Accelerated Revenue Growth for Manufacturers: How to Attract, Convert and Close Ideal Customers

Accelerated Revenue Growth for Manufacturers: How to Attract, Convert and Close Ideal Customers

Save the date! On June 7th, 7:30 AM – 9 AM, you don’t want to miss Accelerated Revenue Growth for Manufacturers!

Reaching and influencing decision-makers is no easy task, especially for business-to-business manufacturers, and only making cold calls no longer works. 

It’s time for sales leaders to think differently and strategically when it comes to top-of-the-funnel lead acquisition, nurturing, and ultimately winning new business.

WHO: Manufacturers

WHAT: Accelerated Revenue Growth for Manufacturers: How to Attract, Convert and Close Ideal Customers

WHEN: June 7, 2023, 7:30 AM – 9 AM

WHERE: 6161 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 350 Independence, Ohio 44131

Join us for breakfast, networking, and presentations from PR, marketing and sales experts who work with real-world manufacturers that have developed measurable, repeatable marketing and sales strategies that impact net new and incremental revenue while also creating a culture of accountability to KPIs. 

Learn alongside other manufacturers and discover the best ways to accelerate revenue growth by attracting, converting and closing ideal customers at Alliance Industrial Solutions, 6161 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 350 Independence, Ohio 44131

Presented in collaboration with Alliance Industrial Solution and M Sales Growth Advisors.

Reserve your spot here

Throwback to 1993 – What Was Going On in the World When Our Agency Was Founded

Throwback to 1993

30 years is a long time & we’ve enjoyed all the ups and downs along the way, in business and life. 1993, the year our agency was founded, was a big year for Felber PR & Marketing, but there were a few other big things going on that year…

 

USA News

President William J. Clinton was sworn into office.

A bomb exploded in the basement garage of the World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others.

In Los Angeles, California, Rodney King was called as a witness in the trial against the four police officers who were caught on camera beating him in March 1991. Two of the officers were found guilty of violating King’s civil rights by “willfully and intentionally using unreasonable force.”

President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, mandating federal background checks on those purchasing firearms in the United States. The Act also enforced a five-day waiting period on firearm purchases.

President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement removing trade barriers between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

 

Entertainment

A few of the most popular movies of 1993 were “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “The Fugitive” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” “Schindler’s List”, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, went on to win the Oscar for Best Film in 1994. Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” was the highest-grossing film to date, including a record $502 million in its opening weekend alone.

Michael Jackson was sued by screenwriter Evan Chandler for molesting his 13-year-old son. Jackson vehemently denies the charge. The two parties reach an out-of-court settlement as the singer was deemed by his legal advisors as not well enough to endure a lengthy trial.

Eric Clapton took home the Grammy for Album of the Year for his album “Unplugged.” “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton was named Song of the Year.

Whitney Houston entered the record books with her single “I Will Always Love You” as it entered its 14th week at number 1 in the US. This made it the longest-running number-one single at that time!

 

Science

Following a rise in deaths related to the disease, tuberculosis was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). They predicted that tuberculosis threatened to kill more than 30 million in the next decade. 

The FDA approved using the synthetic hormone BST (bovine somatotropin) to increase milk production in dairy cows.

The first human cell cloning took place by using cells from defective human embryos to be discarded in infertility clinics and growing them in vitro. This process successfully developed up to 32-cell stages.

 

Sports

The Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, making the Buffalo Bills the first team to ever lose three consecutive Super Bowl games.

The Toronto Blue Jays took the World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The NBA Championship battle between the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns ended with the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, becoming the first team to secure a three-peat since the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.

 

It’s fun to reflect on the past & see how far we’ve come. A lot has changed in the last 30 years, in our lives, in the marketing and public relations industry, and in the world. We’re especially grateful for everyone who has supported us & our agency since 1993. Here’s to 30 more years!

Take the Lead! How to Follow Up after a Trade Show

Take the Lead - How to Follow Up After a Trade Show

It’s estimated that only about half of all leads are followed up on. We don’t have to tell you that’s just like leaving money on the table. But it’s hard to argue with a salesperson who says that it’s time-consuming to follow up on new leads, and hey, a lot of new sales come from existing customers. 

Because that’s true. 

It’s also true that following up on leads after a trade show is a sure way to build relationships with new customers. And, there are easy ways to make the process, well, a lot easier. 

How can you improve your lead-response process for everyone involved, including your customers? Glad you asked!

 

TLDR? OK, here are the 3 most important takeaways: 

1 – Effective follow-up starts before the show

2 – The sooner you follow-up, the sooner you’ll see results. 

3 – You already have most of what you need to respond to those leads! 

Important, specific info to help you improve your lead follow-up and sales process is below. Maybe grab a cup of coffee and keep reading?!

 

Smarter Lead Capture 

Before a trade show, you have a pretty good idea of who you will talk to at the event. There will be some familiar faces, and others who are new to the industry. You will see former customers as well as current customers. Before the show, draw up a list of the most likely problems they have, and how your company can help. 

Also consider their questions in terms of how soon they are likely to need your product or service, and how much influence they have on the purchase. 

Create codes for them – like shorthand for buyer personas, almost – and capture that along with their contact information. 

Free eBook: Trade Show for Manufacturers Guide

Manage Your Messaging

Based on the questions you know you’ll be asked, and the people who will be asking, craft short, helpful answers that are not overtly sales-y. 

You probably have a lot of the information on your website, maybe even blog posts or case studies that speak directly to some of their concerns. If you were in their shoes, wouldn’t you be impressed with someone you just met at a trade show who provided such helpful, relevant information in a timely manner? Of course you would! 

Craft a few short messages addressing the people (and problems) that your leads will be most concerned about. Incorporate top-line takeaways from those web pages, case studies and blog posts and include a link for them to read more. 

 

Set it and Forget it: Automate What You Can

With your leads sorted into a handful of categories, create an email funnel for each group. This makes your messages more helpful to your prospects, since they will be at different points in the buying process and have different levels on influence in the purchase. 

Need help creating an effective email funnel? Let us help.

 

Make Follow-up a Team Effort

Your entire team will have good ideas about what to include in those messages for different types of leads. Ask them before you develop your messages. And include your salespeople in decisions about the best point in the process for a phone call, product demo, or promotional mailing. 

Making lead follow-up easy is important, but making it effective is the greater goal. 

How can we help you? Please jump on my calendar for a quick 15-minute meeting now, before you’re panicking – er, planning – for your next trade show. 

How Do We Get Articles, Not Just Ads, in Trade Magazines? Manufacturing Masters Video

Rob Felber was recently invited to be a featured expert in a series of Manufacturing Masters videos!

Manufacturing Masters is an operational training platform that’s built by manufacturers for manufacturers. The site offers training videos featuring real industry experts who cover hundreds of different topics. The videos cover anything from supply chain, to HR and recruitment, or cybersecurity, finance, engineering and business strategy. No matter what topic you’re looking for, the training focuses on short wins that can be implemented in your business today. Manufacturing Masters is the “How To” site for manufacturing businesses.

How do we get articles, not just ads, in trade magazines?

In this Manufacturing Masters video, Rob Felber details how to get articles in trade magazines. It’s not always easy to get publications to cover your stories from an editorial standpoint. That’s why Rob shares a few industrial trade public relations tips that can help you establish your story’s newsworthiness and earn editorial coverage, not just advertising space! 

To download the full video for FREE, please submit your email address below.

Our Agency’s Transition to Public Relations

30th Anniversary - Felber PR & Marketing

For those who grew up in Northeast Ohio, we cherished those steamy hot days spent at Geauga Lake amusement park and sister property SeaWorld. Getting cooled off by Shamu while trying to keep your Dippin Dots dry was great fun.

When Six Flags took over the amusement park, they hired our agency to develop promotions for events and rides. Whether it was a postcard with a plastic spider promoting HalloWeekends or a printed roll of toilet paper indicating the ride would scare the–, well you get the picture, Six Flags had recognized the power of dimensional promotion. For our “origin story” see our recent blog The Road Less Traveled: Agency Skills Forged by Opportunity.

Our next fortuitous turn on the road less traveled came when we asked the question, who are these promotions targeting? The answer and the group we would soon come to know and love were the media. Why the media we asked? The answer then, as it still stands today, is the media are the folks that buy ink by the barrel and hold the keys to a much larger audience. If Six Flags could get reporters to attend a special media day preview event, they knew that photos, videos, and stories would abound. 

Around the early 1990s, I was also a civilian volunteer with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. At one organizational meeting, a division officer said to me, “so you’re in advertising, how would you like to be the public relations officer?” I remember thinking, “whoa what did I get myself into?”, just like the famous stuffed lion story, again, in the above-referenced blog

Mark Norfolk, president & CEO of Fabrisonic, LLC., & long-time client of Felber PR & Marketing being interviewed by the media at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2022. The Felber team conducted media research & contacted media personnel to schedule this and other interviews ahead of time to take place during the show.

Immediately, I called an older brother who had worked in PR and asked what a press release was and how to write one. I soon found myself writing responses to our local editors and being interviewed on the docks by local TV reporters, telling the story of the rescue volunteers that patrolled Lake Erie. This transition, from a simple roll of toilet paper to working with the media was the birth of Felber PR and Marketing’s public relations practice. 

Download our PR eBook

We learn by doing, and experience is the best education. We were thrust into the world of advertising when we started creating media promotions targeting advertisers for the trade media. And now, by working alongside editors and their publication marketing directors, we inadvertently learned the tricks of the PR trade, including how to use editorial calendars to understand what content worked with which industrial trade media publications. 

Terrence Mathis, Manager of Engineering-Cable Protection for PMI Industries Inc., being interviewed at the 2022 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas. He was asked his opinion of OTC2022, its value to young professionals, and what advice he would give to other young professionals about future OTC events. This at-show media interest in PMI Industries was in part generated by the Felber team’s public relations and trade show marketing efforts.

Armed with this knowledge, we built a skillset in targeting publications that cover countless manufacturing sectors. In a future blog, we will tie it all together, from pitching stories and factory tours, to trade show media interviews and building out a deep press room for our manufacturing clients. 

“It’s in There!” Why Pay Extra When It’s Included in HubSpot?

HubSpot, it's in there

For those of a certain age, you may remember the Prego commercial where the son convinces the father that Prego spaghetti sauce uses the same great ingredients as the old-world family recipe. The father keeps asking about this spice and that, and the line “it’s in there” is repeated.

Calendar Integration and Simple Meeting Booking

In sales, overcoming hurdles and converting prospects to customers quickly and easily is key. Any barriers, such as slow response to inquiries or landing appointments can send your coveted prospect looking elsewhere. Something as simple as booking an appointment directly with a representative may be the difference between getting an at-bat and being put on the bench.

There are many programs, for a fee, that allows scheduling. Calendly and TimeTap for example. For our customers, HubSpot is the default winner. Integration with their calendar is included in HubSpot at no extra fee. Book meetings online or in person. Embed calendars in blogs, emails, and landing pages to allow prospects immediate access to your calendar. You can have multiple meeting schedules (think Zoom, in-person, or just one event, such as the week of a tradeshow). With HubSpot, calendar links can be placed in email signatures, in chatbots, or even live on a website. And, since it is all within HubSpot, the history stays with your contact in one neat central CRM. Why pay for another application, especially when you miss out on all the free integrations? How easy is it? Rob Felber’s Zoom Calendar.

Live, Automated Chat Features

And, speaking of chat, why pay for that service? HubSpot chat allows live answering as well as automated responses. Don’t lose a prospect that has an immediate need or question by not being available. And, with HubSpot, you can start a CRM record with just their email address. Handle inquiries from pricing and material questions to order status and inventory, in seconds – oh, did we mention it does not cost extra?!

Survey Creation and Real-Time Data Collection

Creating surveys just got easier. Many of our manufacturing clients, especially those recertifying their ISO ratings, need to conduct customer satisfaction surveys. While Survey Monkey and Delight work, there are fees for using the premium features. All within HubSpot, we recently created a simple survey, complete with dropdown choices and comment text capture with a landing page – all branded to the client. Oh, and the data, collected for free, is captured on each individual contacts record. Did we mention this did not cost anything to execute?

HubSpot Has it All and is There to Help if You Need it

Calendars, chat, and surveys are just a few of the many features that enhance a modern, robust marketing software such as HubSpot. We use it, our clients use it and you should too. Reduce your tech stack by integrating multiple features and tools into one, easy-to-use platform.

By the way, HubSpot’s support is powerful, 24/7, and above all else, just pleasant, nice people that guide you through technology without making you feel, well, stupid. They know not all of us are tech wizards. They always ask what are you working on today and how they can help. Then they help.

Want to learn more? Here’s my calendar!

How to Pick the Trade Magazines to Target? Manufacturing Masters Video

Rob Felber was recently invited to be a featured expert in a series of Manufacturing Masters videos!

Manufacturing Masters is an operational training platform that’s built by manufacturers for manufacturers. The site offers training videos featuring real industry experts who cover hundreds of different topics. The videos cover anything from supply chain to HR and recruitment, or cybersecurity, finance, engineering and business strategy. No matter what topic you’re looking for, the training focuses on short wins that can be implemented in your business today. Manufacturing Masters is the “How To” site for manufacturing businesses.

How to pick the trade magazines that we want to target?

In this Manufacturing Masters video, Rob Felber details how to choose the best trade magazine for your business. There’s no sense in getting your business featured in a trade publication that isn’t being read by your prospects or potential customers. But how do you pick which publications to target? Rob shares a few industrial public relations tips that can help you make sure you’re delivering the right content to the right person at the right time!

To download the full video for FREE, please submit your email address below.

Best Practices for Approaching the Media

Approaching the Media Blog Graphic

Spam emailing journalists, reporters and editors with pitches, news releases, announcements, etc., is ineffective, and it establishes your organization as “one of the bad guys.”

So, what are the best practices for approaching an editor or journalist?

Attract, don’t chase

Contacting publications to pitch stories is only one way to get the media’s attention. Much of a journalist’s or reporter’s job is researching industry trends and finding newsworthy content. You should make sure your website and social media are places where these journalists and reporters might find great stories. 

There are ways to connect with the media other than through one-way spam. Writing and sharing relevant content establishes your company’s credibility and increases your findability within the industry. To make sure reporters will find you on search engines and industry sites, you should prioritize SEO and keyword research. Posting keyword-rich content online will lead potential customers and reporters to find you on search engines. 

Establishing your own blog and posting regular content can help your organization get noticed by other industry bloggers and journalists. Blogging can not only help you be found by reporters but also possibly be looked to again for future stories. The bottom line is: when you create and post valuable content online, you reach people who are looking for what you have to offer, including reporters and the media. Pro tip: make sure the media are on your CRM. Often a simple announcement or news update shared via email to your contacts will pique their interest in a story.

Download our PR eBook

Make it personal

These days, we’re all bombarded by tons of notifications from social media, texts, calls and emails. Journalists are no strangers to this. Think about how you might be able to get them to open and pay attention to your email out of the thousands in their inbox. 

Rather than sending generic emails to a ton of reporters, you should take the time to research industry publications and find specific reporters who are likely to cover your story. Think about what the individual reporters like to write about by researching their previous stories, and then write specific, targeted pitches crafted just for them. It’s up to you to pitch stories to reporters who might actually be interested in writing about your industry or topic. Consider offering an exclusive story, free samples, product demonstrations or interviews with executives to sweeten the deal.

In my opinion, the best way to get coverage is by fostering real relationships with reporters. Connect with media in your industry by commenting on blogs, social media, and communication that doesn’t involve pitching anything. Relationships don’t form overnight but making sure your interactions with the media are personal might just lead to the formation of professional relationships that prove mutually beneficial for years to come.

Nail the pitch

So, you’ve selected a specific media publication and reporter you’d like to pitch to. Now, it’s time to send the email, make the phone call or set up the meeting. There are a few things to keep in mind when developing a pitch strategy. 

As we’ve already established, making your message personal is number one. Next, it’s important to help the journalist or reporter understand the big picture. You’re more than likely not the only pitch they’ll hear today, so make sure they understand the newsworthiness of your story. It is critical to mention their readership and why your story resonates with them. Give the necessary details but keep it simple. Show them that you value their time. Be prepared to give a compelling pitch and have any supporting material ready to send after your initial pitch. 

Don’t forget, it’s a 2-way street – journalists need ideas in order to write stories! Don’t be afraid to reach out, make a connection and get your story covered by the media. Want some help fostering relationships with the media? We can help improve your public relations strategy. Schedule a 15-minute consultation at your convenience, and let’s talk about it. RobFelber@FelberPR.com, (330) 963-3664.

How Do I Get Interviewed More Often? Manufacturing Masters Video

How do I get interviewed more often?

Rob Felber was recently invited to be a featured expert in a series of Manufacturing Masters videos!

Manufacturing Masters is an operational training platform that’s built by manufacturers for manufacturers. The site offers training videos featuring real industry experts who cover hundreds of different topics. The videos cover anything from supply chain, to HR and recruitment, or cybersecurity, finance, engineering and business strategy. No matter what topic you’re looking for, the training focuses on short wins that can be implemented in your business today. Manufacturing Masters is the “How To” site for manufacturing businesses.

How do I get interviewed more often?

In this Manufacturing Masters video, Rob Felber details how to get your business interviewed more often. It’s one thing to post content on your own platforms, but it’s another for your content to earn a place on a third party’s platforms. That media coverage could open the door to a wide audience of potential prospects and quality leads. Rob shares a few public relations tips for manufacturers who need help getting industrial trade media interviews and attention!

To download the full video for FREE, please submit your email address below.

The Trade Show is Over: Time to Maximize Your Investment 

The trade show is over: time to maximize your investment

So, you made an effort to capitalize on trade show chatter, before, during and after the show. How do you know you had a successful trade show? After the proper planning, preparation and practice, you met lots of people and started some great conversations. Excellent! 

Now, it’s time to make the most of those new connections.  

Following up three to 7 days after those initial trade show conversations is critical. Also in that first post-show week, your prospects will probably be contacted by a competitor or two – you want to look good in comparison.

It’s time for your CRM system to help you out. 

Managing New Contacts from a Trade Show

You just met a lot of people, and some of them expect to hear from you very soon. In fact, they’re looking forward to it. They’re warm leads. Some will be glad to hear from you IF you have something helpful for them. They’re qualified leads. And while others will barely remember you, you know you have something to offer them. They’re prospects or cold leads, and they’re valuable too. 

The right process will help you address each of them in turn. 

Before the trade show, you probably wrote targeted post-show emails for each type of prospect. You wisely mirrored the graphics and messaging that you used before and during the show. And you automated the process to be automated with triggering events that will keep each type of prospect engaged properly for wherever they are in the buying cycle. 

If this sounds complicated, it’s not! A user-friendly CRM simplifies the process and helps you track each prospect through the sales funnel. 

Want some help? Contact us.

Trade Show Review: How Did You Do? 

➡️It’s worth repeating: reaching out to new trade show contacts in a timely manner is your first priority after the show. ⬅️

Then, after catching your breath, it’s time to review the whole process. 

Trade shows are expensive, and designing a booth, staffing it and providing unique, meaningful promotions adds a lot of time (and more money) to the endeavor. Was it worth the investment? Ten different companies may have 10 different methods for determining the answer to that question.

Evaluating the total number and quality of leads generated is one way; tracking benchmarks to determine how valuable the show was for your organization is another. Most companies judge success based on a variety of factors including new accounts, new product lines introduced into existing accounts, and of course, based simply on sales order volume in the first few months after a show. 

Whew. Now it’s finally time to give yourself a pat on the back and then – get ready for what’s next! Soon, you’ll be having more in-depth conversations and developing new relationships with many of those new prospects. 

Already registered for your next trade show? Download the Trade Shows for Manufacturers Guide here.