After attending the IPC Apex Expo trade show a few months ago I came to realize that there are two kinds of people: those who just come here, set up their booth and expect things to happen (and then blame the show organizers when nothing does), and those who make things happen and who think […]
The All Powerful Referral!
Someone talking about how good you are is so much more powerful than you saying how good you are. A customer praising your product, is so much more credible than you telling people you have great products. And, a customer going on and on about your extremely great service will help you grow your business […]
Your Company’s Message Is More Important Than Ever
In this new world order of being buried by not only traditional advertising on television and print but also by email and social media, it has become more important that you find a way to make your company distinctive. Now more than ever is the time to find a way to make your company stand […]
Great Advertising Is Terrifying
Everybody loves daring and creative advertising, but no one seems to have the courage to do it themselves. We all talk about the cool ads we see on television, and billboards that grab our attention, but when it comes to our own advertising we settle for the same old blah, safe, advertising that makes us […]
Don’t lower your prices, raise your value
Don’t lower your price…Raise your value: The Intangibles Anyone can lower their prices, that’s a loser’s game that we in the printed circuit board industry have been playing for years…and look where it has gotten us? There are only 200 shops left in North American because we have all played the lowering the price game […]
Marketing: Why It’s More Important Than You Think (and how to do it right)
The good news is that more companies then ever in our industry are finally figuring out that they need some marketing. I have seen this trend rise in the past few years, where once it was a rare EMS or PCB company that did marketing, to now where we are seeing more companies than ever […]
Contract Manufacturers: Here Are 5 Things You Can Do Right Now To Get More Business
Everyone is struggling to fill their factories these days, as the fight for more business heats up. It used to be that contract manufacturers had a good solid base of good customers, they could depend on year after year. Many of them were satisfied to pick up a couple of customers a year as their […]
Selling On Price Is How You Lose
If you prospect for price you are going to get price oriented customers. You are only going to “buy” your way into an account and yes, you are going to set the precedent for the life of that account. So says Mark Hunter in his great new book High-Profit Prospecting published by Amacom. And allow me to […]
Care About Your Customers And They Will Love You For Life
Years ago, when I lived in Milwaukee, there was a great, and wonderful airline by the name of Midwest Express. I loved that airline, it was the one airline that I was proud to be a frequent flyer on. To this day, I still have the leather travel wallet they gave out then you hit […]
Contract Manufacturers: Does Anybody Know Your Name?
Unlike PCB shops where there are now less than 200 left in North America, there are well over 1000 contract manufacturers of all shapes and sizes. Everyone knows the big guys from Celestica, to Flextronics, to Sanmina to Plexus all of them doing hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, but what about all the […]