors out there who are competing for the dollars available inside a manufacturer, let's say, in a particular time period and they have dollars available. So we're kind of competing for those dollars, but to solve the problem for the customer, we can bring our strengths, but our strengths don't always meet the full needs of what the customer is looking for. So that's when I started to realize that if we bring these other people in who have these great resources and ideas, and the strengths and the gap areas that we don't fit, we could actually be stronger together!

Erin: When I began my endeavor in manufacturing, I was very wary and I wasn't sure who was okay to talk to. I was introduced to another E-commerce expert and I felt shocked, first of all, that they would want to have a conversation with me. Second of all, their transparency, their absolute delight and excitement for me that I was out there and I was going to be doing this took me aback. It wasn't very long after that, that I became part of this amazing network of other experts in our field, and it just transformed our attitude in our approach to business at Earthling, because we understood better after getting to know these folks what we were good at, and what wasn't necessarily our best specialty and where we should refine and where we should turn to others to get the benefit of their expertise. So I think a lot of it goes back to LinkedIn and the social selling experience that illuminated for me why co-opetition is such a healthy and productive way of doing business.

Erin: This is a good question because it gets into the uncomfortable parts of co-opetition. The risk is about the vulnerability that you have to bring to co-opetition and that vulnerability is the good part, but if there's any lingering anxiety, fear, insecurity behind that, it can damage relationships and impact your performance. So when you move into a cooperative relationship with someone, you need to do some self-reflection and know that that's where you want to be and what you really want to do. So the risk is that you don't do that self-reflection, you get into the relationship and you start having those sort of yucky territorial situations. Thankfully, there are a lot of advantages in terms of co-opetition. You asked me about an example so we had an opportunity that was an RFP which came into Earthling, and there were a couple of other agencies who specialized in different areas than we did, who we had worked with in the past on similar projects. They both approached me when I was new in my role and had the thought that I was gonna win at all so I said, "No thank you," which was naïve and dumb on my part, because had we worked together even though we did win the project, we still ended turning to them to get help. But I had done exactly what I described before where it sort of poisoned the well with my competitive thinking and was unable to make the best of the relationship. We did very well with the client, but the relationship was tense the whole time. After that, what I gained was knowing what our specialty was. When we respond to these RFPs, sticking to our specialty and are very comfortable reaching out to other folks for their specialties so that we can deliver the best product for the client.

Kris: For me, it's that disbelief that you might give away your secret sauce, that there's something special your organization is doing, and you have a way of doing it. I loved what Erin said about vulnerability and I also think that the dollar value change is something that is a risk, depending on how you might have planned for something as you've thought about it. When you asked for examples, I was just speaking to another woman yesterday and she's covering the aviation industry and the aviation industry is the industry that we would be a great fit for, but we just don't have a lot of experience. As I was speaking to her, I thought, "Wow, what an introduction and an opportunity for us," because she has credentials that we don't have, but would certainly be required, that could help us actually participate in a space where those credentials are required, and where there's a high level of regulation and other things happening. So it was just a great example of when you meet other people, and you think about places where you would like to take your business, some people may already be there, and they have the strengths around that area. Your product, your solution, your teams, may bring some very valuable aspects to that as well, but you need a way to get in because you don't have all of the experience that's needed. That's just a relevant example that came up with discussions yesterday and I think it just shows you that co-opetition can bring you into new markets or new places that your company can participate in if you're open to it!

Kris: Speaking about manufacturers as the target customer group for this conversation, I think they think they're winning when companies come together. I think that when they have a problem and need help, oftentimes, it's very difficult to evaluate and come to one conclusion that this vendor can do it all for us because more times than not they can't because there's a list of requirements, a list of needs and services that need to be provided and maybe the manufacturer doesn't have the experience or the capacity to do it themselves. So they are reaching out to others to help solve the problem and I think that they're going to expect more of that from vendors to be able to come together and collaboratively help them with their solution. I think it makes their job a bit easier because then they don't have to identify one and in the end, they're winning! 

Erin: I think it's a good look because it just demonstrates skill and competence. Willingness to engage with your competition means that you understand the value to the customer and that that's your priority. In the conversation I had yesterday, we were talking about the transactional nature of business and how that can lead to a client or a customer feeling like they're just a transaction and not a person or a company. When you bring yourself, your competition, and your co-opetition partner to the relationship, that client knows that the value of what you're bringing is the priority, not just the transaction that you're trying to engage in with them. I also have a great example of just evidence that people love it. I don't know if anybody's on Twitter and has seen this sort of Twitter roasting wars that the fast-food restaurants do each other? First of all, it's hilarious and entertaining, but second of all, I think it's just a good look for all the brands because they are competing in a cooperative way which makes it a win-win for everyone. So I think it's a wise choice when you think about the customer perspective.

Kris: It feels to me like more and more businesses are getting specialized and as we get specialized and focus on what we do well, we're going to need other organizations to help complement us to solve the big problems that come up in the world. So I think that this isn't going anywhere, in fact, it's going to be something that we're going to continue to see in the future.

Erin: I agree. You've heard of these two big news breakups recently with GE and Johnson and Johnson, these monolithic companies who it's not working out to do at all and be at all. That's sort of the inverse of what we're talking about today where somebody is trying to capture all of it, but it just can't hold. So as Kris mentioned, the specialization becoming the forefront of so many business models is going to drive a need for co-opetition, but then on top of that, we're going to have to develop the skills to do that.

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs!  

Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems.

Kris: As a former leader in a global manufacturing organization responsible for growing equipment and aftermarket sales, and now a leader of a digital eCommerce company, I am often reminded how much things have changed in just the past twenty years. I mean, I can remember when I was so excited to get a Blackberry phone (remember those?) so that when I was traveling to remote mining areas and arrived at my hotel, I wouldn’t have to hook up my laptop to the dial-up hotel internet connection just to check my emails to make sure I didn’t miss anything important before going in to visit my customer the next day. It was so much faster to check them from my Blackberry, and for me, this was roughly 2007.

Fast forward to today, now if a manufacturer were to roll out an eCommerce solution like Equip, if I were still that same sales leader visiting my customer, I would be able to stand next to their machine in the pit and pull up full product bills of materials, identify the products from a 3D interactive drawing, add them to a shopping cart and send them a quotation all from a smartphone or tablet. The customer experience opportunities are incredibly different today for those manufacturers who are ready to make the leap into digital self-service. And this is just one example of the type of digital services available. This takes us to today’s topic - Manufacturing and Digital Transformation where we’re going to talk about manufacturers and their journey toward digital transformation.

Erin: One thing it always goes back to his business goals. Your business goals should define your approach to digital transformation. In manufacturing, I see a couple of things that define digital transformation. The first is digital transformation as cultural transformation. So opening the business culture to digital tools, be in sales, operations production is a cultural change. And so the digital transformation has an impact on everyone, and how they identify as part of the organization. The next component of digital transformation is maintenance or growth strategy for your business. So tools like eCommerce, ERP, automation are becoming sort of the oxygen of all businesses, and manufacturing is no different. So to breathe, to grow, it can't be ignored, digital transformation is going to be foundational.

Lori: I resonate with everything you said, and especially the cultural component because regardless of any transformation that you are incorporating into your business, you've got to get everyone on board and it's sometimes very challenging to do that if this is the way we've always been doing it for the last 40 years and you're trying to teach an old dog new tricks. I like to compare it to what manufacturing has been doing already with regards to automation, robotics, and creating efficiencies in their business, I think it's no different when you're looking at other segments of the business such as marketing, sales, and the communications and that relationship and that nurturing and it's just taking that transformation or that evolution of what's happening, and applying it to different segments of the business. You mentioned ERP systems, which are taking all elements of your business and combining them into one extremely useful digital tool and resource. But the critical component of that is the adoption of getting all components together and then getting all of the business on board with how to use that component. If you're looking at marketing automation, you need the sales and the marketing team working together on the same page and it's all about maximizing the relationships. COVID taught us real quickly that you can have relationships that aren't in person shaking hands, and that you can still nurture and create new connections.

Lori: It's hard to pick only three. I'll start with something that carries over from the last question, which is that efficiencies are there. Just like in the machines and the equipment at the plants, there are efficiencies in leveraging the digital tools and resources out there. We're all in that marketing and sales side of things, but we really focus on maximizing and shortening that lifecycle and making it easier to have those conversations with your clients or your potential clients. The second one, I would say is this next generation, the current generation is online. That's where your next client is hanging out. They're not going to answer the phone, they're not always going to show up at a trade show because I think trade shows are more of that nurturing opportunity. Using SEO making sure your websites getting found online, leveraging social media to tell your brand story, and creating efficiencies around that is going to help you to continue to find that next client. The third thing that I think is the most important actually out of all these three, is what your customers are expecting. They're expecting to have a conversation on your website using a chat feature, they're expecting to log in to place an order online and just repeat that order and not have to have a conversation or get an instant quote, or whatever it is. If your customers are expecting this, you have to make this transformation.

Erin: My response to three reasons that digital transformation is more of a big picture kind of thought. First is attracting and retaining a workforce. Younger generations, like Lori, pointed out, expect and anticipate a digital forward work environment. If you can't provide that, that's not going to be appealing to younger people. We all have heard about how workforce attraction and retention is a big issue in manufacturing so digital transformation, not only for the functional parts but going back to that cultural idea, demonstrating that your digital forward as a company or as an organization. Next is modernization. I mean, we don't leave our baskets anymore. We're not horse-drawn carriages, we're digital so it's time to get there. Then the last one, I think this is not spoken about enough, is pleasure and freedom. I just was in a webinar the other day which talked about the future and technology and what it can do for us. If we can lean more heavily on digital tools to do sort of the mundane things for us, it can open up all these possibilities of creativity, of moving ahead, of offering us time to do the things that we really love and care about, and value. If we're going to get there, that means we all have to participate and contribute to digital transformation, not just wait for it to happen, because then that's something that's happening to us, not something that's happening with us.

Erin: This is where I may get a little controversial. I think one of the biggest challenges is rigid industry leadership that is not helping lead us into the next era with digital transformation. I see people like Matt Goose and Eddie Saunders doing much of the heavy lifting. These are folks that are getting young kids excited about manufacturing by meeting them where they are and they are doing that heavy lifting. I'd like to see more of that from industry leadership. So it's a little bit of a prescription and also a diagnosis mixed in together.

Lori: Erin, I just have to say that I love your perspective. My answer is from a bit different perspective in that I think part of the challenge is that to some extent, it's cluttered. There's a lot of information coming from a lot of different directions and you don't know where to start. I think there's also this fear of the unknown because it can be a big investment. I know that these manufacturing organizations, when they invest in a new piece of machinery, they have so much confidence that it's going to produce a certain volume of new business for them, and they can get so much work done. But when they're making this investment into this unknown territory, where they don't have their historical references for themselves to have confidence on how it's going to improve their business, they're really just trusting kind of someone else's opinions, but there are opinions on all different spectrums and there are all different ways to tackle this. So I think that's where there's a lot of hesitation and reservation to move forward.

Lori: To solve the problem based on how I answered the last question, I would say manufacturers need to start having the conversations with those that are doing it right now and start asking some intelligent questions to build their confidence and really just get that conversation going, which is what we're doing right now. They have to have true curiosity into this topic in order to have any movement going forward and helping them solve some of these bigger issues where digital can do so much and solve so many problems. Yeah, it is a time and financial investment on the front end, but the long end return significantly outweighs any current hurdles that someone may be having right now. So my very simple answer is to start talking about it and start asking questions.

Erin: A challenge that keeps folks from moving forward and I think I'm going to name that challenge as thinking that you're locked in a rigid mindset. Whether that's before you get started with the technology, or you might even be mid-technology and so that brings to mind this example of somebody that we worked with. They had a transportation management system platform that they were using and it just kept not being the right solution for them. Over and over again, they were running into roadblocks and barriers and they asked us how we could help them. We suggested to them that they should make their own because it could fit their needs and might even save them money. They decided to try it and not only did they save money, but they also ended up making six figures from that platform, because they were able to then sort of rent it out to some other folks as well. So just knowing that one of the great things about digital transformation is flexibility is the ability to name your own solution. It can be daunting, I totally get it, but if you keep that in mind, that you should ask for what you want, you should know what you want and ask for it and not be let alone by the no's, that will help you really move forward.

Erin: At Earthling Interactive, we do take that consultative approach. Yes, can seem off-putting at first, but what that allows us to do is though, is we are adept at starting where you are, where our clients are. For example, so many manufacturing websites are, frankly terrible, and they're out of date. But you can actually accomplish a lot with just a website refresh, and not just because of how it looks, but it can function and be a very powerful tool for you and your business. We can start there, let's just get you a new website. But we're also great at modifications and fixes. For example, if you're running a technology that's falling short of your expectations, like that example that I mentioned before with the TMS system, or let's say you've got a time tracking system that isn't conforming to your business model, we can help it get there, we can help do those tweaks in those modifications so that you have a tool that really works with your business, and helps you accomplish your goals.

Lori: At Keystone Click, we brand ourselves as a strategic digital marketing agency. What we're doing is really focusing on our clients' customers. So you the manufacturer, you're trying to get new customers, and we get inside the head of your customer and really figure out what is that customer journey? What is the pain that they initially have? How are they searching for that pain? Because people don't know what the solution is the right way they know what the challenge is that they're facing. Then how do we position you and tell your brand story in the digital space so that you are positioned as the expert to solve the problem that they have? We do that by conducting research on your customer and then building a full strategic plan that's focused on helping you achieve your business goals. Then we support the implementation and we do websites as well. We manage your social paid initiatives, and really anything under that digital umbrella with your business end goal in mind. What about you, Kris?

Kris: I think the best way to describe what the Gen Alpha team does is really equip manufacturers and distributors with the tools, services, and advice that they need to sell their products online. So we come with real-world experience, the founding members of Gen Alpha all worked in manufacturing and we truly believe that there was an easier way of doing business with a manufacturer. So we've been in the shoes of our customers, trying to satisfy their customers and grow business at the same time. We believe that in coordination with our clients. We keep building upon our already solid foundation of helping them to keep delivering better solutions year after year. So we truly love working with the manufacturing industry and we want these people to be relevant and successful in the future. I think what I would say about all of us and all of our companies is that we do care so much. If you were to work with any one of us, you're going to have a trusted relationship where we're going, to be honest with you about your business, how we believe we can help you, we're going to offer you alternative solutions, but the true intention around everything we're doing is for the greater good. 

Connect with Kris on LinkedIn and visit www.genalpha.com for OEM and aftermarket digital solutions!

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn and visit http://www.earthlinginteractive.com for web-based solutions to your complex business problems!

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and visit www.keystoneclick.com for your strategic digital marketing needs! 

Erin: I’m super excited about today’s topic because social selling is really what brought the three of us together. Kris and I have been guests on Sam Gupta’s awesome eCommerce LinkedIn Live panel. That’s how we got to know each other and now we’ve become good friends. Lori, this podcast has been a favorite for a long time and I’ve really gotten to know you through your wonderful content. Together we’ve all utilized content and digital platforms to build relationships. We are able to move our prospects through the funnel in a way that is warm, genuine, and provides value - even though it all takes place online. That’s the beauty of social selling.

But social selling isn’t just about content and friendships, all social networks exist to provide content and relationships - the key part here is business development. Successful sales have always been inherently social, because as our friend Greg Mischio reminds us (frequently!) your prospects must know you, like you, and trust you to move forward with the sale. 

The pandemic era obviously drove a lot of selling online, both in B2B and B2C. As a result, so many more sales professionals are using the tools of social sales like LinkedIn, podcasting, video-sharing, and CRM-related applications. So there’s the social side, which I think all sales professionals are naturally gifted at, but the technical side can be a bit of a head-scratcher - so that’s what I’d like us to focus on a bit today. Sound good Ladies?

Lori: We’re ready! 

Lori: Probably because I spend hours on it on a daily basis, actually, and people are surprised when they hear me say that. The first thing you want to look at on your LinkedIn is optimizing your profile. I know you both understand that word optimizing, but not everyone that is listening really understands what that means. It's just making sure that when someone is searching for something that you're the one that shows up as a resource. We've heard of optimizing your website for Google, it's the same philosophy and concept with LinkedIn so that when someone looks at your profile, they realize what your true expertise is. Oftentimes, people think a LinkedIn profile should be structured like your resume and that's actually wrong. It's a beautiful place to tell your story and showcase what you want to be known for, and help put some perspective in other people's eyes on your expertise, but also to be found for your expertise as well. So start with your profile first and then you have to look at creating connections. When I'm looking at the connections, I'm genuinely looking to create relationships, but also to be a resource. I've gotten to the level where I have a follow button, and not just a connect button, which is a fun space to be. But it's all about adding value, and not selling. I know we've talked about this before that social media is about being social, the selling is something that happens after the fact because you've created that relationship, you've established trust, and people are comfortable because you've provided so much information of value that then they're interested in having that conversation of potentially creating a business relationship. One of my favorite tips is when someone reaches out and connects with me that I do not know, I have a two-part question that I respond back with them. My first question is, what is it about my profile that intrigued you to want to connect with me? And the second question is, how can I best be a resource to you on LinkedIn? That then starts a conversation and it also easily identifies those who are going direct for the sales pitch that I'm not interested in actually fostering a relationship with. But it's really fascinating because sometimes people connect without saying a reason why, but they're actually interested in doing business with you. You'd be surprised how many people when I asked that question are like, "Oh, we're actually looking for a marketing company right now and I was interested in talking more." So they sent me a connection request, but then open with the ask, but I had initiated the conversation to do that. So I think it's a really powerful way to start that conversation when someone is reaching out to you.

Kris: What I do on LinkedIn is, I'm really using it to deepen a relationship with the connections that I may have just made. So if we just did a demo with a new company and there were new participants in the demonstration that I haven't met before, I might connect with them on LinkedIn to deepen that relationship. At the trade show, I was just recently at, there were a lot of people that I'm connecting with, that I already formed personal connections with and now I want to deepen that relationship. I'm not necessarily lead looking to sell, I'm looking to have that connection because my whole goal on LinkedIn is to share content that is of value. I would say that my biggest trick is just to be authentic. Sometimes it's challenging when you're in a place where there are professionals so you want to have that professional face, but in reality, you want people to get to know you and who you are. It's the challenge of being authentic to who you are, who your company is, and how you want people to understand how you can be helpful and useful. So that's really what I'm using LinkedIn for. Now, when it comes to some other social platforms, we have tried Twitter, and we've tried Facebook, but we find that those are really more personal, at least in the space that we're in. We're sharing information, but we're just not connecting with people as much on those platforms today as others.

Kris: Overall, any metrics related to marketing, I think are a little difficult for our organization to understand when they're working because we have a long sales cycle. But I will tell you the two metrics that I've found that will lead to conversions is we're really tracking our followers and we're watching the growth of our followers. That's really important because I hope that it means that people connected with something that we're doing enough to say, "I'm going to follow what they're doing and keep an eye on them." That gives us an opportunity when we're sharing great content that we're going to potentially come up in their feed and then they're going to look at us a bit further or at least read what we might be sharing or listen to the videos that we might be publishing. The other metric that we look at a lot is website sessions. So when people go from social media to our website, which is where we would hope that they would go if they're interested in learning more about Gen Alpha, or engaging with more content, because we have a lot more content on our website than we do on social media. So if we can get people to follow us and they start to see us repeatedly in their space, understanding their industry, what they do, if we're being useful, and then they move to the website and they continue to resonate with the materials that we're giving them, there's that potential that hopefully, they'll engage with us in some other way. Those are two that we've been really following. We have a lot of metrics and probably similar to both of you, we don't always know which ones are the best. But those two for us are indicators.

Lori: I could probably resonate with Kris on what we're doing for ourselves is still a little bit of a mystery. More so, because I'm not the one looking at it, I've got a team behind me. But I can tell you what I talk about from an educational standpoint when we talk to our clients and when I'm out there speaking about measuring your ROI. What's very important, I think this is one of the biggest things that people don't get clear on is what is the goal that they're trying to achieve? There's so much data out there on the internet that you can get analysis paralysis because you're just kind of staring at it and you don't know if this is valuable or not valuable. So when I was teaching at the university, there were the three A's that I would look at. One is attainable which asks if the data that you're trying to capture is easy to get? Is it easy to analyze and then can you take action on it, why are you going to look at data that you can't even take action on? Is it going to tell you a story that's going to say, we're on the right track or the wrong track? Going back to what is it that you're trying to achieve and then figure out what is the tactics that we're putting in place to achieve this goal, and then align your measurements with those specific tactics. That's going to help you get clear on is this data actionable? Those are easy for the hard numbers, which are cost, profit revenue, the size of your pipeline. The hard analytics are actually what we refer to as the soft numbers. Those show that people know you, like you, and trust you, that you've increased engagement, that you have customer loyalty, that you're building relationships and rapport. That's what we're all trying to do in the digital space, but it's really hard to measure. There is no easy way to do that, but a couple of things that we look at from a brand awareness standpoint are if you have an increase in your website traffic, that means new visitors. Customer loyalty, then you're looking at repeat visitors or does your email subscriber list grow because people want to hear from you? Lead generation is an easy one, do you have more conversions on your forms or not? So it's just really taking a look at what is it that you're trying to achieve and what data points are going to be helpful and telling you if you're on the right track or the wrong track? 

Kris: So I shared with you that I do think trade shows still have a lot of value for having that personal touch. But of course, we haven't had trade shows for the last 18 months and they're just kind of coming back. But I think it's taught us that there are other ways to connect with people as well. So I do think all of the social opportunities are really important. What we found can be helpful is sending a message through LinkedIn, because often, and I do think this is true, I mean, it's been 10 years since I worked as a manufacturer. But when I was a manufacturer, I was very busy with my job and I was not hanging out on LinkedIn like I am today as a vendor or service provider to a manufacturer. To even get their attention, I like the trigger of the message because if they have their notifications turned on that message typically will send them an email or some notification, and then there's a stronger likelihood that they're going to read it. So then they've been brought there and now we can at least have a conversation or deepen that relationship like I talked about earlier. The second thing that we've been doing is inviting people to follow us and that's how we've grown our followers. That simple invitation just to ask if they want to learn more industry-related content to follow up on LinkedIn is going to help. From doing that, each month, our followers are increasing. So the simple ask, which is something we just started doing, I would say five months ago, we've been building the followers every month thereafter. Now I will say that the actual conversation from social is slower to achieve. Even if they've accepted the connection request, and they followed us, it does not mean that they're ready for a conversation. So anybody out there, don't expect that that's going to happen quickly. Most people aren't ready yet to have that conversation, they still want to learn about you and your company, and that's where hopefully you get to really shine. They establish that connection with you over time and when they're ready, they will reach out to you. So the actual physical conversation takes a bit more time.

Lori: I love what Kris said about first creating the ask because so many people forget to do that and that's the most important part. Everyone is running around crazy and has shiny objects in every direction so the simple ask to follow us is actually extremely beneficial, because they may have wanted to do that, but just forgot. So sometimes as the asker, just tell, go follow us. It's extremely powerful, but yet so simple and so many people are missing that opportunity. But what you're talking about, Kris is really what's changed in the whole selling process, actually, and the experience of, I'm going to meet you for the first time at a trade show, and you came to my booth because there was something that intrigued you and then we're going to start a conversation because you're really interested in that. But now what's happening, and I like to relate it to the old school newspaper about how every single newspaper had car ads in it every single week. The reason is that the car salespeople want to make sure that when you are ready to buy, their brand is in front of you. It’s the same thing with what's happening in the b2b, social selling space. It's not that I'm going to be a hard sales pitch, I'm going to constantly be knocking on your door, rather, I'm going to continue to be top of mind, and continue to provide valuable information and showcase my expertise so that when the time is ready, that you want to buy, or at least start that conversation, I've already proven myself so we're further along in the sales process than if we just had that conversation at that tradeshow booth because we've already done all of the information of proving expertise, and providing value. I've experienced this, and I've seen some of our clients experienced this and it's just fascinating to see. I'm going in thinking it's a discovery call, and I'm doing all my homework and they're like, "We're ready, tell us where to sign," and my mind just gets blown. It goes back to what Kris said about making sure that you have the right people following you and telling the people that you want to be learning from you following you so that you are establishing that trust so that when they are ready to buy, there's no doubt in their mind who they're reaching out to.

Kris: We had decided that content would be an opportunity to share our thought leadership in the space. I do think that I think very simply, and I try to write very simply as well, I'm not trying to sound smart, just share my experience, and hopefully, that becomes the most useful. But the way we've been able to publish so much content is that we decided that we wanted to increase our brand awareness and lead generation, and we were going to do that through content. So what we did is we set goals on the amount of content that we would create each month, the number of posts that we would put on LinkedIn, the number of articles we would write, the number of blogs, the number of articles we would submit to publications and hope that they share for us as well, and video creation. So even if it's snippets of me participating with somebody else, we have accounts, and we're going to achieve that. What's happened is it's forced us to research, to explore different topics, to share our experiences, and for me, it's forced me to say yes to a lot of things that historically I probably would not have done because it would be outside my comfort zone. We really thought that this was important because if we were going to increase our brand awareness, people had to know how our employees thought about how we could help other manufacturers. I learned from my team, from our customer experiences, and then, of course, I have my own life experiences. So combining all of that together goes into that creation process and that's really how we've been able to do it. I have to tell you, we started it in 2020. We've been in business for 10 years and for eight of those years, we really did no marketing, it was word of mouth. Of course, we had a website, but we weren't trying to drive people to it, but in 2020, we sat down, we wrote our goals, and we have been achieving them consistently since. Thankfully, we had done that because the pandemic would have forced us to go there anyway. But then we already had a plan, we were already in the middle of it and we just kept going.

Lori: For me, it's all about building a plan and I really liked that Kris and her team fleshed out the plan and defined some clear goals because at the end of the day, if you're just making assumptions, and just randomly throwing stuff out there, the location, the message, you don't know if it's actually going to be doing its job and serving its purpose. When it comes to what content and where to post it, you have to go deep into your customer and figure out what is that pain. This is something you both kind of addressed already in figuring out, not necessarily the pain that you're assuming that you have the solution that they're coming to you, it's understanding the pain and how they're thinking about it and using the same messaging across that space. Then, more importantly, fix the message, get it right, and then understand where to position it. So you can just put some stuff all over the place. A lot of people just jump in and assume that these are the platforms because they're the most popular platforms that they should be on there. But the reality is, you have to really understand your customer and figure out where are they hanging out online and then you decide do I want to go wide or do I want to go deep? Do I want to go deep in that platform and really own that platform and be the thought leader on that platform or do I want my message spread across a number of different platforms? We all know that time is money and you only have so many resources at the end of the day so I'm a fan of picking and starting with one platform and going deep on that and really building a strong following in that space. You guys talk about that you're on clubhouse and some other platforms right now and I love clubhouse and I was fascinated with it, but I realized I don't have the time to invest in that. I'm spreading myself way too thin, and I just can't do it. I'll jump on as guests on people's shows every once in a while but I know that there is value there and it's very powerful, but we've already invested in other channels and I think that's the mistake that a lot of people make is they're spreading...

Lori: Welcome to A BROADcast For Manufacturers. We are your hosts Lori Highby, Erin Courtenay, and Kris Harrington. Our first episode is really to share with you a little bit about us. We will be interviewing each other on our backgrounds, passions, and most importantly, why we are excited to be co-hosting A BROADcast For Manufacturers!

Kris: I love to eat. No, I live on a farm. Actually, as it comes to, I guess, my manufacturing story and a little bit of background of kind of how I've landed here, I spent some time in the US Navy. So I think what's interesting for me as I was always a natural athlete in school. So I just love to work with my hands. You know, I think the one thing about sports is that I'm just that kinesthetic, naturally. So any time I can be doing something with my hands, I'm happy. So one of the ways that I could use my hands and travel the world, which was also a dream for me was to join the Navy. So I started before I ever went to school, I was in the Navy. After I left the Navy, I was a machinist mate just to share that as well. After I left the Navy, I went to work here in Milwaukee at Brady company, and I worked on the manufacturing floor. So I ran a machine I started off on second shift, then I moved to third shift, I worked in a cleanroom environment, but I was responsible for, you know, picking the materials that I was going to run on my machine, setting up the machine, and then producing products that would be eventually packed and sold to our customers. So I have that experience of actually working on machinery as well. I went to work for We Energies, you know, those of us that are from Wisconsin, we know that they are the local electrical and gas company here, but I located underground utilities for a while. So when I did that, I was outside working with construction companies and wherever they were building or digging or, you know, doing any work outside that you had to locate those underground utilities to make it safe. For those. I was kind of a part of that. So that's just some fun part of my background. So I was a non-traditional student when I decided to eventually go to school. I did choose Marquette University here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So I think I started at Marquette and about the age of 28. So I was older, um, you know, I thought I was going to going to school for physical therapy. Because I, again, am naturally sports-oriented, and I just wanted to work with sports teams and in heart and help on the physical therapy side. But what I realized when I got to school is that I really wasn't good at chemistry and biology. But I couldn't wrap my head around it. I just didn't understand why we need to learn chemical formulas and all these other things and, you know, dissect animals. Yeah, and things of that nature as already having been an adult and, you know, being responsible for things. I didn't understand the application of that. So I had gone to a counselor to say, hey, I don't know what I'm doing here. And I'm, I'm spending a lot of money at Marquette. And if I'm not going to do well, I got to get out of this. And he asked me a few questions and suggested that I start at the School of Business. And the next year, I went into the school of business and I can tell you everything clicked for me. It was awesome: media, economics, accounting, finance. I had intuitively learned through working and living and having my own adult responsibilities, but now I was getting this broader and deeper understanding of things. So my first real career move after I graduated from Marquette was to start at Bucyrus international here in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were a manufacturer of mining equipment, very large surface mining equipment. During my time there, mining was really growing. Mining itself is very cyclical. And they had just come out of a very down period. And I was one of the first people that they brought into the organization on the uptick. So what that meant for me was that while I was hired as a financial analyst, I had all of this opportunity to sit with everybody in the organization, they just made time for me, the engineers made time for me purchasing made time for me, I used to walk the production floor and ask questions related to the machinery and the products that we were making. And I was responsible for running reports for executive leaders in art in the different teams that different business areas. And what that taught me was to use the ERP system as a tool, but then also to analyze the data that I was taken out of the system, and formulate some opinion or fact or trend or information that was useful to that department. So because I was this financial analyst, getting all this information across all these different business units, I naturally was learning all the different business units in a manufacturing environment, which gave me this unique broad experience. So I just love my time at Bucyrus International, I was very short in the financial analyst role, I ended up becoming a product manager, I moved to Canada for two years, I was the parts manager for our Canadian subsidiary, I came back to be the Director of aftermarket parts back here in Wisconsin for our entire global operations. And then I had a unique project in Brazil, which I accepted. And I spent 18 months living and working in Brazil, then 24 months in Lima, Peru after that. So I just had this really fun and hard-working-type experience in a minute manufacturing environment, all the subsidiaries that I worked with, we were responsible for p&l. And each of these businesses had its own goals with its own metrics, and, and its own dissatisfied customers. So it gave me truly a life experience in a very short number of years, as compared to what some people get to do in a career. We were acquired by Caterpillar. And that was an interesting experience for those of us that worked at Bucyrus. Because, of course, Caterpillar is a very well-known brand. You know, I think many of us will say that we know Caterpillar products, many people have a love for Caterpillar products. So it was very interesting. For those of us who were with Bucyrus to move into the caterpillar organization, we were a direct sales channel. And Caterpillar, of course, is a distribution sales channel where they sell through dealers. So it was a great opportunity to understand what it means to work with dealer partners. So we had this great experience with that. But we were on a path as Bucyrus down this digital journey. And on this digital journey, we had this vision of improving our customer experience through technology. And when we all folded into Caterpillar, our vision was kind of set aside but we kept coming back to it as a team. Those of us that were that worked closely. We were kind of like a family at Bucyrus as well. We said, "Hey, do you think other manufacturers could benefit from that vision that we had for the technology solution to better that customer experience?" And we decided "yes". And that's when we founded Gen Alpha Technologies, which I am the president and CEO of today. And we do software for manufacturers, specifically digital commerce solutions, where we repurpose engineering bills of materials to the 3D drawings to facilitate a better and safer ordering process online for customers. So that's kind of the journey that took me to where I am today. 

Kris: Well, this one was a little bit of a tough issue. But since you're asking, I recently, and I am still I'm just ending a program that I've been a part of that is called dismantling racism. And it's really opened my eyes to some really important matters here in the United States. And I have been reading some amazing literature, historically and up to date today of really anti-racist type material that has taught me so much about myself, and about the community that I live in and where I'm from, and then, of course, the broader United States and the world. So I've been going through a learning process. It's been very, very interesting for me profound, and I am sure it has changed my life.

Kris: I think I have a heart for manufacturing, I still like to believe that I'm a manufacturer, you know, while I'm manufacturing software, right? We still have agile methodologies. We have production releases, we're building things so I still feel like I'm a manufacturer. So I love that we get to talk in this space. But I think for me, what I'm most excited about is, you know, all those years that I spent in mass manufacturing, I was looking for female representation. So while this is not going to be only, you know, "we're going to talk to some wonderful men and we're going to talk to some wonderful women and we are women ourselves", I know I was looking for representation. And I wanted to hear from other females who were leading organizations. We're taking steps in organizations or running the shop floor. And that's what I think I'm most excited about and hope that we can be that representation for other women in manufacturing, who just love what they're doing and want to see others who are doing it and active and supporting all that is manufacturing.

Erin: Oh, you're a tough act to follow. Kris, I gotta be honest, I could listen to your story. That could be the whole podcast, let's just talk about Kris because it's really interesting. But I'll just start with a place where there's some overlap. And that's mining, because I grew up in a little mining town called Silver City, New Mexico. And my dad was an engineer at the mine. And something you talk about your experience, and he spent time in South America as well I can relate to that. Growing up in a fairly remote place in New Mexico, a mining town. Now that I live in Madison, Wisconsin, I had a very different background than the lifestyle I lead now. I came to Madison to go to graduate school, and my specialty, and that came into grad school for sustainable biology, and sustainable development. And conservation is really what attracted me to the program that they had in Madison. And after I finished graduate school, then I got a job. And the thing was that I realized that biology and conservation while I felt they were important, it's kind of like that feeling. Very similar, the feeling you described with PT was like, Okay, that's what I want to do. But all the things that are around it are not really exciting for me right now. But the job that I got after graduate school was with a communications organization, and they were communicating about conservation biology and about sustainability. And the work I did as a communicator, and also a marketer, that's what turned me on. That's what was exciting to me. So I was lucky that I didn't fall into something that wasn't satisfying after having spent some money to go to grad school, and continued to work and communications and outreach for environmental, it wasn't so much advocacy as a was what we would call social marketing at that time, which is kind of just like personal awareness about, you know, how your behaviors and your choices feed into sustainability. And I did that for many years, I even got to work for this brand we all know of is Aveda. And that was really fun. And they had a great environmental mission. And it was cool to be a part of that. And I found that like, I love business, like really like the business side is although I like the mission and, you know, the mission-driven work of the nonprofit world, I just understand business so much more inherently so much better. So I did make that transition now to digital. I'm working now for a web development company called earthling interactive. And what's so fun about it is that now with all the digital tools that our fingertips and how much the information economy has just exploded, I get to be a part of that. And it's just a natural fit for me. And it circles back around to manufacturing because one thing that is a little bit hard for me with the digital world is this till ephemerals like, what is it, What is even happening there, and where manufacturing is like these are durable goods that are making a difference in people's lives. And I just love that connection. And I love being able to support that whole industry, the jobs that are associated with it. The, you know, the Made in America, all of those things, those wonderful things around manufacturing, with the knowledge of how to use marketing, how to use communications and how to use outreach, to grow that industry, so that it can be the best that it can be. And so the people really like to get reminded about why this is so important. Offshoring really kind of put manufacturing out of Americans' minds, and you know, similar things had happened in mining as well by doing really effective communications and really effective outreach. We can remind everybody and bring more young people into manufacturing. We can help grow manufacturers and really re-embrace this awesome part of our company. nominee history in the US. So that's kind of what I'm looking forward to doing with this podcast.

Erin: It's really weird. It's really weird. It's this concept called the oh, now I'm blanking on the name, but oh, the simulation, that we live in a simulation. And it sounds really woo-woo and out there, and it is woo-woo and out there, but there are, you know, legitimate respected scientists who actually believe that this could be the case. And what it is, again, very, very weird, is that we live in a computer simulation. So the matrix, so our notions of reality are all just programmed. Very strange. And the reason that I'm interested in it is partly that I work in the digital world. So there's like a natural curiosity. But so much of our life, in our experience, is cognitively heading that direction, right with virtual reality. And there are lots of pathways where I can see that the future whether I do believe it or not, that's where we exist right now. I think, as a human, it's important to ask these questions. So I'm very engaged on those issues. And I think, again, why it's important to think about it is because you can learn more about what it means to be human. What is, like, really fundamental, what do we want to protect? What do we want to preserve? As we move more and more into our digital future? I think that's really important. I also think that it helps drive effectiveness in terms of digital communication because what we all agree on, I know that all three of us feel this way. We want to help manufacturers connect with people as people. I've heard B2B is really person-to-person -- don't think of it just as like, you know, amorphous-entity-to-amorphous-entity. So if you're doing effective digital communications, you're connecting with something deeply human. And so that can get lost when you start focusing on your tools and your widgets and your platforms and XYZ. But if we keep close and central our mind, what is foundationally to be human, we're more effective community caters. I believe that.

Erin: I mean, you know, of the three of us, I'm a mom. We have some furbabies in the group as well. But I have had a lot of fun learning from some of the folks in manufacturing, the women in manufacturing, and the men too, about, you know, work-life balance in this world and what it means to, you know, raise kids and be in the manufacturing space, and also think about the future and they're going into, maybe the trades, and to encourage that and to kind of raise them in a way that makes that a possibility. And they're not kind of stuck in the, you know, four-year degree box. And then also just like the fun things about being a mom and watching your kids kind of learn the world and how things are made. So I'm looking forward to some of the conversations we'll have around that.

Lori: You're talking about your mining stories, and I'm like, you know what, I actually do have some mining family. Little extended. It's my great grandfather worked in a stamping factory for the copper mines in Upper Michigan. Yes, yes. My dad actually worked up in the up in Upper Michigan, the copper mines to awesome. I know, one of the museums up there, there's, you know, his name's on the wall. Some of the work he's done. Oh, that's awesome. Love it. Oh, yeah, I just made that little connection, all three of us have a little mining connection. Oh, my first I'm just gonna go back. Because this is the first memory I have of being in any sort of manufacturing facility. And why it's been part of my life overall, is my dad was in manufacturing. And I just remember, as a kid visiting him, he worked at a tool and dye factory. And he was running CNC machines, I didn't even know what that meant when I went to visit him, but I just thought it was the coolest thing to see, you know, metal getting drilled. And you know, there's all these little sparks flying everywhere. But to see like this big hunk of metal turns into this little cool contraption that ends up going on this big device that makes chocolate ice cream, you know, I mean, it was just kind of neat to see the whole progression of how things were made, which, you know, was a really popular TV show for a while. And I love that show. It's just so cool to see how so many things that we use every single day, people don't realize all of the different components and pieces and materials that go into manufacturing. And one of the reasons I love working in manufacturing specifically is because so many manufacturers do a terrible job of telling this amazing story. I just kind of pull those little nuggets of awesomeness out of them, and then help them you know, tell it in a way that helps them attract more business to their organization. But how did I get there? Like you, Kris, I was a non-traditional student. So I am the oldest of two other siblings and my parents were very blue-collar. Neither of them went to college. So I was the first one to actually go to college. And so my parents didn't have as much as I love them. And they promoted and advocated for me to do my very best. They didn't know anything about what going to college was like. So I was working full time or going to school nights and weekends, because I didn't even know that you could take out student loans. So yeah, it was very non-traditional. I went to MATC for two years, and I started going for commercial art because I love art. And I took every single art class in my high school offered and just thought my path was to do something related to art. And then a sociology class that I took actually triggered my interest in marketing. And I was just fascinated with how messaging influences decisions, and how culture influences people's responses. And there are so many factors that ultimately play a factor in why people end up doing, you know, signing up for a class or buying something, or, you know, drinking Pepsi versus Coke, or whatever it is. And I was just so fascinated by that concept that I switched my major to marketing. And then I...