The Kula Ring

As buyers continue to use multiple online channels to purchase, how can manufacturers optimize and manage product information? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Sherry Foster, Co-founder & Partner at AscendX Digital, discusses how manufacturers can effectively customize product information to support the customer journey on their own websites and third-party marketplaces. She also discusses the technologies that enable success as brands get into more marketplaces.

How can manufacturers overcome channel conflict when setting up an ecommerce platform? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Kris Harrington, President and COO for GenAlpha Technologies, talks about how manufacturers and their networks can leverage the data-sharing and visibility into the customer relationship that ecommerce provides and shares solutions to common channel conflict issues.

How can manufacturers better serve customers of various sizes? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Melanie Virreira, Director of Global Commercial Enablement at Ball Corporation, talks about how her team created a digital self-service portal for multiple customer segments. She shares lessons learned from mapping customer journeys on the self-service portal, and how her team integrated the portal with sales.

How are trailblazing manufacturers successfully implementing smart factories? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Paul Wellener, Vice Chairman of U.S. Industrial Products for Deloitte, shares insights into Deloitte and the Manufacturers Alliance’s collaborative research on digital transformation in manufacturing. He shares how leveraging ecosystems is key to developing smart capabilities, and discusses how manufacturers are prioritizing different digital practices and relationships.

How can manufacturers with various product portfolios gained from mergers and acquisitions ensure their products are discoverable both on their website and third party domains? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Cynthia Kellam, Global Senior Director of Digital Customer Experience at TE Connectivity, shares how customer experience research led her team to standardize product data in order to improve organic searchability.

In-person tradeshows and conferences are cancelled for the foreseeable future due to the pandemic, and the exclusive, time-boxed structure of virtual events has presented problems for interactivity. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Christopher Barger, Senior Director of Communications for SME, shares how his team has adapted SMX with virtual networking components and shares why networking should be prioritized in virtual environments.

Legacy manufacturers that previously dominated their verticals now have to contend with new entrants who know how to create focused messaging in digital spaces. In this episode of The Kula Ring, David A. Stark, Digital Marketing Transformation Growth Leader, talks about the value of shifting from a tactical to a strategic digital marketing strategy as competition increases, and how to bolster branding with a strong digital presence in order to reach prospects.

As online education becomes the norm and companies like Google no longer require a degree as a job prerequisite, what will educating the manufacturing workforce look like beyond 2020? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Mike Nager, Business Development Manager for the Festo Didactic Solution Center, talks about the role of niche technical education in providing hands-on training for manufacturing technologies and how Festo Didactic is adapting its strategy into the digital space after the pandemic.

Marketing plans developed last year for 2020 look drastically different now because of the pandemic—not just in the tradeshow arena, but also how new markets are identified. In this episode of The Kula Ring, Jaclyn Wallace, Director of Marketing for Nederman Division North America, covers a variety of topics including how the pandemic is forcing marketing and sales to effectively adapt into the digital space, how customers are driving new business, and the importance of knowledge extraction.

In lean manufacturing environments that focus on product development, how can organizations prevent marketing from becoming an afterthought? In this episode of The Kula Ring, Heather Smriga, Marketing Communications Manager of EaglePicher Technologies, shares how the company’s Voice of the Customer research is fueled by feedback across the enterprise and provides insights on how leveraging different talents in the organization improves their approach to marketing strategy.