Ever feel like everybody has a blog, and you should get one
too? Well, if you do want to start blogging, do it right. How? Let’s
go-and-see…

Informal: Rob tells you a story in his own words. No
corporate-speak. No stilted phrases.

Smart: Rob tells a story about deciding whether to bring
powder coating in-house. It spells out costs and alternatives, and how the ETM
team worked with a customer to make it feasible. Although it’s a breakeven proposition,
it’s the right decision because it increases process velocity as the part moves
between customer and supplier. Sharing the thinking with blog readers shows a
business decision that another company might not make. In addition, because employees often don’t
know the dollars and cents analysis behind a decision, laying it all
on the table makes them smarter too.
Constantly seeking improvement: Rob says, “For the first time, I saw
through Jim (Womack)’s perspective the waste in our quoting and job release
processes. We take pride in 24
hour turns for any type of quote, but Jim had me see that 24 hours may not be
valuable to the customer. Two
hours might be valuable on one quote and two weeks might be valuable on another
quote.”

So much is revealed in one little story: Rich is engaged
with the customer, understands waste, and knows the processes involved. Rob
knows an improvement opportunity when he sees one. Rob gives Rich credit for his idea. And ETM takes
responsibility for making the returnable boxes, which now become kanbans and
produce all sorts of other savings.
Confident: In the story about the enclosure cover, Rob
doesn’t neglect the sell, however soft it is… "You probably can think of several other solutions… you,
me, and Keith’s end user don’t want to pay for waste…Once we adopt this
customer attitude to our approach as suppliers, new opportunities always open
up to help reduce waste and increase value.”
Available and helpful: “We have started working with a
select group of customers to dive deeper into supply chain partnerships…We’ve
found that those partnerships require a lot of training and process improvement
work… customers who are searching for deeper, more integrated approach will be
supported by our dedicated sales force.” (This post also announced that ETM has
hired new salespeople, and how that can benefit you as a customer.)
Inclusive: Rob talks about people at ETM and customer
companies, always by name -- Rich, Ed, Shawn, Kerrie-Ann. The team is the
center of the story.
Friendly: I really feel Rob’s openness and connection with
his team and customers.
Humble: “I used to think… Now, I know better.”
Direct: Whether it reveals a weakness or a problem with his
company -- which of course he and his team are working to correct -- Rob tells
it like it is.
Persistent: Rob blogs about once a week, which I think is
about right. (I’ve been called out on not blogging often enough, and I can tell
you how hard it is.)
I could go on about ETM’s website, Twitter feed,
news releases, photo gallery, LinkedIn company page, YouTube channel, and
networking activities with other manufacturers in the region. But you get the
picture, and can explore these on your own.
So inside the social media buzzwords, you can use these new tools to share how your company works... and who doesn't want to read a story?
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