The recent blog post at Small Business Labs discussing a NY Times article about manufacturing jobs coming back to the US due to the hidden and increasing cost of outsourcing work overseas, particularly to China, was very timely and important to many of the people we work with. Many companies are still manufacturing here in the US and we count a number of them as both clients and friends. As such we spend a lot of time thinking of ways for companies, especially small manufacturing companies, to grow and to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that exist in our market today.
Here are a few of the things we are advising our clients to consider as they attempt to grow and expand their small manufacturing revenue:
- Focusing on a specific product/technology niche and building a virtual team with the rest of the expertise needed to succeed.
Example - Hire IT service firms, marketing experts, financial gurus instead of bringing all functions in-house (or assuming that a small shop can be great at all of these things).
- Leveraging online technology to get found by potential customers.
Example – Using inbound marketing tools and methodology like HubSpot to optimize websites and internet reach in order for prospects to find them.
(Full disclosure, Todd Hockenberry is a certified HubSpot partner and is using this service with a number of clients to rapidly jump start qualified lead generation)
- Reducing friction for local/regional customers in terms of delivery, billing, service, warranty, etc.
Example – locally manufactured technical products can exceed and surpass warranty and maintenance services compared to most overseas competitors.
- Adding value to their manufactured goods by bundling a service with the product,
Example - Deliver goods in point of sale packaging ready to go to the end buyer eliminating a step for a company hiring you for contract manufacturing.
- Partner and network with larger sales and marketing networks and earn referrals
Example – Find and hire a manufacturer’s rep team that knows your target audience and can drive your exceptional custom/niche/solution-specific products through existing channels.
It is great to hear people being more optimistic about US manufacturing because we still have a lot of talent and expertise in this country and we certainly need the jobs these companies provide.
Please comment and let us know if you have any other ideas or examples showing how US manufacturers can continue to grow revenue.
Topics: Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing
