I was recently visited by a local hotel chain that wants our business. They know we regularly have customers, sales reps and vendors visit from out of town and they want to be the hotel that gets most (if not all) of that business. However, we are lucky to be located directly on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida. Our area’s number one industry is tourism. So this hotel has a lot of competition. What can they do to set themselves apart from the competition and win our business?
The first and most obvious thing they can do is offer our customers an attractive rate. Which they certainly did. But they went a few steps further. They asked what our visitors need when traveling to the area. I explained that these visits are usually short. Our customers come to check out the packaging machinery we have built for them and they don’t necessarily want to rent a car as they only travel from the airport to the hotel, to our plant and back again. The hotel already offered free pick up and delivery service between the airport and hotel. As we are only minutes away from the hotel, they offered free shuttle service to and from our company for our visitors. This is a big amenity that will make our jobs easier as we no longer have to worry about arranging pickup and delivery for our visiting customers.
Next they asked what else would help make our job easier in arranging hotel stays for our visitors. I asked if they could make it easier for us to get the hotel information and special rates to our customers. They had a great solution. They will send us a link to forward to our customers. The link will take them directly to a special website that will explain about the hotel, list the rates, and allow them to make their reservations.
This 10 minute visit from the hotel manager will result in us referring our business to a local company that truly is willing to ‘partner’ with us and help make our jobs easier. What extra free service can you offer to make your customers' jobs easier?
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
How Do You Make Change Happen?
Our President recently found a memo outlining a program to completely re-organize our parts room. The memo was dated long before she came to the company and the program was never implemented. It was a good program, the parts room needed re-organizing to run more efficiently, yet all the plans and discussions had never resulted in action. I’m sure every company suffers from this dilemma. There are ideas and plans that are discussed over and over, but no action is ever taken.
Well our President knew how to make it happen, along with a long list of other items that were needed to help the department. It started by comprising a team of 4 members who were tasked with 1) Identifying the tasks/actions/changes that were needed to make the department run better (we were focusing on the Parts Dept), 2) Determining who/how and when these tasks could be done and 3) Adding a completion deadline to each item. The team was sent off site for an entire afternoon to prepare the list. We called it our ‘Continuing Improvement Plan’. Upon our return we met once a week to review the list and make sure that every item was being addressed in a timely manner. If issues/stumbling blocks came up, we discussed them and came up with another solution. It was exciting to cross off items as they were completed. And we all saw enormous progress.
The concept worked so well we will be using it to improve other departments in the company. Perhaps the most satisfying part of all was when we completed the parts room reorganization item. A program that was identified over 10 years previously, had finally come to fruition after a few months of effort and follow up.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Well our President knew how to make it happen, along with a long list of other items that were needed to help the department. It started by comprising a team of 4 members who were tasked with 1) Identifying the tasks/actions/changes that were needed to make the department run better (we were focusing on the Parts Dept), 2) Determining who/how and when these tasks could be done and 3) Adding a completion deadline to each item. The team was sent off site for an entire afternoon to prepare the list. We called it our ‘Continuing Improvement Plan’. Upon our return we met once a week to review the list and make sure that every item was being addressed in a timely manner. If issues/stumbling blocks came up, we discussed them and came up with another solution. It was exciting to cross off items as they were completed. And we all saw enormous progress.
The concept worked so well we will be using it to improve other departments in the company. Perhaps the most satisfying part of all was when we completed the parts room reorganization item. A program that was identified over 10 years previously, had finally come to fruition after a few months of effort and follow up.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Do Research – You May Find Something You Didn’t Know
We all get ‘blinders’ on after being in a business or industry for an extended period of time. We think we know what everyone is thinking and saying about us. But do we really? Try taking a short survey from some of your customers, vendors, and even new job applicants. Ask them to tell you what they know about your company. You may be surprised.
I recently asked every applicant applying for a job at our company if they knew what we did. The job they were applying for was not packaging industry specific and all but one applicant had never worked in packaging or a related field. Most applicants had ‘done their homework’ and looked us up on the internet to find out about the company before the first interview. (A practice I highly recommend to anyone before going on a job interview.) However, it was enlightening to me to discover that in some ways we were not getting the message across correctly.
Individuals in the packaging industry are always telling us they love our website, it has all the great information they need and is easy to navigate. But take someone from outside the industry and they are getting a different message. As opposed to making the machinery that unscrambles containers and puts the caps on them, several of the applicants thought we made containers and caps. Oops, wrong message. I know now that we need to correct that misconception and make sure the correct message is obvious.
My advice to all is not to take for granted your website it projecting the message you think it is, ask a stranger to see what they think.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
I recently asked every applicant applying for a job at our company if they knew what we did. The job they were applying for was not packaging industry specific and all but one applicant had never worked in packaging or a related field. Most applicants had ‘done their homework’ and looked us up on the internet to find out about the company before the first interview. (A practice I highly recommend to anyone before going on a job interview.) However, it was enlightening to me to discover that in some ways we were not getting the message across correctly.
Individuals in the packaging industry are always telling us they love our website, it has all the great information they need and is easy to navigate. But take someone from outside the industry and they are getting a different message. As opposed to making the machinery that unscrambles containers and puts the caps on them, several of the applicants thought we made containers and caps. Oops, wrong message. I know now that we need to correct that misconception and make sure the correct message is obvious.
My advice to all is not to take for granted your website it projecting the message you think it is, ask a stranger to see what they think.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, May 21, 2012
You Only Get Out What You Put In
The packaging industry is fortunate to have a world-class trade organization that is an invaluable resource to its members. PMMI (Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute) offers everything its members need to successfully compete in a world-wide marketplace. The organization offers domestic and international trade shows, market research, education, networking events, news, grants and funding information, legislation updates, programs, resources and much more. But the organization can only help its members if they use it.
PMMI offers a listing of sales reps seeking new lines to represent, education in the form of classes, webinars, papers and news release updates (on topics such as risk management, service technician training, sales training, etc.) they will perform short surveys of its members on requested topics to assist a company in benchmarking or setting guidelines, they have extensive research reports, set up matchmaking events, and just about anything a member could ask for from a superior trade organization.
Our company takes advantage of many of PMMI’s offerings. It makes my job much easier and allows our company to keep up with changes and trends within our industry in a streamlined manner. While the majority of members exhibit at the organization’s trade shows, many of them don’t fully utilize all the other valuable resources the organization has to offer. It only takes minutes to peruse PMMI’s website and review its offerings. I highly recommend it to any company in the packaging industry. Those few minutes can be a real eye-opener as to all you may be missing.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
PMMI offers a listing of sales reps seeking new lines to represent, education in the form of classes, webinars, papers and news release updates (on topics such as risk management, service technician training, sales training, etc.) they will perform short surveys of its members on requested topics to assist a company in benchmarking or setting guidelines, they have extensive research reports, set up matchmaking events, and just about anything a member could ask for from a superior trade organization.
Our company takes advantage of many of PMMI’s offerings. It makes my job much easier and allows our company to keep up with changes and trends within our industry in a streamlined manner. While the majority of members exhibit at the organization’s trade shows, many of them don’t fully utilize all the other valuable resources the organization has to offer. It only takes minutes to peruse PMMI’s website and review its offerings. I highly recommend it to any company in the packaging industry. Those few minutes can be a real eye-opener as to all you may be missing.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Pharmaceuticals - Are You Ready for Serialization?
The pharmaceutical industry is under siege. They are being threatened by a flood of counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are selling at an estimated rate of $205 billion a year worldwide. The cost of this black market cannot just be counted in dollars and cents. It is estimated that 2,000 people per day are dying as a result of taking counterfeit drugs. Many countries have already taken steps to stem the tide of these drugs.
In the US, California has already passed legislation that will require every prescription drug sold in the state to have a ‘pedigree’. The law has set firm deadlines for compliance that begins in 2015 and requires total compliance by all in 2017.
The US FDA is not far behind California. The FDA is currently working on legislation that will over-rule the California law (and any other state laws) regarding pedigree requirements. The basis for the FDA system will require a Track and Trace system in place at the point of manufacture.
Are you ready for serialization? For more information on this topic, New England Machinery, Inc. offers a free white paper entitled “The Why, What and How of Track and Trace”. Visit www.neminc.com to download a copy.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
In the US, California has already passed legislation that will require every prescription drug sold in the state to have a ‘pedigree’. The law has set firm deadlines for compliance that begins in 2015 and requires total compliance by all in 2017.
The US FDA is not far behind California. The FDA is currently working on legislation that will over-rule the California law (and any other state laws) regarding pedigree requirements. The basis for the FDA system will require a Track and Trace system in place at the point of manufacture.
Are you ready for serialization? For more information on this topic, New England Machinery, Inc. offers a free white paper entitled “The Why, What and How of Track and Trace”. Visit www.neminc.com to download a copy.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, May 14, 2012
I'm Back - Are You Ready For Change
Sorry for the long hiatus. I had been tied up on a special project for quite some time, but I am back full time doing what I love most – marketing. I don’t believe there is any better job than to be a marketer. Marketing allows one to be analytical and creative all in the same job. Plus, it is always evolving. Our super-sonic, cyber dominated world of information is a constant education. I completed a graduate degree over twelve years ago. At that time I felt comfortable that I knew all the latest marketing techniques. Had I then stopped taking courses and learning new things I would be woefully behind the rest of the marketing world.
The business world as we know it is evolving and we must be prepared to recognize the major trends as opposed to the time-limited ‘fads’. What new technologies will change our world and which ones will fizzle out? I remember standing in an appliance store listening to the salesman explain the two latest video tape players, the Beta versus the VHS. At that time both were being sold as the “new way to watch movies at home.” VHS won the home market battle, but later lost out to DVDs, which are now losing out to streaming videos. Who knew that our plastic 32 RPM and 45 RPM records would be replaced with 8-track tapes, which would be replaced by cassettes, which would be replaced by CDs, which are being replaced by direct downloads to various recording devices.
I recently contacted a few other marketing executives in the packaging industry and inquired about how they are using new social media forms in their marketing mix. They have all been in the industry for over 20 years. Without a single exception, they told me that they do not utilize any of the new social media. They do all have websites and send out e-mail marketing messages, but none of them ‘believe’ that social media will work for their company. For their sakes, I hope they are right.
I don’t believe that the packaging industry is so special or unique that change will not affect it. When I received my MBA in 1999 there was no such thing as blogging, videos going viral, YouTube, twitter, Facebook, QR Codes, Linked-In, podcasts, and a string of other new and exciting opportunities to promote business. While some of these may turn out to be ‘fads’ and/or not right for all companies, don’t become an 8-track by thinking all the new techniques are ‘not suited’ for your industry or business. Your competitors won’t be making that mistake.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
The business world as we know it is evolving and we must be prepared to recognize the major trends as opposed to the time-limited ‘fads’. What new technologies will change our world and which ones will fizzle out? I remember standing in an appliance store listening to the salesman explain the two latest video tape players, the Beta versus the VHS. At that time both were being sold as the “new way to watch movies at home.” VHS won the home market battle, but later lost out to DVDs, which are now losing out to streaming videos. Who knew that our plastic 32 RPM and 45 RPM records would be replaced with 8-track tapes, which would be replaced by cassettes, which would be replaced by CDs, which are being replaced by direct downloads to various recording devices.
I recently contacted a few other marketing executives in the packaging industry and inquired about how they are using new social media forms in their marketing mix. They have all been in the industry for over 20 years. Without a single exception, they told me that they do not utilize any of the new social media. They do all have websites and send out e-mail marketing messages, but none of them ‘believe’ that social media will work for their company. For their sakes, I hope they are right.
I don’t believe that the packaging industry is so special or unique that change will not affect it. When I received my MBA in 1999 there was no such thing as blogging, videos going viral, YouTube, twitter, Facebook, QR Codes, Linked-In, podcasts, and a string of other new and exciting opportunities to promote business. While some of these may turn out to be ‘fads’ and/or not right for all companies, don’t become an 8-track by thinking all the new techniques are ‘not suited’ for your industry or business. Your competitors won’t be making that mistake.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
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