Maximizing Profits

Kluge Design Boosts Profits
And Sales With
Proactive Marketing for Manufacturers   

Over the past 25 years, electro-mechanical manufacturer Kluge Design Inc. (KDI) has enjoyed a varied client base, serving hundreds of customers in the medical, industrial and security industries. For the most part, new customers have appeared through word of mouth. But KDI President and CEO Steve McKeown wanted a more sustainable approach. For help, the 28-employee Rogers-based company turned to Enterprise Minnesota's Proactive Marketing for Manufacturers consulting service.

"Our management's business experience was all related to the technical, operations and administrative sides of the business," McKeown explains. "We wanted to learn about the sales and marketing process at a strategic level so we could create and implement a sales and marketing plan, like we do with operations and technology initiatives."

Proactive Marketing for Manufacturers is an integrated, customized method of developing a focused strategic marketing plan to spur profitable growth. The service showed KDI how to identify its ideal customers and current and future market opportunities by studying its existing and potential customers.

"We discovered there was more opportunity in the markets that we work in than we intuitively realized and there was one market segment in particular that was much more profitable than we had realized so we gained a better focus on where to commit our resources," McKeown says.

KDI also researched its competitors' capabilities in order to develop messages that set it apart. One of those messages, "Bringing Creativity and Intelligence to Complex Challenges," reflects the company's commitment to its high-level engineering and manufacturing competencies.

Finally, the company used the information it gathered to write a strategic marketing plan that leverages its strengths and opportunities to realize and maximize growth opportunities. The detailed plan contains specific goals, budgets and allocation of resources and will be reviewed and adjusted each year to coincide with annual company goals.
 
McKeown says results to date have been significant, with a 10-12 percent growth rate in 2012 and gains in both revenues and profits.

For more information about KDI's results with Proactive Marketing for Manufacturers, contact Steve McKeown at steve@klugedesign.net.

Leveraging Operational Excellence to Achieve Growth    

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012
8-11 am
Trusight
9805 45th Ave. North
Plymouth

Cost: Early Bird Before Oct. 10 $79; Regular $119

Register Online

What to Expect: 

Okay, you've used lean to lower costs and inventory, improve quality and shorten delivery times. But are you using it to grow your business? Operational excellence is a journey to improve all forms of business activity, including manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities. Come hear how company leaders have incorporated their lean results into a strategic enterprise-wide competitive advantage.

Speakers:

•    Neil Crocker, President
     Schaefer Ventilation Equipment 
     Sauk Rapids    
•    Ron Kirscht, President
     Donnelly Custom Manufacturing
     Alexandria

Register Online Today!

Have news or events for e-trends?  Contact Sue Roe at sue.roe@enterpriseminnesota.org