Manufacturing Happy Hour

Curt Anderson, author of the fantastic book “Stop Being the Best-Kept Secret: Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies,” and eCommerce Evangelist for Manufacturers at Ecommerce MGMT, is an eCommerce whizz with some great tips to share.

In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Curt shares how he first dived into the world of eCommerce. He explains why he wants to help manufacturers get on that path too. He discusses the common mistakes that custom manufacturers make and why they should “niche down” and focus on their “soulmate” customers for the best chance of success.

He shares his thoughts on the wider industry, why the big marketplaces are so successful, and why you should always aim to make a great first “webpression.”

In this episode, find out:

• How when Curt discovered eCommerce, it was like “a dream come true”
• Why Curt wants to help custom manufacturers have a digital transformation
• What the entrepreneurial curse is
• Why manufacturers need to niche down
• How finding your “soulmate” customer can transform your growth
• Why online marketplaces are the place to be
• Why you should treat your website like a five-star resort

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Who is that ideal dream customer? In the book, I call them “soulmates” …basically, your website is a matchmaker, so who can we really connect with?”
• “There's a lot of different marketplaces that you can take advantage of. And what are they doing? They make that great first impression because they have multimillion if not billion-dollar budgets. So put your products on the marketplaces.”
• “Stop being the best-kept secret. So say you're rocking it, you've got the best website on the planet, you've got to dominate search.”

Links & mentions:

• Ecommerce MGMT, a place for digital and eCommerce resources for manufacturers.
• Stop Being the Best Kept Secret: Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies, Curt’s fantastic book on building an effective eCommerce strategy.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Lisa Ryan has one of the most unique trajectories that you’ve ever seen in the industrial sector. She’s gone from welding to med device sales to where she is now as an author and keynote speaker that helps manufacturers solve their employee engagement and retention challenges. In addition to writing books like Manufacturing Engagement, she’s the Founder of Grategy, a training & coaching business dedicated to helping leaders keep their top talent from becoming someone else’s.

In this episode, Lisa shares the ups and downs of her career and the lessons learned along the way. We also cover the importance of empathy and communication when it comes to employee engagement before wrapping up with a conversation about trade skills and career paths.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Chris goes solo in this episode to share a podcast version of a keynote he recently gave at Content Marketing World 2020. While the majority of podcasts have less than 1,000 listeners per episode (and that's okay!), today you're going to learn how to make tens of thousands of impressions with every episode you release.

Whether you're a brand or an individual that's considered adding a podcast to your content strategy - or maybe you already have one within your content repertoire - today's show contains the foundational skills and tools you need to create a goldmine of highly-sharable audio, visual, and written content. That way, you can meet your audience wherever they are spending their time, whether that’s on social media, YouTube, or your website.

We have a short episode for you this week folks, and it's because there are some exciting updates coming to Manufacturing Happy Hour! Tune in to hear all the details on Chris' latest career move, a new partnership, and an honest reflection on 11 years spent working for Rockwell Automation.

We have another security episode in store for you this week. We’re talking to Mark Carrigan, the COO of PAS Global, a company that reduces process safety risks and delivers software solutions that prevent, detect, and remediate cyber threats.

In this episode, we kick things off by defining what “OT integrity” means while taking on some misconceptions about cybersecurity. We also discuss establishing a culture of safety and security in the process industry before covering the impact that digitalization is having on the cyber threat landscape. All of this while giving a couple of shoutouts to our favorite Houston, TX pubs.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Andrew Johnson is a supply chain innovator, speaker, and the CEO of ShelfAware. After being raised in and working for his family’s industrial business O-Ring Sales and Services, ShelfAware developed out of that company and now provides an RFID-powered solution that gives wireless traceability to a manufacturers’ inventory.

 In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Andrew takes us behind the scenes to look at ShelfAware’s origin story. We hear how much he learned growing up in a family business and what led him to start ShelfAware.

 Andrew explains how automation has been key to growing his business and why he uses the idea of “incremental innovation” to scale his company sustainably. We also hear the lessons he learned from the movie Moneyball and some top tips he has to share for other manufacturers.

In this episode, find out:     

• How growing up in a family business introduced Andrew to entrepreneurialism     
• The origin story of ShelfAware      
• Why automation can be a great way to boost your competitive advantage     
• How the movie Moneyball inspired him  
• What incremental innovation is and why it’s the best way forward
• Why manufacturers should focus on developing young talent (even if they lack experience)

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

 Tweetable Quotes:   

• “We have to have fun. In our workplace, we have to take some risks. And we have to be willing to get messy, or we’ll never take that next step in innovation.”
• “I think a lot of manufacturers should throw out all of their experience requirements when they're hiring new folks for their company.”      
• “Look at innovation as a race, a marathon, a long race with huge goals. But you're going to run your incremental races as a series of sprints to get to that big finish line.”

Links & mentions:

• ShelfAware, RFID technology manufacturer that automates supply chains
• ShelfAware’s YouTube channel, short and sweet videos about ShelfAware, manufacturing musings, and hot takes on where the industry is heading
• Jack Stack Barbecue, an upscale Kansas City BBQ chain with several locations across the city
• Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, an old-school BBQ joint set in an old gas station

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Kiley Summers is a manufacturing leader turned financial services entrepreneur. He’s the Founder of SpenDebt, a financial technology company that helps people payoff debt through micropayments in every day transactions. But prior to that, he came up through the ranks in engineering, operations, and business unit leadership at PepsiCo.

In this episode, Kiley takes us through his journey to becoming an engineer, a leader in manufacturing, and ultimately, an entrepreneur. Kiley shares stories about his background and the biggest lessons he pulled from his time working at Frito-Lay’s Rosenberg, TX plant that he now uses to navigate the challenges of running his own business. Plus, you’ll hear how SpenDebt is changing the game when it comes to paying off debt, along with a couple of other tasty conversations and takeaways.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

It’s the final episode of our Sales & Marketing Game Changers mini-series! Chris is responsible for hosting duties this week, and he’ll be joined one last time by 5 other sales & marketing experts to take on the topic of leadership in 2020.

In this last installment of our 4-part series, we’ll be sharing our observations about leadership since the world changed in March 2020. Our panelists will each boil leadership down to a single word, share stories of where they’ve seen leaders emerge, and wrap things up with advice that anyone can use to step up and lead in this brave new world.

After you listen, forward this podcast to your company’s sales and marketing leaders. Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com/GameChangers for a full list of resources from these episodes and to connect with the other panelists. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What are the top solutions for manufacturers that we’ve come across in our first year of this podcast? This week, we’ll be sharing the best technologies and companies we’ve come across through our podcast interviews and virtual events since we started the show last summer. From technologies that address the workforce skills gap to those that reduce your bottom line without sacrificing new business and revenue, these companies are taking on the biggest issues facing manufacturers in 2020.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.