Manufacturing is still a hot business in Northeast Ohio and across the Rust Belt. As with any industry, though, new innovations require a shifting focus on production, skill sets and customer outreach.
This means that job shops and machine shops must be prepared to recognize timely trends, ready their team and present themselves as the most competent supplier for purchasers. OEMs, for their part, must build relationships with flexible, time-responsive and delivery-focused suppliers who can guarantee their product in order to secure the OEM's reputation in the marketplace.
Relationship-building is vital for job shops and OEMs, and yet, at times it may seem as though an invisible wall separates the two entities. A conduit to unite both supplier and OEM can bridge any communication gaps and set both parties on a parallel course for success.
The Manufacturing Mart, located in Cleveland, serves as that uniting and driving force between job shops and OEMs. Armed with a keen sense of know-how when it comes to marketing, business-building and networking, The Manufacturing Mart has the strategy tools that machine shops and OEMs need to compete in today's marketplace.
"The Manufacturing Mart provides order-generating services that grow business by establishing a job shop or OEM as the expert in a particular field or trade skill," explains Mary Kaye Denning, president and founder of The Manufacturing Mart. "We deliver this through high-impact marketing built on sustainable, world-class business practices."
These business practices include the following:
- Expertise demand-creation. "We communicate your public value-add through strategic planning and targeted public relations," Denning says. "The Manufacturing Mart participates in manufacturing trade shows around the country, hosts networking events at The Mart and publishes social media news that reinforces you as an expert and a loyal solutions-provider. Simultaneously, an on-site concierge matches exhibitors with new business opportunities, creating demand for your sales team and your core competency."
- Targeted lead generation. The Mart identifies business opportunity by matching a company's capability to increase qualified traffic to your business thus expanding the probability of your submitting a winning proposal.
- New market development. "By spotlighting your manufacturing capability and competency, we introduce you to new markets that can utilize your know-how for competitive advantage," Denning explains.
- A physical space in which to display, network and invent. The Manufacturing Mart, established in 2010, is a marketplace where manufacturers come to trade their know-how. The Manufacturing Mart hosts a permanent exhibition of world-class manufacturers and inventors. Additional services include a la carte marketing support, public relations and website building services.
- New product development. With an on-site engineer and 3D tools for design and prototyping, The Mart helps the entrepreneur-inventor turn ideas into manufacture-able product ready for handoff to entrepreneurs and original equipment manufacturers.
