Manufacture Smarter Blog

2/27/2015 - THE CENTER
Social media can position you to gain an advantage over your competition. Many companies resort to social media only for the benefit of SEO, which definitely helps, but they are missing a great opportunity. Consider a different perspective with your social media activity.

12/19/2014 - THE CENTER
SEO is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. SEO is very technical and a tricky thing to understand initially. So we’ll try to provide you with a little “SEO 101” to get your feet wet with the topic.

11/7/2014 - THE CENTER
Well, if you’re not an active member of LinkedIn right now, it’s time to start feeling a little foolish. Don't worry though – it’s never too late to join! LinkedIn is the premiere social media site dedicated to business networking and currently boasts 332 million members.

10/17/2014 - THE CENTER
Here’s the difference between the companies who are featured in news articles and you: those companies have a public relations (PR) program. A lot of things can go under the umbrella of PR, so we’ll be more specific for our manufacturing readers.

8/1/2014 - THE CENTER
Email is still an important marketing tool for manufacturers. It gives your business the opportunity to easily connect with your target audience on a consistent basis. According to a study by ExactTarget, 91% of consumers use email at least once a day. Furthermore, “66% of consumers have made a purchase online as a result of an email marketing message,” according to the Direct Marketing Association.

6/20/2014 - THE CENTER
Technology and the Internet are constantly changing how we communicate and conduct business. For better or worse, it seems like we are always surrounded by technology. By the time you snap your fingers, you can probably find a desktop, laptop or smart phone to surf the web.

1/17/2014 - THE CENTER
In today’s technology-based economy, having a strong online presence is very important. Think of it from a practicality standpoint– you’re online all the time. Whether you’re in front of your computer or gazing at your smartphone, the Internet is always at your fingertips. Fun experiment – count how many times you Google something every day!

6/7/2013 - THE CENTER
Michigan’s manufacturers come from different niches and consist of many sizes. Despite their differences and nuances, they virtually all have one thing in common: they want more sales! And when it comes to sales, there’s a very simple rule: you can’t have more sales without marketing.

5/10/2013 - THE CENTER
You read that right – this is about Sales Headlights not Sales Highlights. Tracking Sales performance is an area of the business filled with numbers you can highlight.  Like baseball, you can watch your team’s overall win/loss record, your team’s batting average (wins as a percent of quotes), and the same for individual salespeople on your team.

4/26/2013 - SOFTWARE ADVICE
Industrial buying activity is moving online. A Thomas Industrial Network survey of more than 3,000 industrial executives and managers found that 90 percent of industrial purchases are now researched, evaluated and selected online. The uptick in online activity means that manufacturers need to step up their online game.