The Thomas Blog

Why You Need To Expand Your Business To New Markets

The manufacturing industry can be unpredictable. One minute you might be entering into a lucrative contract with a great new customer; the next, that customer could be going out of business — putting your own company at risk in the process.

The best way to guard against this risk is to diversify your business and expand into new markets. Here are three reasons why you should consider it in your shop:

4 Marketing Mistakes That Can Kill Your Chances Of Scoring New Buyers

There’s a ton of marketing and sales advice out there on how to grow your business, increase yourbottom line, and make your company stand out from the crowd. Keeping up-to-date on these expert tips and new industrial marketing trends is key to remaining relevant in today’s ever-changing landscape.

But even the most knowledgeable, well-versed companies make critical mistakes that can cost them new customers. Below are four of the most common B2B marketing mistakes and some tips on how to best avoid them.

5 Steps To Manage Risk Before You Begin Exporting

Companies dealing with sluggish economies or saturated domestic markets often look to international expansion to manage risk. Consider this though: by expanding internationally, a company simultaneously mitigates and creates risk. There is inherent risk in expansion, particularly internationally; even mammoth retailers like Target have failed spectacularly.

Before expanding, a company must plan carefully, understand the market, staff carefully, and accept that the venture may still fail.

Investments To Prepare Your Shop Floor For Growth

The American manufacturing industry is on the rise, with businesses expanding and hiring activity picking up. Now, shop owners must do all they can to manage, and maximize, their growth.  

CMTC suggested four investments manufacturers should consider when expanding their businesses. According to CMTC, two of the most important investments are equipment and warehousing:

Digitizing Our Buildings & Facilities: How To Create Intelligent Environments

Businesses are transitioning to LED lighting in the 5.6 million commercial buildings in the United States. And, in many regions, the addition of solar solutions for energy independence is also underway.

The Shift To Electric Vehicles Is Accelerating – And Suppliers Should Take Notice

While electric vehicles (EVs) account for less than 1% of all vehicles sold in the United States today, two new forecasts show that this number will skyrocket in the years ahead. The shift will have a profound impact on automakers and their suppliers.

Three Ways You Can Help Close The Skills Gap

Manufacturing is one of the main contributors to economic growth in the U.S. and Americans know its value. In fact, 83% of Americans believe manufacturing is important to America’s prosperity. Unfortunately, young professionals are currently less interested in the manufacturing industry. 

How Industry 4.0 Can Help Your Business

Industry 4.0 is becoming more important to the state of the manufacturing industry, but many people aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunity. Although 85% of businesses see the potential of Industry 4.0, only 15% have dedicated strategies in place. 

Industry 4.0: Six Steps Manufacturers Need To Take Now

In 2009, there were 2.5 billion devices with unique IP addresses connected to the internet — most of these were cell phones and computers. By 2020, there will be up to 30 billion connected devices with unique IP addresses, and many of these will be industrial products. Driven by new digital technologies, cloud computing and the Internet of Everything, this new industrial connectivity is driving what’s referred to by some analysts as “Industry 4.0.”