1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,900 Robert Plank: Marketer of the day. Episode 737. Industrial 2 00:00:03,900 --> 00:00:07,680 Strength marketing helps you brand, modernize and grow your 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,700 manufacturing, distribution or workforce recruiting business 4 00:00:11,700 --> 00:00:20,040 with James Soto. Hey everyone, and welcome back to the marketer 5 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:24,140 of the day podcast, we are here with James Soto industrial 6 00:00:24,140 --> 00:00:27,800 marketing pioneer. And James is the founder and CEO of 7 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,400 industrial which is one of North America's top B to B marketing 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,820 agencies. He brings 17 plus years of experience and 9 00:00:34,820 --> 00:00:39,020 perspective from working with iconic industrial brands, media 10 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,460 and trade organizations, to help them address the challenges they 11 00:00:42,460 --> 00:00:45,760 face in this new era of disruptive business models, 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,060 generational change, digital marketing, transformation and 13 00:00:49,060 --> 00:00:52,000 industry for prenell, so James, glad to be talking to you. 14 00:00:53,740 --> 00:00:55,240 James Soto: Hey, thanks for having me, Robert. 15 00:00:56,380 --> 00:00:58,300 Robert Plank: So just to make sure that we're talking about 16 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:00,720 the same thing, like we've mentioned in your bio, your 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,080 intro, about industrial marketing. And so, what the heck 18 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,540 does that mean? Just so that we all are talking about the same 19 00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:06,900 thing? 20 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,020 James Soto: Yeah, so, so industrial marketing, you know, 21 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:16,440 obviously there's, you know, business consumer and, you know, 22 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,160 CBG and business to business. But in industrial marketing 23 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:25,040 really, is different in really matter of interdependency and 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,120 scale. So essentially, if you think about the stakes of 25 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,900 building, you know, a very important, you know, product, 26 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:38,660 let's say iPhone, if you specify the wrong lens or circuit to run 27 00:01:38,660 --> 00:01:42,760 that thing, you have, you know, hundreds of millions of problems 28 00:01:43,180 --> 00:01:46,780 and so. So when we really look at any kind of amazing 29 00:01:46,780 --> 00:01:49,000 technology product, you know, that's really where 30 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,300 manufacturing and the, you know, industrial supply chain comes 31 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:56,200 in. And essentially we are helping industrials be better 32 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,660 marketers and sellers of their industrial products and 33 00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:01,320 services. And so when you look at the hundreds and hundreds of 34 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,780 parts that go into an iPhone. You know, that's a whole 35 00:02:03,780 --> 00:02:08,160 marketplace of suppliers and technologies and companies that 36 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,240 need to really be involved in what is critical, you know, 37 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,000 industrial design and innovation. So we're part of 38 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,960 that process that really brings together those industrial, you 39 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,640 know, buyers, brands, technologies, to really create 40 00:02:22,700 --> 00:02:26,120 some of the most amazing things that we use every day. And so 41 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,560 what makes it different is is really, ultimately, you know, 42 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:35,360 one interdependence on each other two. Typically, we're 43 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,040 dealing with not just like a buyer or buyer journey. We're 44 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,540 really dealing with the decision making unit. And so there's, 45 00:02:43,540 --> 00:02:45,580 they're looking at finance, they're looking at business 46 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:47,920 case, they're looking at technology and innovation. 47 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:50,800 They're looking at the ability to deliver, right? You have to 48 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,860 keep those, you know, production lines going. You don't want, all 49 00:02:53,860 --> 00:02:56,560 of a sudden not be able to deliver your iPhones. So 50 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,220 everything that goes into the that process, from design to 51 00:03:00,340 --> 00:03:03,300 ultimately getting it to the end user. You know, that's that's 52 00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:06,180 really what the industrial sector does, and then it's 53 00:03:06,180 --> 00:03:08,460 industrial marketers. That's what we're involved with. 54 00:03:09,420 --> 00:03:11,520 Robert Plank: So all those things that we take for granted, 55 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,240 with the 1000s of parts in an iPhone, if that one little lens 56 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,940 or that one little circuit board or that one little piece wasn't 57 00:03:17,940 --> 00:03:21,080 working, the whole thing would be bad. So it's important that 58 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,140 there's that quality control and that it's all working. And so 59 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,800 with these industrial companies, like, what's the starting point? 60 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,620 Where are they at? Because as someone who knows nothing about 61 00:03:30,620 --> 00:03:33,740 this, I imagine that maybe, maybe they don't market like 62 00:03:33,740 --> 00:03:37,040 they should, or maybe they don't have as much of a web presence 63 00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:41,620 or as like a forward facing as maybe you would imagine, like a 64 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:44,920 company does that has things to market, or maybe they're 65 00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:49,120 dependent on one client for a lot of their their sales. I 66 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,060 mean, am I on the right track or off the right track? Like, where 67 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:55,660 are these industrial companies at? They're all over the place. 68 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,560 James Soto: Yeah, I think when you look across the you know the 69 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,380 segment. So if you look at like just the manufacturing segment, 70 00:04:04,380 --> 00:04:08,400 you know, there's 258,000 manufacturers of all shapes and 71 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,300 sizes in North America. And you know of them, it's still, you 72 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:15,540 know, almost primarily small businesses, you know, and medium 73 00:04:15,540 --> 00:04:19,320 sized businesses make that up all but about 3800 of them have 74 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,400 more than 500 employees. So when you think about Apple, and you 75 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,820 think about, you know, Nissan, and you think about, you know, 76 00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:29,180 these Tesla and SpaceX, you know, those are the companies 77 00:04:29,180 --> 00:04:32,480 that have those employee counts. But it's, it's amazing to think 78 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:37,640 how few of them there are out there, and so, so for us, you 79 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,660 know, when we, when we look at the sector and where folks are, 80 00:04:41,260 --> 00:04:44,920 we really find that, you know, in the industrial sector, we're 81 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,480 still selling to humans. So we may be selling, getting our part 82 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:53,200 specified by an industrial design engineer. We may be 83 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,600 really making the business case for transformation of an 84 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,300 organization that really wants to go digital, and that could be 85 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:01,080 marketing transformation too, right? Marketing and Sales and 86 00:05:01,140 --> 00:05:04,260 digital marketing operations. You know, we may be looking at 87 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,800 someone who really needs to, you know, produce things better and 88 00:05:07,860 --> 00:05:11,340 their maintenance, repair and operations. So when we really 89 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:14,220 look at how the industry formed, it was a heck of a lot more 90 00:05:14,220 --> 00:05:18,120 directory focused, you know, connecting buyers with suppliers 91 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,140 and but as humans, we all use the same channels. We're on 92 00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:24,440 LinkedIn, we're in Facebook, we're on Instagram, where we are 93 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,740 still using YouTube, the primary channels and podcasting that 94 00:05:28,100 --> 00:05:32,540 everybody else uses. But for the most part, in the manufacturing 95 00:05:32,540 --> 00:05:35,840 sector, marketing is really missing, mismanaged or 96 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:41,080 misunderstood, and where that starts is really at a leadership 97 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,080 level, because the way they built their business was through 98 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,820 distribution or manufacturers reps or in house sales 99 00:05:48,820 --> 00:05:52,480 organizations, or because people would build things they, you 100 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,240 know, they would produce, or their catalog of widgets or 101 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,560 screws or gears or anything that goes into a product, or The 102 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:04,140 production of a product. And so companies really, you know, had 103 00:06:04,140 --> 00:06:07,860 to really transition and go through those phases, 104 00:06:07,860 --> 00:06:11,160 electrification of automation. And now, whereas we're looking 105 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,520 at, you know, the the really, the convergence of these 106 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,780 technologies and the promise of AI and automation, and, you 107 00:06:18,780 --> 00:06:22,160 know, companies are having to make their way of doing business 108 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,600 obsolete, and marketing plays a critical role and so. So what 109 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,660 we're finding in our sector is that manufacturers, yes, it's 110 00:06:29,660 --> 00:06:32,420 missing mismanagements Understood. As leaders start to 111 00:06:32,420 --> 00:06:35,360 kind of get the light bulb coming on, they have to realize, 112 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:40,600 Wow, we have to market because, you know, when it comes to our 113 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,380 product, if our brand isn't the first one that comes to mind, we 114 00:06:44,380 --> 00:06:47,200 have a brand problem when people are looking for something, 115 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,140 whether it's an end product for an industrial application, or 116 00:06:50,140 --> 00:06:52,000 something they're going to build, if you're not 117 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,620 discoverable right in search, that's important and and when 118 00:06:56,620 --> 00:06:58,840 people are really looking at entering that sales cycle and 119 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,340 how they really develop, which could Be a law, a long lead 120 00:07:02,340 --> 00:07:04,860 time. You know, they produce a car every three years, and, you 121 00:07:04,860 --> 00:07:09,420 know, the redesign cycle, the all new whatever right model 122 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:13,140 years. You know, those are the times where companies are really 123 00:07:13,140 --> 00:07:17,820 now at various phases of transformation and really 124 00:07:17,820 --> 00:07:19,980 reckoning with the role marketing plays in their 125 00:07:19,980 --> 00:07:23,300 business. And that's a big part of what we do. We really, you 126 00:07:23,300 --> 00:07:27,320 know, focus on helping them be a better marketer and seller of 127 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,080 their industrial products and services, and they're doing some 128 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,040 of the amazing stuff we do as marketers. Now, I actually 129 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,360 Robert, I kind of, I envy what you do, like you're a person 130 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,860 that understands and has that ability to have that agility, to 131 00:07:41,860 --> 00:07:45,700 find ways to all things digital, to make, you know, everything 132 00:07:45,700 --> 00:07:49,360 from direct the passive income sources. And what's really 133 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,260 exciting now is every one of these channels is opening up and 134 00:07:53,260 --> 00:07:56,740 manufactured. Everything that you do in some way is being 135 00:07:56,740 --> 00:07:59,980 considered or being done, whether it's early stage or, you 136 00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:03,540 know, being heavily adopted in an organization. So it's a fun 137 00:08:03,540 --> 00:08:07,320 time. And manufacturing is pretty amazing, because we're 138 00:08:07,500 --> 00:08:10,980 not just selling an iPhone, like, you know, the coolest 139 00:08:10,980 --> 00:08:13,800 campaign. We're figuring out how to sell the hundreds of things 140 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:19,980 that go into it and and that's the magic for us. And it's, you 141 00:08:19,980 --> 00:08:24,200 know, people say it's not sexy man, it's all business, and 142 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:25,580 that's really kind of cool about it. 143 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:28,880 Robert Plank: And so what? What I'm getting from your answer 144 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,660 here, like you said, that some of these businesses that are all 145 00:08:32,660 --> 00:08:36,380 over the place and they could really use some transformation, 146 00:08:36,380 --> 00:08:39,320 and if they don't, then they're at risk of just being replaced 147 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,740 by the next the next manufacturer, right? If 148 00:08:41,740 --> 00:08:44,080 someone's a little bit cheaper, or someone does something 149 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,640 similar that, like, what, what has brought them here might not 150 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,880 continue to bring them forward. And as you were kind of 151 00:08:51,940 --> 00:08:54,400 explaining some of those things that you were explaining, what 152 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,480 came to mind for me was that sometimes it helps to look at 153 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,080 other industries, or look at other businesses that maybe have 154 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,680 no relation to us, and say, oh, yeah, I should begin to market 155 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,100 on LinkedIn. I should populate the YouTube channel. I should do 156 00:09:08,100 --> 00:09:11,100 some of these, these, uh, these podcast interviews, just things 157 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:14,640 that maybe, maybe your own competitors, or that people in 158 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,700 your own bubble or your own industry don't do. But then you 159 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:20,900 can, like, look at what's working with someone else and 160 00:09:20,900 --> 00:09:24,140 and model that, and notice that, sort of along those lines of, 161 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:27,080 of, like marketing these manufacturing businesses, you 162 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,260 have this thing called Manufacturing Day, which you say 163 00:09:30,260 --> 00:09:34,580 is the largest industrial sector promotion in US history. So what 164 00:09:34,580 --> 00:09:37,040 the heck is Manufacturing Day? And why should all these, these 165 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,260 industrial companies be excited about it? 166 00:09:40,940 --> 00:09:47,200 James Soto: Yeah, yeah, so, so, um, so, yeah, I so about 12% of 167 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:54,220 our economy is made up. Is comes from manufacturing and and, you 168 00:09:54,220 --> 00:09:57,100 know, if you really think back, you know, you know, 100 and plus 169 00:09:57,100 --> 00:10:01,320 years ago, you know, our our economy. You know, coming into 170 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:06,360 the Industrial Revolution was 97% agricultural. And you know 171 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,900 what happened was the industrial revolution happened changed a 172 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:16,320 lot about what we do, and as we've moved over to these days, 173 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,200 you know, the folks that adopted the principles of the Industrial 174 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,680 Revolution, they industrialized the farm, and now the farm 175 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:25,640 became 3% of, you know, the economy. Not everybody, you 176 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,640 know, not everybody was wanting to be a farmer anymore. You 177 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,160 know, the Homestead Act failed. And the urbanization movement, 178 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,860 due to industrial invest, you know, the industrial revolution 179 00:10:33,860 --> 00:10:38,360 came in. So they came back, you know, into the urban centers, 180 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,820 because there was, it wasn't dependent on weather, right? You 181 00:10:40,820 --> 00:10:44,200 can work all year round. It created the middle class, and 182 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,620 so, so that was a big, big moment in time. And, you know, 183 00:10:47,620 --> 00:10:50,860 so now sudden, when you look at the industrial age now going 184 00:10:50,860 --> 00:10:53,560 from, you know, being the biggest part of, you know, the 185 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:55,900 American, North American economy, now it's, you know, 186 00:10:55,900 --> 00:10:59,980 essentially 11, 12% you know, you can see, what are those 187 00:10:59,980 --> 00:11:04,980 forces that impacted that happening, and that was, you 188 00:11:04,980 --> 00:11:08,460 know, computer technology, automation, and so many other 189 00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:14,280 forces. So if you adopt those things, you know, and bring them 190 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,160 into the new way, that's how you move forward, whether you're a 191 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,800 farmer, industrializing a farm, or whether you're an industrial 192 00:11:20,340 --> 00:11:23,900 really, ultimately, making your way of doing business obsolete 193 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:27,200 before generational technology market forces or the competition 194 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,860 does. So what's our problem? The Industrial Revolution brought 195 00:11:30,860 --> 00:11:34,640 some baggage with it, and it brought the perception that 196 00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:38,120 manufacturing was dirty, it was kind of boring, it was 197 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,160 repetitive work, and yes, that's part of it, but, but that's 198 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,340 changed incredibly. It's, it's kind of, you can go sit in the 199 00:11:45,340 --> 00:11:49,480 cubicle.com company, or, like, you can make Teslas or rockets 200 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,540 that go to Mars, you know, like, there's, there's some cool 201 00:11:52,540 --> 00:11:57,040 stuff. So Manufacturing Day was a combination of organizations, 202 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,680 the National Association of manufacturing, the fabricators 203 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:02,400 and Manufacturers Association, the think tank and the 204 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,580 government coming out of Department of Commerce, NIST, 205 00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:08,880 National Institute, standards and technology, and they're 206 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:11,880 addressing this kind of generational, kind of Crossroads 207 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,180 we're at. And so Manufacturing Day was formed because there was 208 00:12:15,180 --> 00:12:17,520 already some grass movements, things happening in about 2012 209 00:12:19,020 --> 00:12:22,040 where they were starting to do like, you know, like this state 210 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,980 or this city or this area was doing like, a manufacturing week 211 00:12:24,980 --> 00:12:28,100 or a manufacturing month or a Manufacturing Day, and they 212 00:12:28,100 --> 00:12:31,700 realized, like, what if we can bring the industry together and 213 00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:35,060 really center it around a definitive, like, actual day? 214 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,480 And so these organizations got together, they did a 215 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,740 Manufacturing Day event, and it was all focused on our youth 216 00:12:42,460 --> 00:12:46,840 because parents counselors were actually saying, Hey, we didn't 217 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,720 raise you to go to a technical college. We raised you to go to 218 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,480 college or a technical school. We raised you to go to college. 219 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,140 And what? What people don't realize is manufacturing folks 220 00:12:56,140 --> 00:12:59,440 make, on average, they're approaching $70,000 a year. It's 221 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,300 one of the most stable jobs out there. And, you know, versus 222 00:13:03,300 --> 00:13:07,020 retail paying nothing, it's not a bridge to the middle class, 223 00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:12,060 manufacturing is paying over 20, what like 23 to $26 an hour. So, 224 00:13:12,060 --> 00:13:14,940 so when you really think about it, we had a lot to do to change 225 00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:17,700 perceptions of manufacturing and manufacturing, you know, 226 00:13:17,700 --> 00:13:21,420 careers. And essentially what happened was we saw them. I saw 227 00:13:21,420 --> 00:13:24,260 them come together, and I was looking at the Manufacturing Day 228 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,500 this year, this in, you know, 2012 was like, Oh, that's really 229 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:29,540 cool. Like, wow. Those organizations, they're the big 230 00:13:29,540 --> 00:13:32,720 ones. They got together. I said, Wow. Like, and it was just, 231 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,600 like, kind of a quick landing page they put up. And it was, 232 00:13:36,020 --> 00:13:39,020 and I'm like, Whoa, these folks are getting together. I 233 00:13:39,020 --> 00:13:41,980 literally called the fabric the FMA that was leading it at the 234 00:13:41,980 --> 00:13:45,460 time. And I said, You know what? This could be a movement. This 235 00:13:45,460 --> 00:13:49,060 is something that we would love to see if we could support, 236 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,520 because if you're looking to reach the next generation, you 237 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,280 got to meet them where they're at. And so what we did is it 238 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,400 didn't have a brand, didn't have a logo, didn't have, you know, 239 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,780 communications Foundation, didn't have positioning, didn't 240 00:14:00,780 --> 00:14:04,500 have playbooks for people to follow, because the goal was to 241 00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:09,240 get manufacturers to open their doors so that, you know, 242 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,200 organizers like schools and colleges and technical programs 243 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,220 and communities and, you know, and legislatures could actually 244 00:14:17,220 --> 00:14:20,360 promote and get people to organize events touring these 245 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,360 manufacturers that were doing open houses. So that's how it 246 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:28,700 happened, and we built the brand. I went to DC, all these 247 00:14:28,700 --> 00:14:32,000 folks at one of the Department of Commerce's facilities, and 248 00:14:32,180 --> 00:14:34,520 they're all kind of like saying, how do we do this? We want to 249 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,400 own this thing. And we're like, we need to create a movement. 250 00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:41,260 And so what was it? How it's made? You know, Discovery 251 00:14:41,260 --> 00:14:46,900 network came on board 80 million viewers. We had, you know, we 252 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:50,920 went to, I believe it was 800 events the first year, and now 253 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:55,000 it's up to about 3000 you know, 10s of millions of people 254 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,760 watching it. Trending on Twitter. So much content 255 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,560 created, and now it's considered at. Holiday, and we don't made 256 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,920 the biggest pro bono donation still to this day in the history 257 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,460 of the company, and we've been doing it for years, because this 258 00:15:08,460 --> 00:15:12,240 is kind of what we're all about. It's part of our you know, our 259 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,060 purpose is to better those who design, make and move the world. 260 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,500 And we really believe that our body of work, you know, changing 261 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:22,220 perceptions and moving the needle on manufacturing is what 262 00:15:22,220 --> 00:15:24,440 it's all about. And fast forward, our study showed 263 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,460 Deloitte came in, did studies and students coming in left 264 00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:31,160 differently at different perceptions. And I think if you 265 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,620 look at some of those coolest companies that are out there, 266 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,920 you know they're they're actually, they're technology 267 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,380 companies. And manufacturers have always been technology 268 00:15:39,380 --> 00:15:43,060 companies, and so we just need to make people help them 269 00:15:43,060 --> 00:15:49,780 understand that this hope podcast or zoom, it's all 270 00:15:49,780 --> 00:15:52,960 because of the Industrial Revolution. It's all because of 271 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,600 manufacturing. Take take all these manufactured products 272 00:15:55,600 --> 00:16:02,220 away, and the technology goes away. And so we want to make 273 00:16:02,220 --> 00:16:07,200 sure people know that and you so it's the first Friday of every 274 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:12,240 October. Is Manufacturing Day. MFG. MFG day.com. And you should 275 00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:14,940 absolutely attend the event, whether it's looking at robotics 276 00:16:14,940 --> 00:16:17,760 and whether it's looking at automation or companies that are 277 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:22,400 leveraging software and AI, it's all part of it. It's really kind 278 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:27,620 of cool, and it's totally fun work, and it's great to see kids 279 00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:28,820 minds being blown. 280 00:16:31,460 --> 00:16:33,200 Robert Plank: And I mean, I mean, you giving that answer 281 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,500 makes me think about how, how important it is to number one, 282 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,920 like raise that awareness of whatever it is that we're doing, 283 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,780 and to do our best to to make anything fun right, to make the 284 00:16:43,780 --> 00:16:47,080 things that we'd normally think of as kind of boring typical 285 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,080 every day, and find a way to differentiate it. Find a way to 286 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,100 explain to people how it's how it's changing the world, how 287 00:16:54,100 --> 00:16:56,980 it's keeping the world running, how it's different. Like you 288 00:16:56,980 --> 00:17:00,600 said, there's that aspect of it's it's a better path to 289 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,480 middle class and some of these things, how it's changed in 290 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:08,280 history. Anything that we do, we can make it exciting, if we find 291 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,820 the right hook or the right angle to get people interested, 292 00:17:11,820 --> 00:17:16,080 to show how it is being used. And you're totally right that 293 00:17:16,140 --> 00:17:19,200 right now we're recording this podcast on a Zoom meeting. But 294 00:17:19,380 --> 00:17:23,180 it's not like zoom has whole they don't build servers. They 295 00:17:23,180 --> 00:17:26,600 don't build computers. They run it off Amazon, right? Amazon has 296 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:31,160 their whole server farms, their AWS and all. A lot of these 297 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,780 companies do, like Netflix or like Airbnb or Uber, they don't 298 00:17:35,780 --> 00:17:39,560 own anything. They just plug into the infrastructure that's 299 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,720 already in place and, and like you said, there's the world is 300 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,600 changing with, you know, there's, there's factories out 301 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,600 there where they don't even have indoor lighting, because it's 302 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,840 all robot arms and conveyor belts. There are self driving 303 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,080 trucks. The world is going to change, whether we like it or 304 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,200 not. And, and it would make a lot of sense for a lot of these 305 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,640 industrial companies out there to maybe make the change before 306 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,400 they have to, before they get put out of business. So along 307 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,120 those lines, in these last few minutes of winding down it with 308 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:11,940 all these companies that you work with for Manufacturing Day 309 00:18:11,940 --> 00:18:14,940 and clients, you have people like that, do you see maybe one 310 00:18:14,940 --> 00:18:18,360 or two things that a lot of these industrial companies are 311 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,560 missing out on that they should be implementing right away. 312 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:28,100 James Soto: I think, I think what the industrial companies 313 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:32,660 really need to focus on, I think especially now, is being of 314 00:18:32,660 --> 00:18:39,500 service. And I think that you would think that that's just, 315 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,260 you know, that's a no duh thing to say. But I think we're in a 316 00:18:44,260 --> 00:18:49,240 moment in history where we have to really, you know, really look 317 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,220 through the eyes of of any individual we're trying to, you 318 00:18:54,220 --> 00:18:58,060 know, deliver value to. And if we don't have that empathy, we 319 00:18:58,060 --> 00:19:01,080 really, don't really ask those questions, what are they what 320 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,120 are they really dealing with? What are they up against? I 321 00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:07,740 think we're going to really struggle as marketers. And so I 322 00:19:07,740 --> 00:19:13,020 think the second thing the the industrial sector needs to do is 323 00:19:13,020 --> 00:19:17,220 really endeavor to continue to do inspiring work. It's not just 324 00:19:17,220 --> 00:19:21,920 trying to deliver value, but, you know, the amazing thing 325 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,820 about, you know, industrials and manufacturers in particular, is 326 00:19:25,820 --> 00:19:28,400 they actually design and make the stuff. This isn't some 327 00:19:28,580 --> 00:19:31,640 middle marketing person that knows nothing about it, like 328 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:35,240 they can be the end should be the best content marketers. So I 329 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:40,100 think they really need to do inspiring work, because they 330 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:43,660 bring all of the knowledge, the science, the thinking and the 331 00:19:43,660 --> 00:19:48,220 reason for being of things. And I think ultimately, if they do 332 00:19:48,220 --> 00:19:53,380 those things, you know, when technology evolves so much, it 333 00:19:53,380 --> 00:19:58,360 appears as if it's magic, right? Because how did you do that? Go 334 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,300 back. Take half our technologies. Go back. 100 335 00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:03,360 years. And I think we are entering now the age of 336 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:07,440 touchlessness. We are going to have to really be somewhat 337 00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:11,940 connected but separated from our technologies. And the world's 338 00:20:11,940 --> 00:20:15,360 going to be forcing upon us like 911 did not just a lot of 339 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:19,140 security, but a lot of distance and safety. And so I think we're 340 00:20:19,140 --> 00:20:21,360 going to be an era where hopefully we'll be a little bit 341 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:23,660 more disconnected to the technology. To the technology. 342 00:20:23,660 --> 00:20:25,760 And I think that's, that's what those two things are going to 343 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,160 bring. We're going to bring that value and bring that empathy, 344 00:20:28,220 --> 00:20:30,980 and we're going to bring that sense of the fact that we, we're 345 00:20:30,980 --> 00:20:33,320 the stuff that, you know, we're the folks that make this stuff, 346 00:20:33,620 --> 00:20:37,220 and we can make the future. And I think it's a very happy 347 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:43,960 future. I believe every challenge has its the silver 348 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,720 linings and all things. So we started our conversation with 349 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:54,280 that. And I'm excited about, you know, things getting better in 350 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,720 the world, but I'm also exciting about the things we're doing now 351 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,140 that we otherwise wouldn't know that will change the world 352 00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:01,680 better. 353 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,720 Robert Plank: Fantastic. I agree. And I mean, if it wasn't 354 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,300 for World War Two, you wouldn't have computers, right? Like we 355 00:21:09,300 --> 00:21:13,500 had like that. That bad thing forced us to make the like 356 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:16,440 those, those good actions that improve the world. And just the 357 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,680 other day, I was talking to someone about how how weird and 358 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:24,080 how magical it is that an iPad, a tablet, it doesn't really get 359 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,220 hot and doesn't have a fan. But then a computer, a laptop, if 360 00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:31,040 you need a fan to run it, and somehow, with the chips, they 361 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,120 made them run fast and made them be cool enough and and he was, I 362 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:37,580 was reading the other day about contact tracing, right? We're 363 00:21:37,580 --> 00:21:40,900 going through a pandemic right now, and there's all this, this 364 00:21:40,900 --> 00:21:44,380 technology that's being used to, as you say, keep us safe, keep 365 00:21:44,380 --> 00:21:48,460 us distant, to to make take those actions we need to take. 366 00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:51,580 But then there's also kind of the being careful about it and 367 00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:54,460 designing it in such a way that that's, there's still the 368 00:21:54,460 --> 00:21:57,220 privacy, and so, yeah, there's, there's a lot to think about, 369 00:21:57,220 --> 00:22:00,600 but we have the best minds on it, and it's not, as you said, 370 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,840 it's not just creating things for the sake of it. It's not 371 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:06,780 just making the computer that runs twice as fast. It's 372 00:22:06,780 --> 00:22:10,860 accomplished these really cool things. I mean, all these, these 373 00:22:10,860 --> 00:22:14,520 kids, I mean, your kids is included, who can't go to 374 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,580 school, right? And then they have distance learning to 375 00:22:17,580 --> 00:22:20,300 complete their education. I mean, it's not just about the 376 00:22:20,300 --> 00:22:23,540 things, but the things that you can accomplish with that, and 377 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,680 you've given us and these industrial companies a lot to 378 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,280 think about. So what's the next step here? If these people say, 379 00:22:31,340 --> 00:22:35,480 well, I need to contact James and his team, or I need to find 380 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,360 some more resources. What sorts of websites or what sorts of 381 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:41,560 places should they be going to get more information? Well, 382 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:41,800 there's 383 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,500 James Soto: a couple of things we could do that deliver value. 384 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:50,020 If there's any business really that cares about being a great 385 00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:53,560 marketer, a great seller, and being able to manage and measure 386 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,900 their business and understand where they're strong and where 387 00:22:55,900 --> 00:22:59,440 they're weak. We put together a marketing readiness assessment, 388 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,480 and we feel this is some of the it's like some questions or 40 389 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:09,600 questions and and you can find it, get marketing ready.com. And 390 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,860 why that is important is because most of the folks who take this 391 00:23:13,860 --> 00:23:17,400 Readiness Assessment fail. We feel it's our first job. You 392 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,340 know, when we're, you know, meeting someone to to hopefully 393 00:23:22,340 --> 00:23:26,600 have them to have some self awareness, and maybe in some 394 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,300 things, they can handle it on their own. But also, there's 395 00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:33,200 also some folks that can help them figure out that crapola and 396 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,380 so, so that's a good place to start. You know, for you as 397 00:23:36,380 --> 00:23:41,260 value, and it's a quick survey, it's fun to take. And by the 398 00:23:41,260 --> 00:23:44,980 way, if you take it, it's use it for good. It's not to really 399 00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:47,800 come down on sales or be a leader and say, Why are we not 400 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,800 here? Or someone in marketing saying, why are we not doing 401 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,500 that? It's say, let's have really good conversation. So 402 00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:56,680 you'll know it. You'll know what I mean when you take it, and 403 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,200 where you can find our companies in industrial strength 404 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,420 marketing.com and we're launching a podcast by the same 405 00:24:03,420 --> 00:24:09,240 name, you know, and that's, that's, that's a great place to 406 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,880 go learn about us, your insights. And I'm James, so you 407 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:15,540 can find me on LinkedIn as well. But if I could ever, you know, 408 00:24:15,540 --> 00:24:18,180 facilitate an introduction on LinkedIn or something like that, 409 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:22,580 happy to do that. So, yeah, like, just really concerned 410 00:24:22,580 --> 00:24:27,440 about folks and hopefully learn about, you know, what if 411 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,660 anything I could do to point them in the right direction? 412 00:24:29,900 --> 00:24:31,040 Think we're all trying to do that. 413 00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:35,120 Robert Plank: That is get marketing ready.com. So you can 414 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,780 go there and not just pick up some tips and trivia and facts 415 00:24:38,780 --> 00:24:41,620 and figures, but take that assessment, take the test, 416 00:24:41,620 --> 00:24:44,380 figure out where the pain is, figure out where you're going 417 00:24:44,380 --> 00:24:47,140 wrong. That way you can make some corrections, or that way 418 00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:50,140 you can maybe beef up some of the turn, some of those 419 00:24:50,140 --> 00:24:52,660 weaknesses in the strengths and and make things better for 420 00:24:52,660 --> 00:24:55,540 yourself and your company. And then industrial strength 421 00:24:55,540 --> 00:24:59,440 marketing.com. Is the place to find the website and that soon 422 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,700 to be part. Podcast, and kind of the thing that the comment that 423 00:25:02,700 --> 00:25:05,520 I'm getting from our conversation here, James, is 424 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,480 that it's really easy to think I'm different, right? It's 425 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,360 really easy to think that, well, I'm in some other industry, and 426 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:17,520 I don't need to focus on, like the online marketing, or on the 427 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:22,580 having a cause, or on anything, our network, anything like that, 428 00:25:22,580 --> 00:25:24,980 and it's easy to fall into that trap of just thinking that 429 00:25:24,980 --> 00:25:27,260 you're different. So then you don't have to market yourself 430 00:25:27,260 --> 00:25:30,080 like any other company. But if you, if you do that, it's to 431 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,260 your own detriment. So it would be in all of our best interests 432 00:25:33,260 --> 00:25:37,700 to to get out there, be proactive, and really push our 433 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:41,080 brands and make people aware of what we're doing, because the 434 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,780 right people are out there, right those those buyers or 435 00:25:43,780 --> 00:25:47,680 those future employees, or those people who are excited about a 436 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:52,000 career in whatever our specific industrial sector is. I mean, 437 00:25:52,060 --> 00:25:55,300 they're out there. And if we don't put our best foot forward, 438 00:25:55,300 --> 00:25:58,360 if we don't toot our own horn, then no one else will do that 439 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,060 for us. So the place to go is industrial strength, 440 00:26:01,060 --> 00:26:05,100 marketing.com, and then get marketingready.com. Is the place 441 00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:08,460 to get that assessment. Any final words here as we wrap up 442 00:26:08,460 --> 00:26:09,060 wind down, 443 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:17,400 James Soto: I think one just to thank you, Robert. I really, I 444 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,380 admire you going out there to really just investigate the 445 00:26:21,380 --> 00:26:25,940 industrial sector. And I think one of the things that we have 446 00:26:25,940 --> 00:26:29,720 to really do is, whether you're looking at, you know, as a 447 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,920 marketer, there's so many great things we can do. And I think 448 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,380 one of the things we have to go into is, like, you know, have, 449 00:26:36,380 --> 00:26:39,680 like, a mindset like, Spotify, like we were willing to enjoy 450 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,820 lots of different music. And so for me, what's attractive about 451 00:26:42,820 --> 00:26:46,720 what you do is that you know you have this sense of, how do you 452 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,260 really leverage ways to monetize great software products, great 453 00:26:50,260 --> 00:26:53,860 educational products, and be a kind of a marketer, to innovate, 454 00:26:53,860 --> 00:26:57,760 very agile and find revenue streams. That's what I think we 455 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,400 all need to do. We need to kind of listen to different tunes and 456 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:03,600 check out industrial marketing, check out different forms of B 457 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,880 to B. Check out, you know, an influencer and what they're 458 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:10,500 doing, because that is the way. And if you know, say, Hey, you 459 00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:13,020 suck. I don't like, you know, heavy metal music, or, man, 460 00:27:13,020 --> 00:27:16,260 you're an EDM, what's up with that? I'm just like, Yes, 461 00:27:16,260 --> 00:27:20,480 please. I love music, and I think we need to, we really need 462 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,500 to have that, that that that perspective. So I think, you 463 00:27:24,500 --> 00:27:27,800 know, definitely check out industrial marketing. It is 464 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:36,020 really, really amazing to to be able to really market something 465 00:27:36,020 --> 00:27:38,960 that has such a big impact and something you actually get to 466 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:45,280 see come to life that otherwise wasn't so, yeah, open your mind. 467 00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:50,740 Robert Plank: Thanks for listening to today's program, 468 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,880 start from the beginning or view past episodes at marketer of the 469 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,580 day.com/episodes, you.