Looking for inspiration on your next marketing program? Take a closer look at what you’re selling.

This may sound obvious, but marketers sometimes lose sight of this, particularly if they are promoting a technical service or product. In my experience getting close to what you sell---how it is engineered, processed and packaged—provides the foundation for the marketing story you want to tell. Whether it’s an update on your existing product line or the launch of a new service, this firsthand review of what you offer your customers can provide the critical spark needed to ignite an interesting and convincing marketing campaign.

Material for “job in progress” and “next job” staged
to keep presses running

For me, this inspiration comes from touring Rotor Clip’s factory in Somerset, New Jersey. We make retaining rings, wave springs and self-compensating hose clamps, for a variety of industries. All of the processes needed to produce these rings from engineering and tool making to packaging and shipping occur in our 238,000 square foot facility.

On this particular day I take my stroll with Rotor Clip Co-President, Craig Slass. I’ve been with the company for 30 years and I am still amazed at the new things I inevitably find on one of these tours.

Our first stop is the wire forming area where Craig enthusiastically shows me our new generation of presses. These have been designed to coil and stamp retaining rings much faster than conventional methods. This fits in well with our marketing message of being able to supply global demand for our product in volume and at the high level of quality our customers demand.

Rotor Clip eliminates tangling of its internal type of retaining rings thanks to this improvement, automatically stacking parts on wire at no extra cost to the customer

Finding ways to keep product moving in a logical flow reduce

 processing time and overall waste.

Our lean philosophy has taught us to find ways to streamline processes and reduce the time it takes for each. I see evidence of this everywhere I go. Areas have gotten creative in the way they handle product. Instead of the traditional batch and queue—making parts then piling them up in front of the next operation---pull systems bring only those quantities needed to meet customer demand for a given time.

I walk through our stamping press room and see outlined staging areas for material and tools needed for the next scheduled job. Having these items in a queue at the machine makes the transition to the next job seamless and efficient. I can see that the entire layout of the plant has been updated since my last walk a few

months ago to enhance process flow and eliminate waste.

Overall, I was impressed to see our plant making progress to produce reliable, quality products delivered on time to our customers. I’m psyched and ready to pump out some fresh new marketing ideas.

Like writing this blog entry.

Good luck with your next marketing campaign.

Joe Cappello is Director of Global Marketing for Rotor Clip Company.