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38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2020 Feature by Dan Beaulieu D.B. MANAGEMENT No matter what you use for technology, sup- ply chain, operations, or labor, nothing hap- pens without the customer. As Peter Drucker famously said, "There is only one purpose of a business: To create a customer." With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the most important pillars of manufacturing are—drum roll, please—sales and marketing. These beget revenue. But how do you accumulate those customers, and how do you sell your products to them so that you will get to the revenue— the engine that powers all organizations? Deciding What and Who First, decide what you are selling. What is your technology? What product do you manu- facture? In the PCB business, this consists of three sectors: technology, service, and market. What do you make, and what services do you provide? Then, determine who wants what you are selling. In short, who should you sell to, and why do they need what you have to offer? Marketing and Selling Your Products Next, examine how you will market and sell your products to that particular market because there is no selling without marketing. As I have said many times, selling is like fishing with a pole, a hook, and a worm and hoping that a fish will come along and bite; marketing, on the oth- er hand, is getting the fish to jump into the boat. You must market your products. The best way to is to demonstrate that your company produces the best technological PCBs in that market by filling the vacuum of leadership at the very top of every marketplace. You must develop your reputation and brand as being the industry's experts when it comes to that particular technology. PCBs can include high-tech rigid boards, flex and rigid-flex boards, heavy-copper boards, thermal boards, metal-backed boards, or any number of other technologies. The point is that whatever technology, market, or service your company addresses, you must gain a true—or at least perceived—leadership position. This is done through marketing. Developing a Marketing Plan Over the years, I have helped a number of companies become known as industry leader through strategic marketing. Here is a snap- shot of how to do it. Your marketing plan should have messaging designed to position your company as a true expert when it comes to the technology you are selling and the market you are addressing. How to Create a Powerful Revenue Engine