U.S. manufacturing continues to step it up with a solid gain this year of 3.5% or better according to this week’s Kiplinger Report. For seven months in a row factory jobs have increased, and there is growth in every region across many industries. Biotech has experienced double digit growth and there are steady gains in medical equipment, aviation, and auto.
While the manufacturing picture is very positive for 2014, small to medium size manufacturers need to be competitive to grab the opportunities that are available. Not only do they need to improve their operations, they also need to update their branding and marketing communications. Successful companies have created processes to assess and improve their operations from production through quality control, implementing lean manufacturing or ISO certifications to improve performance and quality delivery to their customers.
Successful companies also apply the same standards to identifying gaps in their brands or marketing strategies. Their are a number of tools for assessing a company’s brand, marketing effectiveness, and website success. You may want to practice on a simple brand assessment, we call the Brand Report Card.
