Manufacturing Value Proposition
Customer Service, Quality, and Delivery are the most common and generic value propositions out there…that won’t get your attention from OEM’s.
I’ve worked with 100’s of manufacturing companies helping them increase their revenue through our Sales and Marketing programs. With some we’re heavily involved while others we’re used as a support to their existing teams, but I always have us start at one common place…the value proposition.
The first step of the process we go through is to have our client pitch us on their value proposition with one caveat, they are not allowed to use Customer Service, Quality, or Delivery. This causes a stuttering response and eyes glazed over in confusion, while the brain starts trying to come up with a creative and appropriate answer. Why do we do this? Because EVERYONE uses that as their value proposition! If you expect an OEM to jump at the opportunity to speak with you further about your services or entertain a meeting, you’ll be left scratching your head at why they didn’t reply or return your call…you have to put yourself in their shoes.
What makes you different than your competition?
This doesn’t have to be a 100% original never-before-spoken value proposition, it just has to be different enough to get attention. Customer Service, Quality, and Delivery are expected and the cost of doing business. You won’t be in business for long without them, and OEM’s won’t be beating down your door if you use them as your VP. So let’s get creative and look at what you can offer an OEM; gather your internal team and start writing down some bullet points on the white board. Once you have a big list of items, start to look for a common theme that you could build out of it. Your VP doesn’t need to be a set of a few words, it can be an entire sentence just make sure it’s to the point and around a theme.
Example:
Original: We are a one-stop shop for our customers
Revised: We aggressively reinvest into our capabilities to streamline the supply chain for our customers
With this client, they had the right idea but just needed some polishing. If you’re struggling with your Value Proposition, shoot me a message and I’d be glad to jump on a 20 minute call to help out. The best creative team you have is internally, they will be able to provide the bulleted list of how you’re different. Then just get creative with the message and you’ll be shocked by the response from OEM’s.
Kyle Milan is a well accomplished Industrial/Manufacturing sales and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience. He is the CEO of MFG Tribe (Industrial Marketing Agency) and Technical Sales University (https://technicalsalesu.com) and is considered the leader of Sales and Marketing Strategy & Social Media Marketing for industrial companies. He has published several articles in major news media outlets on various topics of; Inbound Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing & Advertising, Industrial Marketing, Manufacturing Marketing, and Entrepreneurship.
