Marketing for Manufacturers Archives

19 Tips for Curing “I Hate Change” (Plus a Healthy Dose of eCommerce)

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

~ W. Edwards Deming – 20th Century Global Quality Expert

That’s a powerful quote and also a scary thought as well.

Do you hate change?

On the other hand, maybe you find yourself working within a business or organization that hates change.

Either way, whether we like it or not change is inevitable.

Here is another brilliant Demingism:

“Two basic rules of life are: 1) Change is inevitable. 2) Everybody resists change.”

~ W. Edwards Deming

19 Tips for Curing “I Hate Change”

Well, I certainly do not claim to be an expert or guru on change.

However, below includes a list of suggestions and remedies, accumulated over the years, that have worked in my world.

So, let’s jump right in…….

Identify weaknesses that need improvement immediately
Expose bottlenecks and constraints
Venture into the unknown – trust your instincts
Align with experts that can hold your hand through positive change
Create new systems and processes
Explore new technologies
Tackle challenges with confidence and positive energy
GET BUY IN
Dedicate yourself and your team to be in a constant state of continuous improvement
Open your mind to new ideas
Research
Talk with vendors
Stay in the know AND in the zone
Align yourself with a tough mentor
Find an accountability partner who keeps you on track
Take courses online or at local university
Find companies that have accomplished goals that you seek and discover how they did it
Conduct competitive intelligence: especially on competitors who are using new technology and techniques
Finally, tell yourself, “I embrace change, I embrace change…”

Just Keep Moving Forward

Most importantly, when it comes to change, take manageable bites.

However, just keep moving forward.

Remember, over-analysis causes paralysis.

Just keep moving forward.

One day at a time. One step at a time.

Just keep moving forward.

For example, take note of 3-4 things that you absolutely hate about your business or organization.

Those heavy burdens or tasks that you deem as profit killers and time wasters.

Processes or systems that you know hurt your business. Yet, no one knows how to change them.

The thought of changing can be so overwhelming that nothing gets done.

Instead of creating a manageable plan, you keep doing things as they have always been done in the past.

Unfortunately, sometimes doing nothing sure beats doing something.

Sacred cows do not go away easily.

I once served on a successful team where our motto was “what are we doing today that we could make fun of six months or a year from now?”

Meaning, identify profit killers or time wasters that are currently eating up our energy, resources and most importantly the bottom line.

For example, a technology or process where down the road you look back and say “can you believe this is how we used to do it?”

In other words, to look back and say, “what a colossal waste of time it was when we did THAT”.

It’s much better to say, “Thank God we had the stamina and courage to take the leap and improve. Take on the new technology. Embrace a new system.”

Above all, Just Keep Moving Forward.

Curing “I Hate Change” with eCommerce

For those looking to take the plunge into eCommerce for the first time, many inexpensive options exist.

Especially if you hate change or find yourself working at a business that hates change.

For example, you can tip your toe in the water with eBay.

Another option, team up with the eCommerce Goliath, Amazon.

Amazon offers virtually a no risk option with creating an eCommerce presence.

Amazon receives over 2 billion visits in a single month.

What are the odds that one of those 2 billion would purchase your product?

Additionally, you can take the plunge and create your own eCommerce store.

For example, if you currently use WordPress for your website, WooCommerce can be added to your site which is a FREE plugin.

Additional options include other eCommerce shopping carts that run as low as $19.99 per month.

The list includes dynamic eCommerce shopping cart solutions such as Shopify, Volusion, 3D Cart, and Big Commerce.

With creating your own website, now you just need a web designer.

Well, affordable and effective web designers are abundant.

Start with word of mouth. Ask around. Check with friends, family, and professional contacts.

Check locally. Do a Google search for local web designers.

Search around LinkedIn, which is loaded with eCommerce experts eager to help you.

Check out outsourcing websites like Fiveer, Guru, or Upwork.

Explore local universities or colleges. Post a job or internship.

The bottom line: Just keep moving forward.

Just Get in the Game

In conclusion, put up a good fight against “I Hate Change”.

Especially when it comes to embracing new technology such as eCommerce.

Do everything possible to avoid finding yourself in the eCommerce Graveyard.

Get off the sidelines and Just Get in the Game.

Once you find yourself on the field, then the fun begins.

Take advantage of every resource available to put you and your company on the winning side.

Together we can conquer the dreaded disease of “I Hate Change”.

Let’s make “I Hate Change” a thing of the past so we look back with a good laugh.

So what steps do you and your team take to fight “I Hate Change”?

For additional info, check out these helpful articles:

March 16, 2025/by Curt Anderson

Market Your Manufacturing Facility Like a Five Star Resort

B2BTail.com

Market Your Manufacturing Facility Like a Five Star Resort.

Well, that’s certainly an interesting concept.

Many manufacturers found themselves in manufacturing due to the fact that their passion for creating and producing incredible products led them down this path.

The machinery, equipment, the burning desire to solve problems.

However, plenty of manufacturers did not enter manufacturing based on their savvy marketing expertise.

Especially when it comes to eCommerce and digital marketing.

Well, times have drastically changed.

Check out this interesting story.

Your website was SO bad, I almost did not come to visit

I had a client. An absolutely outstanding company. They employed well over 100 employees.

Manufactured massive welding products. In particular, for military and transportation projects. Their projects typically land in the six to seven-figure range.

However, they completely ignored their website. It just was not a priority. They were running at full capacity. Therefore marketing took a back seat.

They just felt in their industry, the website basically served as a business card and really did not matter. Until it did matter. A lot!

They had a potential customer from the midwest that stumbled on their website.

The potential customer contacted them. After long discussions, the customer was impressed enough to jump on a plane and make a site visit.

As you well know, discovering a solid new vendor is just critical to your success as finding new customers.

So this particular customer, he was extremely excited to connect.

During the site visit, this potential customer was “WOWED” with what he saw on the tour.

As a result, the potential customer eventually became a paying customer. Another major contract landed.

However, upon the site visit, the customer shared with my client, “I almost did NOT visit your facility because your website was SO bad”.

A disaster avoided.

Therefore, that is how this manufacturer became my client.

New Sense of Urgency

A new sense of urgency developed with the thought of missing out on a six-figure customer simply due to the fact of owning a horrible website.

The thought hit them like a ton of bricks. What if that new customer never picked up the phone?

Ignoring your website which serves as the face of your business is certainly dangerous.

Can you imagine a single person missing out on their soulmate due to a lousy profile on a dating site?

A bad photo. Poor description. No passion.

In the same regard, missing out on a six figure contract due to a poor web presence definitely hurts. An Epic Fail of major proportions! Ouch!!

Though this particular client avoided disaster (this time), how many other potential customers simply never reached out?

Taking the time and spending the money necessary to maintain a healthy website is crucial.

No excuses.

Bring Your Manufacturing Facility TO the Customer

Business success relies on pleasing the customer.

Dedicating yourself to making your customer’s life easier, better and more efficient certainly creates a winning formula.

Considering the fact that trade shows are incredibly expensive and travel budgets are tight.

In addition, face to face visits or site tours are commonly not viable options.

Therefore, to build a healthy competitive advantage or even just to be in the game, your website needs to be an absolute top priority.

You need to BRING your manufacturing facility TO the customer.

In other words, make that incredible first Webpression.

So a question to ponder: what is your business?

In other words, what is the actual service that you provide?

Let’s think about this for an analogy.

You are a hotel. A five-star resort.

Wait, what?

Stay with me on this one.

Manufacturing Facility = Five Star Resort

Yes, consider your manufacturing facility as a five-star resort and that you need to market yourself as such.

At least we need to move in that direction anyway.

So, what actually occurs when you stay at a hotel?

The hotel has accumulated an arsenal of amenities that you “rent” during your stay.

You are basically renting a home for the evening or a short period of time.

Would you consider going on vacation without doing some due diligence?

It is hard to imagine staying at a hotel or resort without at least looking at the website.

Checking the amenities such as the:

Beds
Bathroom
Pool
Restaurants
Fitness center
A room with a view (beach, mountains, city landscape)
Sights in the surrounding area
Activities for the kids
Wi-Fi access
Parking availability

Provide a Magical Experience

Digital marketing and eCommerce play a critical role in the travel industry.

Especially with hotels and vacation resorts.

Therefore, a hotel or five-star resort works extensively to bring their property to you on your computer or phone.

It is certainly in their best interest to show you every amenity and benefit of their facility.

Showcasing all assets that they possess ensuring that you will thoroughly cherish and enjoy your stay.

If you are traveling for pleasure, what are you truly buying? An experience. Better yet, hopefully, an amazing experience and a trip full of lifetime memories.

For example, a child traveling with Mom and Dad on a magical trip to Disney or the ocean for the first time.

Spring break with college friends. Otherwise, a romantic honeymoon consummating a marriage and beginning a life together. Taking your family to a new city or an exciting adventure.

The hotel or resort are both just physical assets.

Yet, what are they actually selling?

The resort provides much more than just a roof over your head for an evening or short period of time.

Comfort. Restoration. A relaxing getaway. An escape. A bond with your family or travel mates that you will cherish for a lifetime.

Well, your potential customers are doing the exact same thing.

They go to your website to check out your “amenities” to determine if you are a worthy business to depend on and trust.

Your Customer is “Renting” You & Your Manufacturing Facility

So as a custom manufacturer, what does this have to do with you?

What is your customer doing?

A customer is basically coming to your facility to “rent” your manufacturing facility and everything that comes with it such as your knowledge, expertise as well as your years of experience.

Your amenities include:

Machinery
Equipment
Engineering
Tools
Testimonials
Customer Success Story
Meet the Team
Knowledge
Experience
Expertise
Access to vendors and raw material

Just like the five-star resort, take full advantage of your website by showing off all of your amenities and capabilities.

Brag a little here. Display your strengths and greatest assets.

Take the opportunity to reveal why you are the best at what you do.

Let the customer take a tour of your facility and operations while they are comfortably on their computer or phone.

Make it as easy as possible for a potential customer to make a buying decision.

Treat your website as if it is a booth at a massive trade show.

You need to make an incredible first impression (or as we like to call it, Webpression).

The more pleasant and comfortable the stay, the more satisfied the customer.

Demonstrate your experience and expertise. Share all of the strengths and assets that your company possesses. Tell the new prospect about your amazing staff.

Stop being the best kept secret.

You ARE the soulmate that your customer is seeking.

My Manufacturing Facility as a Five Star Resort? Seriously?

So you are in a 100 year old factory building asking how do I market like a five star resort?

If you are located in Milwaukee and just received a sales lead from Seattle, what do you do?

Think about the vacation example.

Why do we take so many pictures and videos on vacation?

When you get home and tell someone about the trip, the other person will use their imagination based on your words and description.

However, showing pictures and videos drastically reduces the reliance on the other person’s imagination. A picture and especially a video makes you feel like you were there.

The same works here for your manufacturing facility.

Bring your amazing business to the customer.

What if you could walk the prospect in Seattle through your manufacturing facility with a video tour?

For example, do quick intros on key staff.

Show photos and videos of machinery and equipment in action.

This removes the imagination. A priceless opportunity to show your competitive advantages, company resources s well as why you are the best fit and most equipped to tackle this project.

You might be asking, “wait I’m in a dirty old warehouse. There is nothing sexy or exciting about my facility, equipment or machinery. We definitely not a five-star resort!”

Well, to the buyer, your “dirty old warehouse” might just be the dream vacation they are seeking.

Let’s explore further.

Selling a Trip of a Lifetime

So what do you offer? Do you cut steel? Bend metal?

Custom design products for others? Are you part of the process of someone else’s proprietary product?

More importantly, you sell and deliver valuable solutions that help increase your customer’s profitability.

A customer watching one of your machines in action could be a beautiful sight. Music to their ears.

You might possess just what the doctor ordered. The right equipment. The necessary tools and resources.

Your team might provide the necessary experience and expertise that this new customer lacks.

For example, let’s say you show a video on your website showing one of your machines running.

That video might seem like a minor move on your part but could represent major dollar signs for a new customer.

Especially if this new customer envisions you filling a critical order for them.

Better yet, they may view the video as you printing money for them. Pouring out profits.

Now you just demonstrated that you provide five star service!

Just remember, you’re selling a trip of a lifetime.

Wrapping It Up

Thanks for reading this post.

Hopefully, you found this post helpful.

Also, check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:

March 16, 2025/by Curt Anderson

Hey Manufacturers, Being the “Best Kept Secret” is No Longer an Option

B2BTail.com

“We prided ourselves as being the “Best Kept Secret” for decades. However, the internet changed everything. Now what?”

Unfortunately, I kept hearing this comment over and over from manufacturers. Especially from custom manufacturers.

Many manufacturers actually wore the “Best Kept Secret” status as a badge of honor.

However, what do you do when being the “Best Kept Secret” is no longer working?

Well, an incredible cure for “Best Kept Secret” status, “Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies.”

The goal here is to produce ideas, tips, and suggestions for you to expand and grow your manufacturing business.

Amazing opportunities lie ahead. For example, a powerful strategy for you to gain a competitive edge: Scale Your Proprietary Process with eCommerce.

So, when is it the best time to stop being the “Best Kept Secret”?

Probably right now!

So, let’s begin your eCommerce journey.

When the Party Started

First, think back for a moment to when you launched your business.

Possibly you worked for someone else and felt you had a better method that was more effective and efficient.

Therefore, the burning desire for entrepreneurship simply blazed much greater as opposed to continuing to work for someone else.

As a result, you jumped in with both feet and took a shot. Your best shot.

Your relentless entrepreneurial drive helped build the amazing business you own today.

As a custom manufacturer, you produce amazing products as well as provide incredibly valuable services to your customers.

By manufacturing certain parts and components, you pull a particular proprietary process off of your customer’s plate.

You simply perform this task much better than your customer can as well as anyone else for that matter.

Customers value the tremendous benefits received by partnering with you. In particular, the OEM.

You worked tirelessly to build expertise in this area.

Something that just doesn’t make sense for the OEM to do themselves.

Especially since you have perfected your craft.

You purchased the necessary machinery, tools, and equipment. Developed an experienced and educated team.

However, the problem is outside of your current customers, you still exist as the “Best Kept Secret”.

Witness Protection Program

Unless you are in the witness protection program, keeping a low profile due to a jilted lover or hiding some other skeletons in your closet, continuing on as the “Best Kept Secret” is no longer a healthy business strategy.

Sadly, this problem is too common.

Yet, for many manufacturers being the “Best Kept Secret” served them extremely well for many years.

Consequently, dealing with just a handful of select customers certainly offers many benefits.

For example, manufacturers typically do not deal with a wide range of customers in the same manner as a retailer or restaurant. Therefore, dozens of emails don’t flood the inbox as well as phones are not ringing off the hook.

In addition, handling fewer customers helps avoid all of the drama and high maintenance that goes along with handling the needs and demands of hundreds or even thousands of consumers.

However, if you lose a single customer in retail or at a restaurant, it most likely represents only a tiny percentage of your business.

On the other hand, with manufacturing, losing one customer can speak for a significant loss of sales.

As a custom manufacturer, you serve as an extension of your customer. In some ways, you almost play the role of a business partner.

Unfortunately, for many custom manufacturers, a single customer can represent 50-60% of sales. Scary.

That is just the nature of the beast.

When you are so busy and consumed with that one large customer or even just a handful, it can be challenging to think about aggressively marketing your business.

However, there must be a better way.

Longing for Olden Days

I cannot tell you how many times I heard a small manufacturer say the internet doesn’t impact our company.

“We are ‘old school’. Our industry is primarily word of mouth.”

Well, we all now know that is not the case anymore.

Exploring growth invites many new challenges. Especially since marketing, including eCommerce and digital marketing, is not a top priory for many manufacturers.

They are widget experts who know their product better than anyone. Inside and out.

Unfortunately, they just struggle with how to market themselves in the digital age.

Yet, the tradesperson says, “I am a widget expert, not a digital marketer.”

This is the case for millions of tradespeople including plumbers, contractors, electricians, etc.

Even individuals in the financial sector such as stockbrokers, financial advisors, and insurance salespeople.

In the “olden days” (as my daughter likes to refer to yesteryear) a business owner took out an ad in the phone book, sponsored a local Little League team, bought a placemat ad at a restaurant and they were all set.

It was an extremely passive approach.

Once you took out the ad, you could sit back and hope the phone would ring.

Of course, a deep commitment to customer satisfaction is the most powerful means of advertising.

Word of mouth keeps customers coming back and cash flowing.

This formula for success worked for years.

Well, from a marketing standpoint, the world has changed. Dramatically.

The old passive approach is risky. Also, it is tough to just survive just on word of mouth.

The same goes for manufacturers.

However, they continue with frustration that the phone doesn’t ring anymore.

URGH!! CAN’T I JUST GO BACK TO TAKING OUT A PHONE BOOK AD ONCE A YEAR?! (Every millennial just asked, “what is a phone book?”).

Digital marketing now rules more than ever before.

However, many manufacturers say “I would gladly pay someone to help but have no idea where to even start. How can I get my website ranked on Google? By the way, what on earth is SEO?”

Cure for the “Best Kept Secret”

As a result, if you are not relentlessly connecting online, then you risk continuing on as the “Best Kept Secret”.

Not only do you wish to discover new customers, just think of potential customers who need you just as badly.

For example, they have a problem that needs solving.

A particular problem that you possess superior expertise in.

Yet, your paths never cross. They cannot find you since you are the “Best Kept Secret”.

To make matters worse, they find themselves with a bad supplier who offers high prices as well as misses deadlines and keeps stumbling in an area that you thrive.

The fix?

Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies helps exploit opportunities within your area of expertise as well as offers a cure for being the “Best Kept Secret”.

Manufacturers that embrace eCommerce open themselves to incredible opportunities.

To get started on your eCommerce journey, click these helpful links below:

March 16, 2025/by Curt Anderson

Blogging Reduces that “Social Distance” Between You and Your Customers

B2BTail.com

Randy McNeely, who owns the title “Kindness Champion” and also serves as the executive producer of “The Kindness Hunters” TV Show recently shared this thought, “I prefer not to use the phrase ‘social distance’. As social creatures, we are ‘physically distancing’, not ‘social distancing’ thanks to the fact that we live in a digital world.”

Wow! What else would you expect from someone with the title “Kindness Champion”?

This came across as an incredibly positive and “half-full” outlook as we all strive to gain a new normal through these extremely troublesome times. Especially since at one point, business seemed to be changing not only by the day but literally by the hour.

While enduring these current challenges as well as “physical distancing”, maintaining an active level of digital communication brings numerous benefits to you and your team.

Thankfully many options exist for maintaining healthy communication with business and social connections.

As a matter of fact, this is a fantastic opportunity to tackle a new venture for you and your business.

That new venture: Blogging.

Blogging Reduces “Social Distance”

Blogging creates an opportunity to share with your staff, customers, vendors, and even your community on how things are going for you and your business.

With a new sense of urgency for virtual and digital engagement, creating a solid blog strategy helps thrust you ahead of the game.

Blog posts can be short and sweet and right to the point.

On the other hand, take advantage of this time to dive into details on steps that your company uses to battle current challenges. Other business owners might find your strategies and tactics extremely valuable.

Plus, a blog also offers the opportunity to basically journal your experiences during COVID-19. Years from now you can look back and think to yourself, “how on earth did I survive that global crisis?”

Blogging can be the voice of your younger self sending messages to your older and wiser self.

The bottom line, blogging offers tremendous value to you, your company as well as your customers.

Once our world returns to health and no longer finds it necessary to “social distance”, you will cherish the fact that you started blogging as a content strategy for your business.

Therefore, let’s dive into potential blog topics to help you get started.

Blogging for Small Business Owners and Manufacturers

Blogging plays a critical role with any B2B marketing strategy.

One major challenge though: Where to start? Creating blog topics that readers find helpful and educational certainly is not an easy task.

Additionally, many small business owners question the value of blogging for their company.

Especially for small business owners and manufacturers.

Common questions asked during discussions with small business owners and manufacturers who are considering blogging:

Who has time to actually blog?
In particular, as a manufacturer or small business owner, what the heck do you blog about anyway?
Does a business truly benefit from blogging?
More importantly will blogging connect with new customers?
Lastly, will blogging actually generate sales?

Truth be told, blogging delivers powerful results for many reasons including the following:

Tremendous SEO Value
Customer engagement
Educate customers
Inform potential prospects on your company, products, and services
Convert content from blogs into social media posts
Share community activities and events
Offer case studies, success stories, white papers, and resource guides

Where to Start?

Actually there are tons of blog topics to consider for your customers.

Yet, taking the time and energy to actually sit at a computer and type these thoughts out sounds overwhelming. Daunting. Seems like a waste of time.

I get it. You are BUSY! Constant fires to put out. You have a steady list of issues that need addressing.

Stopping to type out a blog post typically does not make the priority list for most small business owners.

Especially those who lack the experience in creating content. Let alone the desire.

A common response to blogging, “if I wanted to be a blogger, I would have gone to journalism school”.

However, the great thing about blogging, anyone with a computer, laptop, cellphone, or mobile device can now create a voice.

Stepping out of your comfort zone to put your thoughts out on the World Wide Web or the Internet of Things can be intimidating for many.

So, wondering where to start?

For example, find a topic that you are an expert in or where you share a deep passion. Then sit down and just start typing.

Still questioning what blog topics would create the most impact for your business?

The goal here is to help you achieve your goals.

Blog About What You Know Best

A consideration when determining blog topics, pretend your dream customer is standing in front of you (six feet away, of course).

What would you say? How would you describe your business? Can you paint a clear picture of how you can solve their problem?

Otherwise, another scenario, let’s pretend a customer is taking a tour of your facility (six feet apart as well).

During a tour, you will demonstrate why you are the BEST option to provide the solution that this particular customer is seeking? You will show off your amazing team, equipment, machinery, and resources. Well, that’s another potential blog post. Actually, an entire series of blog posts.

The internet makes everyone’s lives more efficient.

Especially since it is unrealistic to stand face to face with every prospect while maintaining a “social distance”

To turn it around, when you are the buyer seeking a new vendor, where do you turn?

In the past, you had to go to trade shows to find the best vendors.

However, conducting a Google search or connecting with new vendors on social media works so much more affordably and efficiently.

Blogging helps you make those valuable and profitable connections.

Blog Topics for Your Business

Finally, let’s dig into blog topics to launch your blogging journey:

How you started the company
Why you chose entrepreneurship
Explain the benefits of outsourcing the products and services that you offer
Information about your community
Start a blog series on your proprietary processes or products
Reviews on the equipment and tools that you use
Meet the Team: Profile your amazing employees
Case studies
Customer Service Questions – FAQ’s are excellent blog topics
Benefits of Made in USA
Recycling
Safety concerns in your industry
New equipment purchases
Updates or improvements on your website as well as progress with internet marketing
Engineers in your industry
Influencers in your industry
Customer testimonials
Historical figures in your industry
What is (Blank)? — describe the parts that go into your products
Explain how your products are made
Point out industries that use your products
Book Reviews
Videos, Videos, Videos – start creating How-To videos of your expertise as blog posts
Create Resource Guidebooks
Company announcements such as new hires, new efficiencies, new products

Bonus Round of Blog Topics During “Social Distance”

Heroes in your community
Steps you took to battle challenges due to COVID-19
Team wins
Supply chain solutions
Experience with PPP (Paycheck Protection Program)
Work from home tips
Managing a remote team
Essential businesses instituting “physical distancing” in the workplace
New digital marketing strategies
Zoom: the new gateway of communication for your business

FREE Blogging Resources

Lastly, below includes several outstanding free blogging resources to help you get started:

ProBlogger – Recommended Blogging Resources & Tools
Neil Patel – The Ultimate Guide to Writing Blog Posts That Rank in Google’s Top 10
Brian Dean – Blogger Outreach: The Definitive Guide (2019)
Hubspot – Free Blogging Resources

Wrapping It Up

Thank you for reading & we wish you tremendous success with your blogging journey!

For additional information, please check out these helpful posts below as you continue your eCommerce journey:

March 16, 2025/by Curt Anderson

“Manufacturer Direct” with eCommerce Delivers Huge Benefits

B2BTail.com

Another exciting benefit with Manufacturing eCommerce Strategies includes selling directly to the end-user. Yes indeed, “Manufacturer Direct!”

So, what crosses your mind when you hear “Manufacturer Direct”?

Huge savings by skipping the middle man. No additional costs, fees, or added margins.

Essentially, dealing directly with the folks who actually hand-crafted your product.

Both the manufacturer as well as the consumer greatly benefit from “Manufacturer Direct”.

Well, eCommerce certainly presents that exciting opportunity for a manufacturer to sell directly to the end-user.

Most importantly, eCommerce opens up this new avenue of revenue, effectively and efficiently.

Let’s further explore.

No Middle Man

The first and the most obvious benefit includes that all additional costs and add-ons are eliminated when selling direct.

Especially since no middle man in the picture keeps prices low.

As a result, think about all of the overhead costs and staff involved when a retailer makes a purchase from a manufacturer.

Purchasing agent
Receiving department
Warehousing staff
Utilities
Insurance
Inventory management system
Shelving
Picking the order
Packing the order
Shipping the order
Carrying a receivable
Accounting
Finally, the president of the company hoping to keep their membership to the local golf course

All of that additional overhead requires significant added margins to the end-user.

Skipping that step pays big dividends for you and your customer.

Increases Competitiveness with Low-Cost Imports

Going “Manufacturer Direct” provides a huge competitive advantage while keeping prices as low as possible.

For years, the reality of U.S. manufacturers competing with cheap imports kept becoming less and less realistic.

In many cases, raw material alone costs were higher than cheap imported finished goods. Even with all of the broker fees and transportation costs.

Unfortunately, this has been a long sad trend for U.S. manufacturers.

However, with new trends such as tariffs and foreign labor costs increasing, the playing field looks more attractive.

In addition, with imported products, multiple hands touch that product adding an additional cost each time.

Therefore, companies that struggle competitively with low-cost imports now potentially create a level playing field by selling “Manufacturer Direct”.

Shortens Supply Chain

Next, skipping the middle man also ties right into shortening the supply chain. Hot off the press. The product is produced and shipped right out to the person using the product.

The product isn’t on the ocean Freightliner in a container somewhere in the middle of the Pacific.

“Manufacturer Direct” invites the opportunity for the manufacturer to ship the product quickly and efficiently to the eagerly waiting customer.

With a renewed sense of urgency for domestic products, while also maintaining a healthier flow of goods, “Manufacturer Direct” shortens and strengthens the supply chain.

Market Research: Feedback for New Product Ideas

With “Manufacturer Direct’, the amazing opportunity to engage directly with the end-user also offers instant market research at your fingertips.

Communicating directly with those who use or consume your product delivers incredibly valuable information.

This plays a similar role and along the lines of a made-to-order restaurant.

If people keep ordering something, not on the menu, maybe it’s time to expand or add that item to the menu.

However, staying ahead of the customer plays a critical role in your success as well. The ability to predict or anticipate solutions to customer problems certainly provides a winning edge.

Henry Ford famously stated, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Yet, for those of us that do not possess the uncanny business acumen of Henry Ford, we need to communicate with customers. Frequently.

The key to success? Listen!

“Manufacturer Direct” offers the incredible opportunity to not only listen but also react.

Even welcome complaints. The saying, “Complain TO me, not ABOUT me”, pays huge dividends.

Honest feedback from those painful complaints helps you improve your products and services.

Strive to be the best!

Customers will guide you on a path to The Promised Land (shout out to Bruce Springsteen).

Flexibility

Customizing products also lends an enormous competitive advantage.

Especially when a customer can purchase customized products that fit their exact specifications.

Being the manufacturer creates an environment of flexibility to accommodate and respond quickly.

With the menu analogy, if a customer requests changes to their meal, how quickly can the kitchen react?

Hold the pickles and tomatoes? No problem.

Add onions and cucumbers which are already in stock? Absolutely.

Being agile and flexible separates you from the competition.

Providing added value to your products and services creates that unique customer service that they cannot find elsewhere.

Control Your Brand

Additionally, “Manufacturer Direct” with eCommerce allows you to control your brand.

Especially with fighting against cheap knock-offs for foreign competition.

Dealing “Manufacturer Direct” also helps build your authority and trust.

Authority and trust certainly play as constant buzzwords that every business speaker and consultant preach.

However, building trust just can not be overstated.

Building your business reputation with eCommerce takes time, energy, as well as intentional effort.

Wrapping It Up

Thank you for reading this post.

For additional information to help you on your eCommerce journey, please click links below:

March 16, 2025/by Curt Anderson

Tag Archive for: Marketing for Manufacturers

19 Tips for Curing “I Hate Change”

Just Keep Moving Forward

Curing “I Hate Change” with eCommerce

Just Get in the Game

Your website was SO bad, I almost did not come to visit

New Sense of Urgency

Bring Your Manufacturing Facility TO the Customer

Manufacturing Facility = Five Star Resort

Provide a Magical Experience

Your Customer is “Renting” You & Your Manufacturing Facility

My Manufacturing Facility as a Five Star Resort? Seriously?

Selling a Trip of a Lifetime

Wrapping It Up

When the Party Started

Witness Protection Program

Longing for Olden Days

Cure for the “Best Kept Secret”

Blogging Reduces “Social Distance”

Blogging for Small Business Owners and Manufacturers

Where to Start?

Blog About What You Know Best

Blog Topics for Your Business

Bonus Round of Blog Topics During “Social Distance”

FREE Blogging Resources

Wrapping It Up

No Middle Man

Increases Competitiveness with Low-Cost Imports

Shortens Supply Chain

Market Research: Feedback for New Product Ideas

Flexibility

Control Your Brand

Wrapping It Up

Follow B2Btail

Information

Resources