Are Your Competitors Out-Marketing You?

Guest: Chris Luecke, Founder and Podcast Host, Manufacturing Happy Hour

In our 200th episode, we talk to Chris Luecke about what authentic marketing looks like for manufacturers today. We cover how small teams can create consistent, meaningful content without overcomplicating it and why platforms like LinkedIn still matter. The episode also explores how digital engagement can lead to stronger real-world connections.

Sean Riley: So, with all the fancy introductions out of the way, welcome to the podcast, Chris.

Chris Luecke: Great to be here. Thanks for having me on.

Sean Riley: The pleasure is all ours. I’ve got you here to talk about modern marketing for manufacturers. You’re an expert in this, so we wanted to pick your brain. To kick things off, when a manufacturer says they want their marketing to be more authentic, how do they incorporate that into their day-to-day?

Chris Luecke: Yeah, I love talking about this topic, and I think that last part of your question is part of the answer—they incorporate it into their day-to-day. A common mistake I see marketers make, not only in manufacturing but in B2B in general, is thinking that marketing needs to be a highly produced, polished video, flyer, graphic—whatever it is.

When you’re trying to do something more authentic—and that’s a word that gets thrown around, maybe even overused these days—the way to get beyond that is to show up consistently. Sometimes it is that polished video. There’s a time and place for that type of marketing.

But let’s say you’re the executive of a manufacturing company, a packaging OEM, whatever it may be. If you can walk out on the shop floor, take a quick video with your smartphone, and say, “Hey, this is one of the situations we’re encountering in our business today. Other manufacturing leaders, are you encountering that same issue?”—that’s powerful.

If you do that as a selfie-style video with a cool background of the machines you’re building, that’s a great way to create something that takes only a minute or two of your time. Record it on your phone and share it with a caption on LinkedIn, for example.

I’m just trying to get manufacturers to realize it doesn’t always need to be that old-school, polished corporate piece of content. A lot of times, that insight you just had in a meeting that you want to share in a written LinkedIn post can be just as impactful if you do it regularly.

Sean Riley: That’s interesting because, as you were saying that, that’s what I was thinking. It seems like an evolution from that old-school mentality where marketing handled marketing. Now, especially with an iPhone, LinkedIn, and social media, marketing is kind of a job for everybody. Is that safe to say—for everyone representing the company?

Chris Luecke: I think that’s a fair comment. Maybe another way I’d phrase it is that the role of marketers has evolved in a lot of ways. There are more digital tools now. As chief marketing officers have gotten a seat at the table, there’s more connection between revenue and marketing activities, which is excellent.

But I think one underrated skill set of a modern-day marketer is being an empowerer of other employees—those who are great at telling stories or representing the brand publicly.

Back in the day, it used to be the CEO or someone from the C-suite making an announcement, and then it was the marketing team’s job to get that in front of PR folks and through traditional marketing channels. In today’s environment, if I’m a marketing executive, I’m looking for anyone on my team. Maybe it’s a frontline employee who’s great at explaining a process. Maybe it’s a mid-level manager who has developed a following on social media.

As a marketer today, one of the most important skills is identifying the people who are already creating content or representing your brand positively and finding ways to amplify those individuals and their voices.

Sean Riley: Okay. How do we know if we’re overdoing it? Can it be too much? Can it get out of control where there’s too much marketing going on, for lack of a better word?

Chris Luecke: That’s a great question. A good way to think about it is this: if you’re a company creating content nonstop and wondering, “Are we doing too much?” you have to listen to what your audience is saying—or not saying.

If you see engagement drop off, if you’re not seeing the types of comments you’re hoping for, or you’re not creating the discussions you want among customers and prospects—either on social media or in person—that’s a signal.

A lot of it goes back to listening. If you’re creating a lot of content, you’ll know you’re doing it right if you’re seeing engagement from the people you want to reach. You may be doing too much if conversations start going down paths that aren’t aligned with your brand—or if they go silent altogether.

Ultimately, you’re trying to find the right balance. What amount of content generates the engagement and conversations you’re hoping for? Because that builds your audience and your community. And that community is often made up of current customers—and even better, prospects who could become customers in the future. That’s me putting on my salesperson and executive hat.

Sean Riley: Right. Okay. In packaging and processing, we have a lot of organizations with smaller marketing teams—or smaller teams in general that are outward-facing. With limited time and smaller teams, what’s the easiest way to jump in and expand beyond formal marketing presentations?

Chris Luecke: I hear this a lot from executives: “I wish my team were more present on social media. I wish they were promoting our brand more.” One of the first things a marketing leader—or whoever owns marketing responsibilities—needs to do is hold themselves accountable to create content and share their voice.

They need to set the example. If someone is saying, “We might not be the largest team, but it’s important that all of us contribute to the company’s marketing message,” then the first person who needs to do that is the one delivering the message.

You can’t be the marketing executive saying, “I wish my team shared more,” if you’re not doing it yourself. If you’re not holding yourself accountable and taking action, how can you expect your team to follow?

For small marketing teams, it’s going to be an all-hands-on-deck scenario. The person motivated to drive marketing—whether that’s the marketing executive or the CEO who understands that marketing drives revenue—needs to step up to the plate, too.

Sean Riley: That’s fair. It makes complete sense. Keeping that in mind, as a manufacturer with a smaller team or a less expansive network to start with, what should they focus on right now? What content efforts deliver the best results out of the gate? Not low-hanging fruit, necessarily, but practical ways to get started.

Chris Luecke: First, figure out where your audience is hanging out. In conversations like this, when I reference social media, I often mention LinkedIn. There’s a tendency to think, “We need to be on YouTube, podcasts, Instagram, TikTok”—all of it.

If I’m a marketing leader just getting started, I’m picking one—maybe two—channels where we can really double down. Focus there first, then maybe expand later.

The easiest way to choose is to go where your audience already spends time. In manufacturing, that’s often LinkedIn right out of the gate. It’s still the premier B2B platform.

Then maybe pick something else. And you don’t have to work yourself to death doing it. If you think podcasts are your channel, you don’t need to start your own. There are plenty of manufacturing and packaging podcasts already out there.

Go where your ideal audience is already hanging out—from a digital, audio, or video standpoint—and build content for one or two channels rather than spreading yourself too thin.

Sean Riley: That makes sense. LinkedIn keeps popping up as the obvious answer. I wasn’t sure if that was still the case, but it sounds like if you’re going to shoot a video or ask a question, that’s the place to put yourself out there.

Chris Luecke: Yeah, and that will continue to evolve. One thing I didn’t expect when TikTok launched was to see trade videos on there—machining, robotics, things like that. So don’t completely write off platforms just because you think they’re “for kids.”

But be listening and paying attention. Just don’t let that distract you or cause you to spread yourself too thin too early.

Sean Riley: Fair enough. You’ve built a strong community around your podcast and clearly have expertise in this. What are some tricks of the trade that have helped you turn listeners into an engaged network—a real community rather than a one-sided audience? And on top of that, what’s next for digital engagement in manufacturing?

Chris Luecke: I’ve been joking lately that my favorite social network is text messages. And I’m not talking about mass text lists. I’m talking about one-on-one conversations.

I’m always looking for people in my audience who are engaging. You said it—community is the word. You have to take the community you’ve built digitally and find ways to connect in real life.

I run a podcast called Manufacturing Happy Hour. So get them to a happy hour, a breakfast, a lunch—get them talking to one another.

When I was a salesperson in the automation industry, I realized it was easier to sell when my customers were hanging out together—non-competitive customers in the same room talking about how they used my equipment. Hearing testimonials from peers is powerful.

Once you build that digital presence and community, find ways to get them offline together. Think about where they’re already gathering. Maybe it’s an after-party at PACK EXPO.

And here’s another idea: collaborate. Partner with two or three non-competitive organizations. You invite your customers and prospects; they invite theirs. Suddenly you’ve tripled your reach and created a collaborative in-person event.

I may be biased as a content creator who runs events, but once you establish rapport and camaraderie online, the next level is bringing people together offline.

Sean Riley: Beautiful. That ties in perfectly with PACK EXPO, which we produce. We love talking about the networking opportunities there, and that aligns perfectly with what you’re saying.

I can’t thank you enough, Chris. I know you’re a busy man with your own podcast to run. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your tips with our manufacturers. Thanks again.

Chris Luecke: I appreciate it, Sean. You’ve been running a great community for years, so you’re already putting a lot of this advice into practice. You guys do great work at PMMI and PACK EXPO. I’m happy to take the time to hang out with you.