Now this is a new one.  When you think of high-tech companies and leading brands i'm certain one of those companies will be Apple Inc.  Apple has long been a trailblazer in brand development and now sits at the top of one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Apple patents steel purlin in New York store

This is taking the branding war to a whole new level.  Apple has applied for a patent of its New York store which includes the structural members, or purlins.  By patenting such a specific building material Apple may start a new war in the manufacturing of steel purlins.  

How a steel purlin machine may change the future of brand strategy

With this new direction Apple has perked the ears of many purlin roll forming machine manufacturers.  For years now the standard CEE and ZEE purlin have been commoditize which in turn does the same for the equipment manufacturer.  Now with this new technique of brand building Apple just may breath some new light in to this aging machienry business.

The success of any website hinges on one simple thing, goals.  Defining the goals of a website, clearly and objectively, is the foundation of everything relating to it.  The challenge is that, defining the goals.  Their are many stake holders involved in any corporate website design project.  You have people from the CEO, IT and admin support teams all wanting to steer the ship.

Defining website goals

So how do you define your goals?  The first place to start is with the owner of the site.  This is typically held within the marketing department or in part with a 'webmaster'.  This person (team) will be held accountable when things don't go as planned.  The web site must meet their needs first.  Some of the 

Typical website goals

• Lead Generation
• Thought leadership
• Product Showcase
• Educational

Listing out all your top goals and weeding them down to 3 or 4 is critical.  

The housing market relies on many industries in order to build a home.  As a result monitoring the sales and marketing efforts of key suppliers to this market are good ways to gauge potential housing market sales.

OEM roll forming machinery sales lead housing market growth

The OEM (official equipment manufacturer) sector for the building and construction market is a slow mover.  In order to manufacture building materials such as steel roofing or simple corner beads suppliers need equipment.  The tooling up of any factory manufacturing construction materials requires at least 6 months to 2 years.  With such a long delivery schedule for roll forming machinery one can monitor their sales and with a level of confidence hedge against the growth of the housing market.

Another indicator to the potential rise in housing sales can be seen in the used equipment market.  Just as in a down turn many companies sell off their large capital equipment during a sharp increase in sales suppliers rush to the used market.  Many used forming machines can be re-tooled to produce a variation of a steel framing product or something completely different.  This first mover strategy as well is an indicator to the increase in housing sales.

Housing materials take advantage of high speed rollforming lines

The range of materials being manufactured by cold forming is simply amazing.  It seems that almost any steel product can be and is being produced by forming sheet metal.  Some of the more common products you would find in today’s steel house are;

Top products made with rollforming machine

• Drywall Studs
• Drywall Corner Beads
• Standing Seam Roofing
• Steel Purlins
• Gutters and Down Spouts
• Drop Ceiling T-Bars
• R Channel
• Ridge Caps
• Glazed Tile
• And more…

The equipment manufacturing market is a strong precursor to further economic growth as seen in the housing market.  Watching companies that build and engineer large steel bending and forming machines is a good way to see the future.

Roll forming machine manufacturer "Roll Forming Corporation" recently updated their website to a completely new design.  The design firm for this site used care to illustrate a number of key elements.  At first glance they seemed to have gotten it right.

Website Design Considerations

When designing a machinery website such as those found in the roll forming machine industry it often begins with an internal view.  The design firm typically follows the lead of the machine manufacturer and rarely veers from it.  This is one of the most critical mistakes any company can make.  A website for almost 100% of the B2B community serves one purpose, lead generation.   Everything else is simply secondary.  

Equipment Specification vs. Good Design

Their is no reason to plaster your rollforming equipment website with product heavy specifications if users can't find them.  Usability acceptance testing or UX testing is a critical component to any new website.  This is where the design firm and the machine company takes a step back.  They step back in order to look at things from both the customers view and that of the search engines.  

Roll Forming Corp. New Website

Here is where I think things went wrong.  The home page although it looks nice and seems to delivery a strong brand message it misses a very big mark.  Not everyone on the internet sees your website the same.  Google Labs has a great tool called Google Browser Size Tool.  This simple yet very effective tool helps you to see what others see in your rollforming machine website.  When you look at the home page of the Roll Forming Corporation new website you see something missing.  All of the critical calls to action are only being viewed by 10% of the potential web traffic.  That means that 90% won't see the right thing.  Here is an image of what most will see.

For a free website evaluation contact us today!

The used machinery market is full of equipment today.  Largely a result of a slumping economy companies who have closed their doors and sell roll forming machine and other equipment to pay off their debt.  This flood of industrial machinery creates what seems to be a great buying opportunity for companies looking for rollformers.  But is it cost effective?

Roll forming machines are not simple pieces of equipment.  They like most industrial machines require constant maintenance and operation.   Businesses that end up closing generally don’t maintain their equipment.   This creates a used rollformer machine market with less than quality equipment.

Roll Forming Machine for Sale

Have you noticed that when the economy slumps companies try to diversify their product portfolio?  Machine manufacturing is not an easy job.  To stay competitive roll forming machine manufacturers have spent years learning how to perfect the process of forming steel.  This experience and innovation does come at a price and so it should.   Now take companies that are facing hard times as a result of low sales.  One the most common attempts at increasing sales is to introduce a new product.  The logi is simple.  We sell to this group anyway so why not offer something new.  Well it’s simple why you shouldn’t during a slow sales cycle.  

Reasons not to increase your sales offerings during a slow sales period.

1. The marketplace doesn’t see you as an expert
2. Your engineering department needs time and investment to learn 
3. Your sales team takes focus of your core customer base
4. You water down your complete organization for a ‘quick hit’

To learn more about the industrial machinery industry check out this website.

Manufacturing machines for steel forming requires specific and special skills.  Forming equipment comes in many types including plate rolling machines, cold forming, rollformers and vacuum forming.  Each of these roll form in different ways.  Some draw the steel coil roll in slowly and under its own power.  Others use powered uncoliers to help drive the steel sheet in to the roll mill. 

Selling rollforming machines

How to promote roll former machines globally

Shipping goods across the US Canadian border can be a little tricky.  Knowing all of the Government regulations and documentation requirements can be overwhelming.

Customs brokerage fees for shipping across Canadian / US border

The brokerage rates and fees are based on a number of factors.  Calculating these rates is where a reliable customs broker comes in.  Having the right team on your side will help to reduce over payments and costly delays at the boarder.

Canadian Customs Brokerage

The Canadian brokerage business is split up in to a number of sales regions.  The division is reflective of the shipping and transportation needs within each region.  Many customs brokerage companies offer some type of customs brokerage software to help with the processing of your goods.

Knowing the right company to work with is always important.  Knowing the leader in customs brokerage is the right place to start.

Industrial Rollformer Manufactures Showcase New Machines

The roll forming machine industry has a wide range of manufactures that produce many types of machines. For the buyer it can be very overwhelming when selecting a company to work with. Manufactures of rollforming equipment have a range of equipment from portable roll formers all the way to large industrial grade machines.

Selecting the best roll former machine for you

Users can search through many categories on the Industrial Machinery News website where they will find useful information on rollforming equipment. Information is broken down both by industry categories and equipment type. This allows equipment buyers the ability to both see how the rollformer operates for any given profile as well what is trending in their industry. Rollformer Specifications One of the most complicated areas to analyze for any industrial machine is specification comparisons.

Roll Forming Manufacturers 

This is where OEM's will try their best to differentiate themselves from the competitor. Just like a salesman develops an individual sales pitch, equipment manufactures develop individual specifications. This website contains many articles that cover this very topic. Purchasers of rollforming equipment can read through the articles and educate themselves before talking with the manufacture.

For more information go to http://www.industrial-machinery-news.com

Why Search Engine Ranking is so Valuable!

The internet is still very young compared to any other form of marketing or sales tool.  All the hype and rush to claim having the magic formula it all boils down to the same thing.  Sales and Marketing have never changed, the tools and channels have.

So how does a small business increase sales online?

Well just like we did 40 years ago.  We create complying ad copy and imagery that draws prospects in.  We then tell the story about your business and direct prospects to your door.  From there it’s the same old sales cycle.  Nurture your prospect, show value, resonate with their needs.

Search Engine Results Pages (SERP’s) are your new target!

Most people see the internet through the lens of a search engine like Goolge, Bing or Yahoo.  The key is to show your relevant value to prospects searching for your products or services.  Search Marketing is where AMR Media and other SEM firms comes in.  Our job is to monitor how these search engine rank websites like yours.  With over 500 changes a year to Googles search formula (algorithm) AMR Media looks at how this will impact your changes to rank high on the SERP’s.

Building Brand Online

To improve your search results and brand awareness online you need to uncover how they are interconnected.  No longer does brand sit on TV or in magazines.  The internet is full of brand opportunities where you can build it, strengthen it and even build new roads to it.  With over 20 years experience in building brands our team understands how to mesh these seemingly different marketing needs in to one solution.

Find out how we can help your business grow.  Contact us today and start building your brand and business online.

Good Sales Pitch Examples

Creating a good sales pitch requires a number of key elements. You have to understand your audience, your competitors and of course your own business.

Learn How To Create a Sales Pitch