Many years ago there was an independent Chicago discount clothing retailer that had as their tagline something to the effect of: “An educated consumer is our best customer”. Not everybody understood what they were trying to say. However, the customers they were targeting did. That if you knew something about the product you would find value at their stores and make better buying decisions.
I find that it is no different in industrial sales. If you have an advantage, whether that be quality, price, features, or delivery, you want your customer to be knowledgeable about the subject so that he/she can recognize the advantages and how they apply to the project at hand. Of course, that doesn’t happen so often. There is too much technology and too little time for the relatively diminishing numbers of engineers to keep up with the independent study necessary to stay up to date.
So, if I agree that an educated customer is likely my best customer, how can I help them become more knowledgeable about the topics I want to talk to them about and establish myself as a “thought leader”? Certainly I could write educational articles on the subjects I have expertise in. Content marketing is one of the hottest things.
But just like when you were younger and listened to your friends instead of your parents, the message often seems more real and believable when you hear it from somebody else. With the wide array of educational content from traditional engineering media and other industry experts, admittedly mostly basic in nature, being able to find and share relevant information is almost as good as creating it, if not better. I may look a bit more trustworthy.
The fact is, there is a lot of linear motion technology in the market place, most having specific advantages in one type of application or other, but also overlapping into the realm of other, perhaps more appropriate technology. Whether its ball screws, acme screws, roller screws, belts, rack and pinion, hydraulics, or linear motors, all have advantages and disadvantages of some kinds.
If you don’t use them everyday it can be difficult to differentiate technologies. While I’ve always condoned relying on your best suppliers for help it should be clear that your ball screw actuator supplier is not going to expound the virtues of belt actuators if he doesn’t have them. Its best if you know a little something about each.
And that is why I share so many introductory and educational articles. Not so you can become an expert at a specific technology, but just so you know a little about when and where to use each and the important characteristics that need to be considered so you can provide them to your supplier so he can best use his expertise. Hopefully that would be me and my partner companies.
And why mechanical linear motion? Because that is what I sell and is an area of my expertise. I support the best manufacturers of ball screws, roller screws, rack and pinion systems, and linear rail systems available. My principals have advantages over the competition. Those advantage become much more apparent and compelling to prospective customers when they know what they are looking at or looking for.
So, when you see my posts on my personal LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-popp-74b4312/detail/recent-activity/shares/) or the company Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/C-Popp-Enterprises-Inc-268582373669360/?ref=bookmarks) take a quick look to see if the topic has any relevance for you. Then click on the link. I try to pick only the best, most effective articles to share with you. Hopefully you’ll agree and rely on me more in the future to be your technical resource for linear and rotary mechanical motion solutions.
Chris Popp
President
C.Popp Enterprises, Inc.