Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

Well, it happens every year around this time.  It is not a huge hydraulics show but there are are significant number of fluid power exhibitors there.  It is held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on March 6-9, 2018. It starts with a full day of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and receptions.  Three days of exhibits follow with everything you need to know about current work truck technology.  Here is their website for more information click here . At Fluid Power World , we cover mobile hydraulics extensively in the pages of our magazine and in our websites and e-newsletters.   See this post    A lot of our coverage is about off-highway equipment and we have an entire website about mobile hydraulics titled Mobile Hydraulic Tips .   The Work Truck Show, however, covers mainly what is considered on-highway machinery and equipment like small cranes, show plows, and other such vehicles.  This is an intere...

At the 2018 Fluid Power Technology Conference, being held on May 15-16, 2018 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, we have arranged to have a full day of fluid power training on Monday May 14th for all attendees who are interested in such curriculum.  The training and education will be provided by the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the International Fluid Power Society IFPS. For more information about either organization, please visit their respective websites IFPS  and MSOE To make the experience fuller, richer, and even more valuable, we have arranged with these two very well respected groups to participate in our May event to further the education of all attendees.  On Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, we will be holding our Conference with exhibits and technical presentations from the stage. There will be meals, networking, and other interesting side trips to the Fluid Power Lab, and the Rapid Prototyping Center as well as the Grohman Museum du...

The NFPA Annual Conference takes place this week at the Four Seasons resort in Orlando.  That's right it is close to Disney World and all the related parks and attractions.  That should not distract from the events and presentations at the Conference. The speakers on the agenda this year are Chris McChesney, Joe Ellers, Tim Eck, Marcus De Souza, Jeremy Drury, and Peter Zeihan.  Chris is a Wall Street #1 Best Seller with his book The 4 Disciplines of Execution.   Joe is a sales management and marketing expert with several books and articles published. Jeremy will present THINGS to Consider - A Behind-the-Scenes Executive Guide to Fluid Power IOT Strategy.  Peter is a repeat presenter and an expert on Global Geopolitics.  This is a great lineup! Add in the networking opportunities, tours, meals, and it will make for a great week at the NFPA!

The longer I stay in the media business, the more I keep on learning.  The latest thing that I have come to understand is something called PPC.  I think that the acronym is possibly more recognizable than the actual name Price Per Click.  This is now an important component of many companies' marketing plans, including fluid power companies. For digital media marketers, PPC has been an important part of the mix for a long time.  For me, it is new.  I would like to have a discussion with every one of my clients to determine how they are optimizing on this opportunity.  I do represent Fluid Power World magazine and digital media network.  That network includes our websites, e-newsletters, custom sponsored content, and PPC. I have also learned that some companies may not be optimizing on their PPC program.  This is where we at Fluid Power World can help.  We offer PPC Management to our clients and we are getting quite good at the process...

That is an odd question because if you are reading this, you are neither.  However, if you have read the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, you know what I am referring to with this question.  In chapter 5 of that book, author Collins discusses the Hedgehog Concept and the Simplicity within the Three Circles. The fox is good at many things and is has a very complicate approach to life and pursues many ends at the same time.  The hedgehog, on the other hand is very good at one thing, avoiding the fox.  The analogy applies to a company knowing what they are good at and pursuing their goal single-mindedly every day.  The three circles include What are you deeply passionate about?  What can you be best in the world at?  And, What drives your economic engine? These are all questions that fluid power companies, manufacturers and distributors, should ask as they strive toward greatness.  Which products are you really passionate about manufac...

Have you ever considered letting Fluid Power World help your company's marketing efforts with a regional e-blast?  Most fluid power distributors sell their fluid power components and related products to a specific region. With our capability of sending your sales message to a specific audience of fluid power engineering and technical specialist in your sales area, we can help your company to target new customers and communicate with your existing customers. This is a sample of one of our own e-blast messages but it gives you an idea of what an e-blast message looks like.  We have successfully been serving the needs of fluid power distributors with such e-blasts in the past few years and we are interested in partnering with your company on a similar project this year. If your company is interested in contacting a qualified audience in your marketing area with a targeted message about fluid power components or systems, please let me know and I can make some suggest...

Now it is time to focus in on this upcoming event.  Our Fluid Power Technology Conference will be taking place in Milwaukee on May 15-16, 2018 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.  We have many sponsors already booked for the event but I am welcoming all companies who would like to share their solutions from our FPTC stage to sign up now. Here is a link to our website for more specific information https://www.fluidpowertechconference.com We will be partnering with the Equipment Services Association for the first time at our 2018 Event.  They will be holding a meeting for their members in conjunction with our Conference.  If you are not familiar with ESA, it is an association that represents maintenance and repair people with an heavy involvement in fluid power. Additionally, we will be partnering with the International Fluid Power Society who will be exhibiting and holding a certification testing.  This will be in conjunction with a full day o...

Even though this book was published in 2001, it is still as current today as it was then.  The title is Good to Great by Jim Collins. I rarely read a book a second time but once I started rereading this book this month, I could not stop.  I just love all of the advice that the author presents including First Who, and The Hedgehog ... and much more. The book has been helpful to me in managing my own career and in the management of my portion of our company.  Furthermore, it has been most helpful in understanding my clients and where they are in their quest for greatness!. If you have not had the chance to read this "Great" book, then I highly recommend it!

I recently asked one of my clients about their reason for advertising.  The answer was "because it connects the dots."  That makes a lot of sense. For many years, I have been advocating for the value of increasing brand awareness.  When  you raise the awareness of your company and products, you increase the chances of selling more products.  If you have seen my Fluid Power World and Design World presentation, you know that I encourage building brand awareness while generating sales leads. The building of brand awareness is connecting the dots.  When an design engineer or maintenance professional is looking for a solution to their design or maintenance of a machine, connecting the dots to the right product and right solution is key to their success. I have promoted print advertising as a great way to build brand awareness and web banner advertising does the same.  e-newsletter and e-blasts supporting white papers or other content are good lead...