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Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

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Industrial Marketing: Can Social Media Play a Role? Can Social Media Work?

These and many similar questions  are being asked and debated across the industrial marketing spectrum.  And, there is no clear consensus.

The following is a look at why the answer might be maybe.

1.  Fear is holding back adoption.

In general engineers don’t have a lot of spare time on their hands.  Part of the reason for the lack of time on their hands to engage in social networking can be attributed to their inability to get to social media. The SAE International’s Do mobility engineers use social media? study surveyed nearly 1200 members and found only 55% said they use social media for work and only 52% of companies permit social media use during business hours.

Additionally, MarketingProfs What Works in 2011: B2B Marketing report finds that the number of companies restricting social media use is growing. Facebook, while the most popular of the social networking channels, is also the most blocked by companies.

Security and over exposure of information are the Top 2 fears of companies according to McAfee Inc.’s Web 2.0: A Complex Balancing Act – The First Global Study on Web 2.0 Usage, Risks and Best Practices Report. The study found over 60% of the respondents stated their company suffered losses averaging of $2 million related to security issues.

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North American Success Photo

Four Keys To North American Success For Foreign Corporations

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North American Success Photo

North American success for foreign corporations can be elusive. A recent LinkedIn post asked for experiences from foreign national corporations who have had trouble introducing their products and services to the North American market.

From our experience in this area, foreign national corporations typically encounter the following issues.

1. Send a foreign national to open the operation just because someone believes there is a large untapped market in North America, but no research is done and no North American success plan is formulated before coming.

2. They attempt to apply their current sales policies and distribution channels they utilize in their home country in North America, which typically is unsuccessful.

3. They send people to manage the North American operations who have little to no understanding of the culture, and given limited time and resources to learn it.

4. If they hire a Canadian or United States national to manage their operation, there is a communication issue between the North American operation and the home country. Typically, the reason is the North American operation does not have a seat at the executive table when decisions are made, and little training or effort was given to introduce this person to their new employer.

5. Very limited financial and human resources are allocated for operations, sales and marketing — especially sales and marketing.

6. No or limited inventory of product is on hand in Canada or the United States and long lead times to get product sold to North America.

7. Cut and run. For as much as foreign corporations talk about managing for the long term, they tend to apply short term thinking when measuring North American success, which leads to huge turnover of employees and management teams — ultimately resulting in cutting their losses and closing shop after 3, 4 or 5 years.

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Before You Leap Into Social Media and Networking Photo

Before Leaping Into Social Media and Networking

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Social Media & Networking Photo - Before Leaping

Six steps to your organization’s social media and networking success.

The Internet, more specifically social media and networking has changed the way people and organizations connect, create, stay in touch or seek help from others.

Citizen journalists are using social media tools like blogs, microblogs, and video sharing to inform the world of the events surrounding the 2009 Iranian election protests when traditional journalists were banned from the country. It helped to topple the Egyptian government and many other Middle Eastern governments in 2011.

Musicians utilize services like Myspace and YouTube to launch careers and connect with fans. Companies employ wikis to collaborate on product development,  manage projects and customer relations, and provide technical support. E-tailers and restaurants apply reviews and opinions to increase traffic and drive sales because while 14% of people trust ads, 76% trust consumer recommendations* for purchase decisions. Furthermore, companies use Facebook to encourage fans to refer their products or services since a Facebook friend referral makes two-thirds of US Facebook users more likely to purchase a product or visit a retailer¹.

However, many organizations are jumping head long into social networking before they know what it is, how to use it, what platforms their stakeholders may or may not use, what social technographics define their stakeholders and what costs —  direct and hidden — are involved for fear they are going to be left out.

Others leap in because it is going to be a ‘cheap’ way of marketing themselves without having goals, strategies and tactics established, knowing the human resource and time allocations needed to get results, defining a method for measuring results, and determining what message(s) they’re going broadcast. Read more

Wakeup Fluid Power Industry or Prepare for Extinction Photo

Wake Up Fluid Power Industry Or Prepare For Extinction

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Wake Up Fluid Power Industry Or Prepare For Extinction

A recent post in the Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazine’s discussion group on LinkedIn asks: Is fluid power on the decline?

As a person who worked in the industry for 10 years and has provided consulting services to the industry for the past 16 years, I believe it is—especially in the United States. And, if they don’t wake up immediately, they’ll find themselves in the history books and museums alongside dinosaurs—extinct.

Like a precision military assault, the fluid power industry is getting hammered on several fronts: technology competition, the environment, government regulations and knowledge loss. The environment, government regulations and knowledge loss have teamed up to open a gaping hole in the fortress allowing a full frontal attack by technology competition.

And, like Great Britain during World War II, the industry has done very little to combat the forces working against them. While some have acknowledged defeat and quit the battle, most of the industry, it seems, have yet to realize they’re under attack or their survival is at risk. Read more