Manufacturers blog for business? You bet…
A manager at a first-class manufacturing company says blogging is powerful.
At every presentation I have done on blogging I get the question: “What about manufacturers? What could they possibly blog about? They can’t give away their R&D;, too much competition, etc., etc.” Some people–the big skeptics–actually are pretty aggressive with this question.
I am delighted one night when one of my highly respected sources about what’s worthwhile in the blogosphere (yes, that’s what diehard bloggers call it), Bagger, posts something about this guy who analyzes why the military teaches people to salute. I feel immediately compelled to check this out (the military mind has always been an endless source of interest–and confusion–to me).
So imagine my surprise and delight when I find this military reference is just one of a multitude of intelligent observations this blogger makes about responsibility, conducting business ethically, communicating with your supply chain, sharing observations about effective processes, and so on.
Joe Ely runs a blog about Lean Manufacturing. He kindly agreed to be interviewed for this review–and it took considerable time to distill his prolific thoughts into the hopefully useful and easy-to-use format I’ve developed for BIZblog reviews. Today, at last, you can hear from the horse’s mouth why a manufacturing guy would blog–and how he approaches it, and what results in he’s getting.
Because we spend a considerable amount of time and effort interviewing good candidates and constructing these reviews, we are introducing the idea of having you purchase this review (initial reviews were free). For a reasonable price of $7 here’s what you get:
At every presentation I have done on blogging I get the question: “What about manufacturers? What could they possibly blog about? They can’t give away their R&D;, too much competition, etc., etc.” Some people–the big skeptics–actually are pretty aggressive with this question.
I am delighted one night when one of my highly respected sources about what’s worthwhile in the blogosphere (yes, that’s what diehard bloggers call it), Bagger, posts something about this guy who analyzes why the military teaches people to salute. I feel immediately compelled to check this out (the military mind has always been an endless source of interest–and confusion–to me).
So imagine my surprise and delight when I find this military reference is just one of a multitude of intelligent observations this blogger makes about responsibility, conducting business ethically, communicating with your supply chain, sharing observations about effective processes, and so on.
Joe Ely runs a blog about Lean Manufacturing. He kindly agreed to be interviewed for this review–and it took considerable time to distill his prolific thoughts into the hopefully useful and easy-to-use format I’ve developed for BIZblog reviews. Today, at last, you can hear from the horse’s mouth why a manufacturing guy would blog–and how he approaches it, and what results in he’s getting.
Because we spend a considerable amount of time and effort interviewing good candidates and constructing these reviews, we are introducing the idea of having you purchase this review (initial reviews were free). For a reasonable price of $7 here’s what you get:
- insight into why a manufacturer would blog
- ideas about what a manufacturer would blog about
- an idea of the kind of results a manufacturer might get from blogging
- encouragement to take the plunge from a pro who’s doing it–and finds it a gratifying business tool.
We’re also giving you the option of disagreeing–if you don’t think you ought to have to pay to hear what Joe has to say, email us and tell us so.
Either way, listen to what Joe says. In case you don’t believe in this blog stuff, you’ll find that Joe really gets it–and has some intriguing thoughts to share.
P.S. On a personal note, it’s really pathetic to have to re-set the date and time on your blog entry because you can’t get to it before midnight…
Pay in–and reap the reward
Upon my having missed a few days…
If you’re a small business owner who gets very busy, you might find it tough to keep your blogging up. Once in a while, your readers won’t mind. But as one personal blogger said, once you’ve missed this many times, it gets easier to miss that many times, and pretty soon you’re out of the habit.
Don’t let that happen to you. Assuming your blog contains valuable information (most of the time) or at least interesting reading, once people have begun to recognize and trust you for it, many of them will come to rely on you. What a compliment! You owe it to your readers–who either already is your customers or are people you hope will become your customers–to deliver what you set them up to expect.
Even when it’s tough, find a way. Whether it’s a blog or a newsletter or other regular communication, keep it up. It’ll pay off–just like putting money in the bank.
If you’re a small business owner who gets very busy, you might find it tough to keep your blogging up. Once in a while, your readers won’t mind. But as one personal blogger said, once you’ve missed this many times, it gets easier to miss that many times, and pretty soon you’re out of the habit.
Don’t let that happen to you. Assuming your blog contains valuable information (most of the time) or at least interesting reading, once people have begun to recognize and trust you for it, many of them will come to rely on you. What a compliment! You owe it to your readers–who either already is your customers or are people you hope will become your customers–to deliver what you set them up to expect.
Even when it’s tough, find a way. Whether it’s a blog or a newsletter or other regular communication, keep it up. It’ll pay off–just like putting money in the bank.
