This week, sales and marketing representative Paul Liebal shares how turning people into the face of metal manufacturer Mission Critical Solutions's brand has created authentic connections with customers and employees alike. From video marketing tactics that capture unscripted moments to strategies that integrate culture into recruitment, Paul offers a fresh blueprint for building trust and engagement in B2B marketing. This episode is packed with insights for manufacturing leaders and marketers ready to stand out by staying authentic.

• People-First Branding: Why MCS chose to spotlight its employees instead of products and the impact on company culture.
• The Mic’d Up Series: A creative approach to video marketing that captures raw, authentic moments on the factory floor.
• Internal vs. External Marketing: Balancing employee engagement with customer outreach to build a cohesive brand identity.
• Recruitment Marketing: How cultural fit and storytelling drive workforce retention in manufacturing.
• DIY Marketing Success: Paul’s journey as a one-person marketing team, including his lessons learned and tools used.
• Future Goals: Scaling external marketing efforts with product launches and targeting new customer segments.

Paul: A lot of these videos do have elements of, again, problem solving, but at the same time, too, let's make people laugh a little bit. Let's make people want to enjoy watching our videos and not just have to sit through a 30 second corporate video. I mean, and we're not trying to be anyone we're not. I mean, so that's the thing is like we, we are who we are. We embrace who we are. We love who we are and we're just going to continue to show people that and bring people along for the ride.

Missing Half intro

Bill: Thank you for joining the Missing Half podcast where we're discovering what's missing in manufacturing and B2B marketing. I have a very special guest with me today, Paul Liebal from Mission Critical Solutions. Paul, welcome today.

Paul: Yeah, thank you Bill for having me. I'm honored to be here and give people a little bit of an insight into how we build America in Bedford County small town PA. Not a lot of people realize how much goes on out here, but there's a lot of a lot of cool things and we are building building America. So happy to give people insight.

Bill: Paul, I think that's a great, let's just talk about that for a second. When we think about central Pennsylvania, right? Often when the politicians talk about us, they say, you know, there's Pittsburgh, Philly and Alabama in the middle. Well, we're talking about Alabama right here in the middle, right? We've got Bedford County, we got Somerset County, Indiana, Blair, Center county. I mean, there's Cambria County. There's a lot of manufacturing that historically has happened here in southern central Pennsylvania. Because you get to the northern part, you get to the forest, and there's a lot of trees. But down here, I mean, there's a tremendous history of manufacturing, whether that was mining and steel production, which was probably a generation or two ago, or just a lot of heavy industrial manufacturing that occurs today. This is an area that has a lot of capacity and ability to perform for a company. So maybe talk a little bit about that and what you guys are seeing at Mission Critical Solutions.

Paul: Yeah, no, we're seeing a big emphasis put on manufacturing recently, which is nice because as you said, I mean, our area has such a rich history of manufacturing. And I don't think it was talked about enough, at least growing up for me. My dad worked in manufacturing. My grandfathers both worked in coal mines. So it seems like that blue collar trade has been around forever, but no one really talks about it. It's just one of those things you go and do it and you don't talk too much about it when you get home from work, which is interesting. So I didn't know much about manufacturing, getting into it. I'm still learning a lot about it. But I know for our area too, I mean, as far as workforce, Bedford County, I mean, we've got a strong blue collar workforce and especially, just the way college is going right now. I think a lot of people are understanding that I don't necessarily have to go to college to create a good life for myself. And so I think that manufacturing is coming back and then, you know, I think companies are starting to understand too that, you know, you may be able to go overseas and get product a little bit cheaper. But if you keep manufacturing in the States and you keep these blue collar areas above the water, the economy is better off for it. So I do see a big emphasis on it and hopefully that emphasis just continues to grow a little bit because it's just been such a part of our history for so long.

Bill: One of the things I think we're seeing in the companies are really looking at nearshoring or not looking at offshoring is the fact that when we look at really heavy industry, the shipping costs are so huge. And then also the disruption from COVID and the supply chain problems that occurred, nearshoring has certainly been part of what do they call this, fragility testing or

just making sure that we have a good supply chain. And I think, especially when we look at like the industry you guys are in and some other heavy industry, you just can't afford to ship this stuff. And then beyond that, you can't afford to be without it if there's a problem with longshoreman strikes, if there's a problem with, well, certainly, you know, COVID epidemic and those types of situations. So I think you're exactly right, Paul. There's a lot of advantages to nearshoring, to finding local manufacturing. And when you look at the freight differential, you look at the supply chain assurance, there's dollars and cents that add up there that make local manufacturing more cost competitive than offshore manufacturing.

Paul: Yeah, no, for sure. You hit the nail on the head with that one. I think it's interesting, too. I don't know if it's just the, you know, the world we live in now where we want something and we want it fast. And, you know, as great as that is, I think that causes a lot of disruption even, too, with supply chain, because a lot of these big corporations who are ordering product from us or ordering product overseas, a lot of these big corporations, let's say they have a supply chain liaison or a purchaser. You know, that's their sole job. And this corporation may be so large that that's what they're focused on. They're focused on just getting what they need at the best price as fast as they can. But when you talk about, you you want quality, you want it cheap, and you want it fast, you can't have all three of those things. There's got to be one that gives. I think for those people that might work there, focusing on the long term of that and understanding that, yes, this might be the cheapest option right now, but what are all the issues going to be? And it's not their job to worry about that, I guess. So I guess if people had a better understanding of, yes, I'm getting my job done, I'm getting the product for the best price, but what's that landed cost going to be? Because a lot of people don't account for the landed cost at the time. I mean when you talk about shipping, you talk about tariffs, you talk about all that. I'm not saying any of this is wrong, but it's just something that these corporations should definitely keep in mind and understand too. I mean, even down to, you know, if there's a problem in manufacturing, there's a communication barrier in a lot of these places. So you can call us and, you know, we can be on the phone with you that day and try and get this resolved where there's no time difference or the time difference might be minimal. But we can get that squared away and it won't halt production. So we might not be the cheapest, but we're going to be the best. And that's kind of how we go about our manufacturing process. And I think there's something to be learned there for everyone involved.

Bill: So I think that's a great transition right into Mission Critical Solutions. So you guys have a manufacturing company here in Bedford County, and I'm not here in Bedford County, but let's just say here in Western Pennsylvania, because then I can use those words, here in Western Pennsylvania. And let's just talk about the story of Mission Critical Solutions a little bit and tell us about where that company is. And then I think that's going to immediately transition to building this brand around the people and what you've done there, Paul. So maybe start into that story, please.

Paul: Yeah, for sure. So I'll kind of start from the ground up from what I know. Mission Critical Solutions is a full service subcontract manufacturing facility. So we burn, bend, cut, weld, you name it, but that's really just a part of what we do over the past few years. We put a lot of emphasis on our specialty services or we do a lot of defense work. So we like to call it our special tactics team. So our engineering, our supply chain team, our project management team, and those are really you know, of course we can burn, and cut, but those are really those added advantages that you get with being with us. Just knowing that there's going to be a project manager that's going to be assigned that you know that's your direct point of contact if you have any questions. But as far as the company in general, the company was started in 2008. Our owner, Bob McGowan, started it. He was actually in the pharmaceutical world before this. So a lot of people always ask him, you know, how did you get into this? If you ask him the simple question that is he has two sons at the time that he started MCS, they were younger and he just didn't, he didn't want to be on the road all the time. He wanted to be at their football games. He wanted to be at their sporting events. And he saw that there was a need in the manufacturing sector for, you know, kind of a one-stop shop. So he stopped what he was doing. He started MCS. And at first it was a lot of, a lot of just one-off jobs that people needed in the Bedford County community. Kind of grew a presence that way. And then within the past three years, we've really seen this major shift to where now we're not a one, we’re not a job shop anymore. So we do focus on the production runs. We work in transportation, defense, energy, mining and rail. So we work in a lot of different sectors, which is nice. So if one sector might be slowing down work a little bit, you might put emphasis on another sector of work. So to be able to leverage that is really nice. And then we're really putting a big emphasis on quality right now. So we got a lot of new quality equipment. So we just got a CMM machine, which is a pretty big investment for a company of our size. And it's just really, now we like the place that we're at. Now it's just how do we make it the most efficient that our customers can get the most out of us and still have that small company feel to it. So now it's really just refining a lot of things. And we're definitely not perfect. We're not trying to say that we are. We do have our days, but for the most part, I think we've got a pretty good idea on where we want to go. And we've got a vision for the future that we're really excited about.

Bill: Paul, I love that. And I love that framing of, you know, an overnight success after 12 years, right? Because everybody loves to see the view that you have, but nobody wants to see the climb, right? Because that's always the tough part. But no, congratulations to you and your team and the leadership there for what they've been able to accomplish. That's amazing. Well, let's talk a little bit about, let's switch gears a little bit. You know, we talked about Mission Critical Solutions, what they do. How they do it, that type of thing, the markets you serve. Let's talk about the marketing because your role is in the marketing department. You are the marketing department and you're making it happen. And I love this because let's be honest, there's so many companies out there that have a marketing department of one or a half, right? Like they just have someone who has the role without the title. But I really want to dive into what you've been able to accomplish as a marketing department of one and how you're able to take this company and really present them in an effective way. So let's talk about your brand. And I love this idea of this is a leadership factory and you're building a brand around your people and not your product. Could you talk a little bit about that?

Paul: Yeah, of course. You know, the first year that I was there and Bill, I think we talked about this previously, but, I didn't have much marketing experience before this. I didn't know much about manufacturing before this. I was very green getting into it. And it was very eye opening to where I was like, man, I don't know what I'm going to do with this. I have all the tools. I have all the resources. Now it's just up to me and our team to figure out, you know, how, how can we get the most out of this? Cause we have such a good product here, which is our people. And that's kind what we settled on because it's very interesting within our industry. I mean, we don't as a subcontract, none of these projects are our own projects. They're projects for other people. And with NDAs and different things like that, it's very secretive on what you can and can't give out. So I'm like, what am I going to do? Because I can't even post really a picture if there's a certain product in the background of this. So it kind of, the idea of using our people as our product is, was kind of, we kind of came to that two ways. We obviously knew we wanted to put a big emphasis on our internal marketing. So, you know, we focused a lot on retention of our employees and we really are like a family because 20 or two years ago we had 24 people that were working for us. You know everyone, you see them every day. Good days and bad all around. And now we have 88, but we still like to keep that same feel. So was really putting an emphasis on that. And then through having partners come through our building and everything like that, we had, we had a gentleman one time who was walking and touring our facility about two years ago. And, I was fortunate enough to be walking around with them. And he said, you know, it really strikes me. I've toured a lot of manufacturing places and this is the one manufacturing company I've been to where every single person here treats this place like they're the boss, in a good way. Like they take ownership that this is their place. So that's kind of where our leadership mindset really took off. And it's just become this thing now where we're known for our people and we love it. We've got a good cast of characters where we're at. We wouldn't be a company without the people who work for us and show up every day and put their best foot forward. You know, it's an honor every day to go in and get to tell their story. I was actually talking to someone the other day and they made the point that, you know, my job, I'm fortunate to where I'm almost more of a journalist than I am a marketer. I talk to the, I'm serious, I'm just putting out the everyday stuff that you see in here. Yeah, it's all real, it's all authentic. And I'm just, I get the honor to just sit, watch and capture what they're doing and become a journalist in the sense for MCS. So that's kind of where that really took off for us.

Bill: So that's a great transition into this next topic, which is the effective use of video. And you have developed a mic'd up series where you turn your employees and your fellow team members into characters as it were. And I've really enjoyed consuming some of this content and getting to know the characters that are down there. If you guys ever decide to get out of the welding business, I think you just should start a reality TV show, kind of like Duck Dynasty or…

Paul: We’ve talked about it. We’ve talked about it. 

Bill: So maybe talk about this mic'd up series and how you developed organic content to really activate that internal audience and really get your team to engage.

Paul: Yeah, so the mic’d up series really came about, you know, about a year ago. I really started to, kind of personally fell in love with, you know, photography and videography and I found it very interesting to learn it. So I was spending a lot of my time outside of work watching videos on, how to edit videos and how to edit pictures and lighting and all different types of things and that. So personally, I really wanted to get into it and it just so happened, obviously it was a great opportunity where I could use that in my work as well. So I really started to just take videos at first of just small clips of just things going on inside the shop. And those videos kind of really took off for us, I think, because it was nice for these people's families and our partners to kind of see what exactly it's like behind the scenes, because it's almost like a secret. It's funny, we always talk about when you see our building from the outside, it might not look like much, but then you open up the curtains and there's all this going on in there that you would never even imagine. So to give people an inside look into that, I think people really appreciated that and enjoyed seeing it. So it was just simple clips that were 30 seconds to a minute long with some country music playing in the background. People loved it. And then I kind of was like, and again, I'm not, I'm not the most original person in the world. So a lot of our best stuff, I mean, I've taken from other people. So like I'm a big football fan. And I always know like football teams all the time do mic'd up. So I was sitting in, I was, sitting at home one day and I was watching, one of the Dallas Cowboys. I know that's going to pain the, the Steeler fans, but I was watching the Dallas Cowboy mic'd up series and I was like, man, how cool would it be if I mic'd up our guys? Cause we always say it's like a locker room and there are teammates and everything like that. So I went online, I got the Bluetooth mic and I put it on one of our guys and it was comedy gold. But it also, it was a good mix of where they were obviously doing work and they were solving problems. But they were also just being themselves. Again, that was the most authentic way for me because that's the one thing I struggle with marketing as well. I was like, obviously I think that our company's great and I say that we do all the right things. But how do I admit, every company says that. So how do I break that? How do I break that where I can say, if I saw this, I would truly believe that this company is what they say they are. And what better way to put on a microphone on our manufacturing workers and follow them around throughout the day? Because that's as real as it gets. If you know manufacturing workers too, it does take a little bit of editing. But it kind of took off as soon as I put it out. So that series, we're really excited to continue to grow that series. And we said that's our small reality TV show. So that one has been a hit. So again, that wasn't my original idea. I got it from seeing some football teams do it and it just happened to work.

Bill: So Paul, we'll let the Dallas Cowboys situation slide because the Steelers are doing really well right now in our territory.

Paul: They are one of the two losses to the Cowboys though.

Bill: Yep, that's right. Yes, that's that might be the cut. I'm not a big football fan, from my understanding, that may be one of the highlights of Dallas's year.

Paul: That is, but that's our whole year. Yeah, yeah. I can sleep well. We could lose every game rest of year, but I can sleep well. There's no, I don't have to put up with it from my buddies or anything like that. I've got four more years at least I can enjoy this.

Bill: Love it. Well, so let's talk about video here. So I think you're right on with when you try to communicate core brand principles, every company says they have good customer service. Every company says they have quality. Every company says they have a unique workforce. They all say these things and we can use stock videography, stock photos. We can use words that we have copywriters write. But the reality is if we can break through with candid content, if we can break through with original content, there is no substitute for that. And I think the other thing we're seeing, and this is one of our initiatives for 2025, is looking at how do we develop content for our clients that AI can't? Right? So, you know, I guess they're saying now in the future, you're going to able to type it in and it's going to be able to make a video and it's going to look authentic. Well, we're going to be able to figure that out. And I guarantee that there is no AI smart enough to replicate Bedford County manufacturing workers’ authentic thoughts and comments and ideas that they're going to spout off in this mic'd up series. So I think that's a great way to, really capture who you guys are in your originality.

Paul: Yeah, and I think, I mean, there's two things, because, you know, I've also thought about the AI and stuff as well. And AI has gone so far in such a short period of time, but all the video I've seen for AI, I mean, you can tell that's AI. Yeah, it's not great. But I'm sure it's going to get better. And I'm sure someday we'll possibly have to compete with that. But as of right now, I I say characters in the most polite way possible. But we do, we have a great cast of characters and they're hilarious. Every time I walk out in the shop, I'm dying laughing at something. So I'm like, people would really enjoy this. And there's really two ways to look at it. We talk about a lot and me and the vice president, and he always tells me, hey, listen, no matter what we do, people will not care what you say. They care about how you make them feel. So you know, try and evoke emotion. That's the country music is a great example for that. Country music historically has been used to, people like it because it's storytelling. It invokes some type of emotion. So whenever those lyrics kind of match exactly what's going on and it's just where we're from, that's what those guys like. I mean, it's a simple thing. But now that's we can't have a video without country music because that's what people are waiting for. And so I think it's it's a fine line between, you know, we obviously want to show our capabilities through these videos. A lot of these videos do have elements of, again, problem solving, but at the same time, too, let's make people laugh a little bit. Let's make people want to enjoy watching our videos and not just have to sit through a 30 second corporate video. I mean, and we're not trying to be anyone we're not. I mean, so that's the thing is like we, we are who we are. We embrace who we are. We love who we are and we're just going to continue to show people that and bring people along for the ride.

Strategic Roadmap Promo

Bill: So Paul, I want to shift gears a little bit here. You are a marketing department of one. And I think I would be remiss if I did not point out how unique your situation is in what your company has in you. And full disclosure, Paul did not pay me to say this. He doesn't even know I'm about to say this, so I might put him on the spot a little bit. But many marketing, many manufacturing and industrial companies have marketing departments. And they have relationships with agencies to execute a lot of their work. And that's where we live and we're very happy for those relationships and those opportunities. But Paul, you've been able to basically DIY this whole situation. And I think, like, you've taken on video editing, you've taken on video capture, you've been doing that work. And I think I had a podcast with someone, Rena, just a couple of weeks ago where they had the very fortunate opportunity that one of the owner's sons was into video. So they were able to explode into video really quickly, which wasn't an opportunity for many of their competitors because of the costs and the amount of difficulty to entertain that otherwise. So maybe talk a little bit about like this do it yourself journey that you've been on as a marketing manager. You know, one person shop and how you've just kind of jumped in, learned new things and delivered for MCS.

Paul: Yeah, well, first of all, I appreciate you saying all that. I really do. But it is not a do it yourself. I guess do it myself, but along the way, you know, I've had great mentors. You know, we have done some work with some agencies and things like that before when I was very extremely green on what we were doing. And, you know, I've gotten the privilege to talk to a lot of different marketing people from these companies we work for and stuff. So I've had a lot of good mentors over the past two years almost. So I definitely, I would be remiss if I didn't thank those people for helping me out and for my company being patient with me as well, trying to learn it all. But I think, again, now we're just reaping the rewards of that hard work, right? I mean it’s, maybe it's my background of college football and all these different things. And it's just, I've always been the type where, you know. I'm not gonna let someone else dictate, I'm not gonna let my circumstances dictate. And I have great circumstances where I'm at where they're giving me all the resources in the world to take this as far as I want it. Now it's just up to me to go out there and learn it, execute it, and continue to grow. So I got a nice camera and they helped me with lenses and they helped me with the stabilizers and everything like that. So anything that I need on that end, my company, they say don't even hesitate. They're just like, hey, get what you need and go do what you do. And they give me a lot of creative freedom as well. I remember, you know, there was a point my first year where I was wanting answers on everything. I didn't want to put one thing out without just double checking and making sure it was OK. And my boss said, hey, listen, you know what you're doing. OK. And sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. So just go do your thing. Okay, and if you put something out that's wrong, we'll let you know, but I don't ever want to hold you back from what you're doing. And when you know you have that support behind you, it just drives you to be the best version of yourself. And again, I believe in the company vision, I believe in the culture. And so I have an opportunity to where I can really make an impact to take this company where we want to go. And I think that's interesting for someone my age as well. To be able to have that voice and have the impact. I mean, I have a lot of I have a lot of friends that work at big corporations different things like that. And you know, that's great. I'm not knocking that for sure. And you know, they'll ask me where I work. And they're like, I've never heard. What is that? And it's like, yeah, listen, I know it's not it might not be a Fortune 500 company, but I have a seat at the table. I have a voice and I have an opportunity to again, just put my finger my fingerprint on on this journey. So again, wasn't easy, still learning a lot. I might be lying if I said I was an expert. I'm definitely not an expert yet, but I'm hoping that I'm on my way there. And I just have to thank those people along the way for helping me. And then obviously having a company that is pushing me and behind me to take this where we want to go. So just really leaning into it and not being afraid. I've done a lot of things too that didn't work. We're talking about all the things that did work. There were ton of other things that did not work out so well. So again, I appreciate we're focusing on the good things, but 50% of it was not good. What do they say? You wash, rinse, repeat. And that's what I keep in the back of my mind when I'm starting a new strategy or trying something new that, hey this might not work. If it does, great. If it doesn't, then we'll wash it and we'll go to the next thing.

Bill:  So Paul, think that's a very, you have a great perspective and great self-awareness of what's happening in the market because I think there's a couple of things you said. Number one, as a marketing team of one, you can do it somewhat yourself, but that you have to have a company that's patient. A lot of folks that we talk to that sit in your seat have companies that are not patient at all. It's like what's, how are you launching this new website in 60 days? How are you launching 20 YouTube videos this quarter? And when those folks run into that requirement or those higher demands, they're having to lean into agencies or relationships with people like us or the other folks you've worked with because there's no way in the world that one person can execute the day to day and then all of those major projects simultaneously. The other thing I think, this may be something that what's missing is, whenever we see marketing managers struggle, and I think if you have a 50% success rate, you're killing it. But if there's those things, one of the things I see in talking to marketing managers who try to insource too much is that there are things that they try, they start, it gets stopped because they can't learn it fast enough because it's changing so rapidly that that's a place where we need to reach out to other people who have a team that that's what they do every day. Just like what you guys do at MCS. Like you guys do your thing every day. So you're way better at it than a job shop who is just going to be like, yeah, I'll take on this project. So I think that's a great like self-awareness of where you've started and where you're progressing. And I think it's also, I don't want to create the expectation if there's a CEO out there listening to this that says, well, why isn't my person doing it all? Well, okay. It's all about what are the requirements? What are the expectations and across what scope of work before we can say, yes, we can do it ourselves. Yes, we need a department or yes, we need an outsourced partner in an agency or something to execute this spectrum of work. So I think it's perspective. Do you see that as well?

Paul: Yeah, I definitely see that. And everything that you just said, again, like my first year, I went through all that. I think, you know, everyone who, and I guess I'm speaking for my company a little bit when I say this, because I don't know for sure, but everyone who gets a marketing person, I think always thinks in the back of their head, like there's a chance we hire a marketing person, like we're going to take off. And, you know, there's obviously a lot more that goes into it than that. That's a good start. But I think too, you know, being able to, and again, this is kudos to our leaders for being like this, but having an idea of being able to keep the bigger picture in mind and understanding that it might not look like a whole lot week to week, but then over months you look back and you say, Hey, we actually, you know, there's a lot, a lot here that we did. And that's all in line with our vision for where want to go. So it might not be that instant gratification that we talked about. But over time, those things do add up and this stuff doesn't happen overnight. And I think when you spoke a little bit about too, someone might see it and say, well, why isn't my person doing everything? It's, I think a lot of times, and again, I'm not saying I'm perfect by any means, but, you know, I think too, just having a good idea of what you can actually accomplish in an eight hour day. If you're good at time management and everything like that. And again, maybe it was just my background that prepared me well, but throughout a week, we do obviously our strategies, we do them quarterly. So I already know what exactly I'm putting out. A lot of my stuff is scheduled out a month in advance. So I kind of take that month and now I can work on those bigger picture items. You know, I can work on the next month. I can work on the next large company video because I did the hard work on the front end to make sure that, you know, the posts and the emails, things like that are going out when they need to. Okay. Now let me take a breath, take a step back. And now I can really experiment with some stuff and kind of teach myself some of these things to keep growing. So again, that stuff accumulates over time. And then just leaning into it again, and just embracing that, you know, I, if you aren't growing, you're dying. And I truly believe that. And so that's exactly how I go about my day. And then again, of course, having the leadership behind me to understand that this stuff is going out. It's going out for a reason. And while that's all going out, I'm going to be behind the scenes working on what's next.

Bill: Sure. No, that's great. I love that. And I think there is a lot of truth to having proper project management, time management. That starts with great strategy. That starts with then, you know, tactical plans and project management, calendaring. Those are key elements. mean, those are fun foundational, whether you're a student, whether you're a professional. But I think sometimes what we see is companies will give goals to the marketing department. And then nobody does the math. Oh wait, there's three years of work here. And we went that done in six months and we're not willing to allocate any other resources to it. Well then, if you're focused on everything, you're focused on nothing. And right. This goes back to just fundamental. You don't go on your factory floor and have a line on the factory floor that can produce a hundred units in six months and go to the team and say, We want you to produce 200 units. You might be able to get them to get you 110 units or 115, right? If you really tweak some things and, and, you know, motivate the team. But we go to the marketing department and we're also often asking for 2X production out of, you know, one, one X availability or resource resourcing. And so I think having some of those kind of fundamentals in place are so important. Doing that napkin math of, there's eight hours in a day, there's 40 hours a week. This is what the team has. This is their budget. Oh wow, there's a tremendous mismatch between what we're asking and what's able to be delivered. So we have to recalibrate, reprioritize, or we have to add resources. So I think those are really fundamental things that every company should do. And it sounds like you and your team work closely to make sure there's alignment.

Paul: Yeah. And I think too, I mean, a lot of that comes down to as well, you know, a lot of people not fully understanding what all it takes to be a good marketer. You know, cause I still, again, I, I would walk out on the shop floor and it's just like, I don't even know how many people know exactly what I do in a day. But they'll say that to me all the time. They're like, what do you even do up there? What do you do up in your office? I mean, you just sit up in your office and so it's very, people don't have the greatest understanding. And in a lot of companies, you know, unfortunate, it's not mine, but I'm sure a lot of companies, you know, even the top managers don't know exactly what goes on in marketing. So you almost can't fault them for thinking that all that work can be done in such a short amount of time. But again, that's when it's got to be on you to let them know and have that relationship with them to say that, hey, you know, this is not that realistic and explain the reason to, you know, why that is. And so, know, I'm again, I'm just fortunate enough or I have that type of relationship that I can do that and they trust me. I'm sure not everyone's in that, same boat. But at the end of the day, just letting them know that, Hey, you know, this might not be too reasonable, but we can do this and this is what you're going to get out of it and everything like that. And just, I guess, giving people an insight into what exactly it takes. Cause a lot of people are afraid to speak up as well. And I was the same way when I first started because I was given projects and things like that. Maybe I was like, okay, I'm thinking in the back of my mind, like, I don't think this is possible. But then of course I'm saying, yeah, that's great. Yep. We'll get it done. Yeah. And then it turns out not the best thing because I didn't have the proper time or resources to do it. So speaking up and creating that relationship, you know, to have them understand exactly what this all takes. And again, you can't fault those managers and things like that for if they don't know. But that's when, again, I'd say it's your job to let them know exactly what that can be. Or if you need more resources or if you need more team members, whatever the case may be. And again, I'm just in a very unique situation to where it's possible for us, but in two years from now, hopefully we're big enough that we need a whole marketing team and not just me.

Bill: Well, and Paul, I think you're right on there. One of the things we've been hired to do a lot lately is, and we see this growing in the future, is we just come in and do strategic assessments, strategic marketing assessments so that we can help top management and certainly in organizations that are bigger and more diffuse and don't have the touch points it's more appropriate. But where we go in and do a strategic assessment to really provide some reality checks on the scope and the ambitions of management with the reality of what's on board. And then obviously they can make decisions of reprioritizing, adding resources, reducing the scope or reducing the ambitions of the organization. But that is becoming, I think managers and CEOs, C-Suites, founders are becoming more aware that there is a tremendous lack of knowledge that they have of what actually goes into just simple things like, we want to put a little video on Facebook about that. OK, just go up there and click on it and it's all good. Right. Like it's a little bit more complex. Not much, but a little bit. And, you know, that's just an example using some hyperbole. But I think we're going to see more and more of that strategic check and help with annual planning to allow there to be a little bit better matching of resources and ambitions to make sure, because every, no matter what, the C-suite wants their team to be successful. It would be better for the internal marketing team to pick five initiatives and knock them out of the park than have 10 initiatives that they do very, very poorly consistently on each. It's better to do a couple of things well. So we're starting to see those strategic assessments help companies leverage our experience across hundreds and hundreds of manufacturing and industrial companies to give them that good advice.

Paul: Yeah, I think that's perfect too. Again, because we always say as well, you only hit a target that you aim at. And so for us, that's having the bigger picture. So it's two things in one there, right? So you got to, obviously, you only hit a target you aim at, but at the same time, having that awareness to understand that all these little things are going to add up to getting to that final target. So that's kind of what we focus on too. And we have a lot of people ask us all the time or I'll talk to other marketing people who say, know, well, you know, how, what do you use for measuring? How, like how do you measure how successful something is and how successful? We don't. I mean, like we have, we have the analytics, you know, we have, we have all the numbers on the backend. We can see how well things do, but we really don't worry about that because one, if our customer comes in and you know, let's just say our orders are growing. Okay. Well, we can probably make the assumption that, you know, marketing had something to do with that. Or you know, we'll have people come into our office all the time and they'll say hey, you know, we see your stuff online, you know, we see and then to us like those are all the numbers we need because those numbers that you see online. Although they're great to have and they do tell a story, those can be skewed in a lot of different ways by a lot of different variables but again, the real story is you know, are you growing or are you dying and you know, we see the bigger picture and understand that you know, we're not going to get too caught up in the weeds of how many likes we've gotten in a post or how much engagement we had on this email and just understand that there's a bigger picture surrounding that and let's not try and get so caught up in these numbers, which is very fortunate on my end as well because I'm sure there's a lot of other people in my seat who just need to have the numbers to have to show that they're hitting these certain targets, which I can understand. But we also understand that we're in a unique situation where those numbers do tell a story. But we trust that what we're doing is going to get us where we need to go and we don't care about the numbers.

Bill: Sure. Well and I think, Paul, you guys are in an interesting situation where you and your team have established a niche and you're able to grow in that niche without running into tremendous competitive headwinds. Let's fast forward five or six years and let's say you guys have tripled or quadrupled in size and now you're competing with very large companies for work. That's when, probably, in the life cycle of your marketing journey, that's where like over that time period, you'd have to switch gears and really start looking at the details and the analytics because one, the budgets will get bigger. So ownership's gonna wanna know more about what's going into it. And rightfully so. And you hit the nail on the head. A lot of companies in that mid-market space, if they're north of 30 million in annual revenue and they've got a significant marketing budget, they're not looking at momentum. They're looking at momentum plus all the details and every analytic that builds up to that momentum. Right. So I think what that speaks to though is like the entrepreneurial nature of the journey of MCS. Where you guys are in your life cycle. Right. You're not mature. You're you're growing and you're young in, the, the business and it's, it's on that trajectory. So I think that's just a recognition of where different companies are in their life cycles. And we're not going to spend a whole lot of time on measurement and those details because we can spend an hour on LinkedIn analytics. That's like a whole rabbit hole we're going to avoid. But there's a lot to that. And then as you guys mature, you'll see more engagement there. And in your career, you'll see you'll have to embrace that more because that'll just be such an important thing. Paul, what advice would you have for companies trying to balance content creation that is super polished and super organic? Because I think you guys have done a really nice job of having what I would almost call the best of both worlds. It looks really good, but also knowing that you guys haven't brought in like a five person production team and spent a ton of money to accomplish what you've wanted to do.

Paul: Yeah. Well, I would just say, with, with everything that we do, and we've talked about this before, it's we want quality over quantity. Because we understand that, you know, the quality of what we do is, you know, it's shown in everything that we do. Okay. So whether that's a video, whether that's pens, whether that's business cards, whether it's printed material, or whether that's, you know, a big project that's going out, we want it to be quality. We want people to see it. So you have to have quality with at the same time you have to be relatable. Okay, so I'd say that's where it goes. You know, we're in such a unique market and a unique time in all of our lives to where, you know, social media is obviously taken over. So you can go on LinkedIn and you can go on Instagram and X and all those different places. And especially LinkedIn, you can find so many videos that are just so corporate and it drives me nuts. Like it seriously does. Like I understand that it drives me nuts because I know probably how much you might've paid for that and whatnot. And they're great videos, don't get me wrong. But there's something to be said for something that is relatable and something that is organic. And it's almost, it's fresh. A lot of times, what I see at least, seems like, just like anything, trends always come back. We started out with the organic almost homemade style videos because that's the best we could do. Okay. Then we started to get advanced technology. Some companies started to do really good, really good, more like corporate videos. And you saw a big uptick in that. And now I think we're almost going to come back around to like organic because that is different and it's fresh. And so I think, you know, we got luck again, we kind of got lucky and I always say luck. We always talk about that one of our leadership characteristics, we have like a list of 12 characteristics or phrases for leaders. And one of them is that hard work often disguises itself as luck. So I say we're lucky, obviously there was work that goes into it, to where, again, like you said, we are in this unique spot where, know, it's high-quality stuff. You know, we have good camera, we have good equipment, some decent editing skills. But at the same time, it still feels original and it feels authentic and that's who we are. That's who our partners, our partners that have been with, like our partners who have been with us, a lot of them have been with us for many years. And they stay with us because again, we understand who we are and we're not trying to be anyone, anyone we are. And our videos have to, our videos and everything that we put out have to be in line with that idea.

Bill: Paul, one of the other things I want to ask you about is you have worked really closely on building this people culture brand. And there's a lot of companies out there who are struggling with that. And I think one of the keys to your success has been the fact that you have access to, you are in close proximity to every day and involved every day with the folks on the factory floor and in all aspects of production. How critical is it for a marketer and even let's say an HR director and HR people who are going to be involved in recruitment marketing and creating that brand to attract that person who is part, like matches the culture. How important is it for them to be on the factory floor, be with the team and really understand what's going on?

Paul: Well it's extremely important for multiple reasons. As far as marketing, I mean, you have to be able to understand what's going on, obviously, to market it well. And so for me, I spent a lot of time on the shop floor. Again, I always go back to last year, whenever I was first starting out. But last year, again, there was a day where I think I was just I was talking to my boss. I’m like, I'm not exactly sure what's going on there. He's like, I want you every day to take your laptop out there and just sit out there for an hour. There's a desk, the shipping and receiving desk, just take your laptop, don't even, just watch what all is going on around you. And obviously people come up and talk to you and everything like that. I just became super appreciative of the work that those guys do out there because again, I think a lot of people have this huge perception of what hard work really is. I mean, it's trivial for sure, but I also work hard every day because I'm fortunate to where, yeah, I, I do, even though the guys like calling me a paper pusher, I do get to sit in the office all the time. I do get to wear the nice shirts and different things like that. But I appreciate the work that they do because I see what they do is hard work. They come in at 3:30 in the morning, sometimes in the summer when it's 120 degrees in the shop and they're welding equipment and they're there for 10 plus hours every day, welding metal and slinging metal around. That is hard work. What I'm doing isn't so that kind of not to get off topic, but that's also what kind of pushes me as well. But then obviously I want to I want to market them in the best light because I appreciate what they're what they're doing for us. And and that again happens over time. So it's just extremely important to be able to understand what is going on exactly in your company and then just have organic conversations with these guys like figure out, you know. Obviously, I'll go out there all the time with my camera and stuff like that. And then 80% of the time, I'm not even taking videos or anything. I'm just talking to these guys and I'm talking to them throughout the day. 

Bill: Paul, one of the things we like to talk about in the Missing Half podcast is what's missing. So, and maybe not like negatively, but just like what you're looking forward to. When you think about your strategy for the rest of this year and next year for marketing, like what's on the horizon? What are you excited about? What are some gaps you want to clean up from last year? Just kind of like an open discussion so we can learn what's missing in manufacturing marketing.

Paul: Yeah, for sure. So lots of exciting things going on for us. We just acquired a new building a few months back. So getting that up and running, it's in a whole other sector of manufacturing work as well, which is it's a bridge grid. So it's basically just a it's a alternative to rebar for for bridge manufacturing. So there's a bunch of different types that that isn't going to be nice from the marketing standpoint, obviously, because it's something new. But two, that's a product that I can market. Okay, because again, I'm still going to keep the people at the forefront of it, but it would be nice to kind of be able to show exactly what this product is, what the benefits are to it and everything like that. So a lot of good stuff in the work works for that, you know, following projects from the time they come in as raw material to now actually going to the site where this bridge is and seeing it being put up. And I think that again, for internal will be awesome for our guys to see, you know, exactly because a lot of these guys, once that project leaves the shop, never see it again. So to be able to see that in action. So definitely excited about that. We're gonna have some probably by this time next year, we're gonna have a couple of our own products, Mission Critical products. So those have been in the works for a while now. So I can't say too much about that, obviously. Maybe we'll talk again, talk again soon. And I'll be able to share some more on that. And then as far as the missing gaps for us, obviously we focus a ton on internal marketing, which again, that's always going to be at the forefront. But I think putting an emphasis on a segment of our external. Okay so obviously we like to have a good balance between the internal and external. We try and do, know, a 50-50 split, but almost taking that external and branching off from that and figuring out like who, who are the people that we need to target and, you know really kind of catering towards them, one avenue catering towards those people because I think that's one thing that I've missed out on is yes, the videos are great. Our guys love it. Our guys' moms and girlfriends like to see it online. That's fantastic, but we're getting to the point, let's be aggressive with those external. And so working through that this upcoming year is gonna be exciting and definitely going be a challenge, obviously, you know, I look forward to that and next year at this time, I'll be happy to have gone through those challenges and look back on it and everything like that. So there's tons of it, tons of exciting stuff going on and, know, just, just blessed to be where I'm at. So, and with a good company and with a 80, 88 other people who also believe the same thing. When you have that many people going towards and believing in one mission good things are going to happen.

Bill: No, that's great. Well, Paul, think you, your introspection and awareness are correct as you transition from internal marketing to a bigger focus on external with this, these actual products where you can actually talk about them, right. And actually features benefits story, activating that market, identifying those target markets. That is going to be a new approach for you guys, but I think you've got the right ideas around it. And, but no, I really thank you for sharing like what's missing or what you see that you've got to address going forward, because that's where we as a community of manufacturing and B2B marketing professionals can learn from each other, can share and recognize those differences. I think a lot of folks, who are in your seat in other companies who are more mature in the external marketing can look at what you've talked about today and the journey you've been on with your internal marketing. And see that as something that's missing at their organization. So like we can all learn from each other, which is what this podcast is about. Well, Paul, I just really want to thank you for coming on and sharing your journey. You know, and we'll forgive you for rooting for Dallas. But other than that, everything was great. I might have them edit that part out because I don't know. I'm just kidding. But like, no, it's just been a fantastic conversation. I would love to run this back in a year and understand what was missing in the product and external marketing, what you learned on that journey and how that went, because I think that would be a great, we're gonna mic Paul up on his journey and see what happens as MCS diversifies, adds new products and goes to market.

Paul: Yeah, let's do it. I look forward to that. I don't think you'd have to do as much editing on mine as I might have to do on theirs out in the shop. But no, I want to thank you for giving me this platform to talk and share my experiences. Because like I said, it wasn't always perfect and it might all seem great. But at the end of the day, I just have the honor of working with 80 people, again, who I get the honor to just share their story. You know, they do the hard work, they sling the metal around, and then I just get to show exactly what they do. And so, and a lot of times, they do the work for me. Definitely excited to get on the external, go forward with the external marketing, learn a lot more about that. But again, just appreciate you giving me this opportunity to talk about it and to shed a light on, you know, our guys in Bedford County, because they're doing some great things. They're building America. And people just, they're like the hidden gems. Like we're tucked away in the corner. No one knows what they do. Sometimes their families don't even know, but I like to give them a little bit of insight because they do exceptional work and make my job super easy. So thank you again. I definitely appreciate it.

Bill: Well, Paul, you're a bright young man who is very conscientious, has a great career ahead of you. I'll be excited to tag along and watch. And then we will run this back next year and check in on you in Paul's mic'd up moment and see how you've made it. So thank you again.

Paul: Let's do it. I'm excited. Thank you again. I appreciate it.

Bill: Thank you for joining the Missing Half podcast where we're discovering what's missing in manufacturing and B2B marketing. Please like, share, comment. Have a great day.