Engineering Meets Web 2.0: A Temperature Measurement CEO Success (Part 1)

If you’re a CEO in manufacturing, engineering, or, well, a small to mid-sized business, you’ll want to dip into this Web 2.0 /social media (2-part) interview.  Find out from Jim Burns, the temperature expert CEO of Burns Engineering, the reasons he’s adopted social media, business blogging, Twitter and is building an online community for his customers and prospects.

Forbes and the new Razorfish Digital Report told us this week, “Yes, CEOs should Facebook and Twitter”.  And if you didn’t already know, (yes you heard it here first boys and girls),  “Web 2.0 is no longer just for teenagers.”

Q. Tell us about Burns Engineering.

A.  Burns Engineering will turn 50 this next year.  We manufacture temperature sensors for industry.

Our market position is based on “BE-ing” temperature-measurement experts (TME)… BE is the acronym for “Burns Engineering” of course.  We take that commitment seriously – inside and outside the organization.

Q. You’re using blogs and building an online community (social media, Web 2.0). Usually companies use these to create a closer relationship with customers, suppliers, etc. You seem to be unique in the temperature-measurement industry. What got you to take the social media approach (plunge)?

A.  At Burns Engineering we love BE-ing in conversation with existing customers and reaching out to new prospects.  So as a mature company, it’s a lot of fun to play with and the leverage the new media of Web 2.0 to keep these conversations alive. Burns has always been in rich, regular conversation with our customers about temperature-measurement:  Web 2.0 offers many new ways to deepen and broaden that conversation—in cost-efficient, effective, creative ways that all businesses need to do more of these days.

We’re not going to make CNN Headline News with our temperature-measurement expertise, but our specialized temperature-measurement solutions, products and services impact billions of production dollars in the industries we serve.

We got started in the Web 2.0 world after we partnered with an agency in Minneapolis – areyoufrank.com. They first helped us create our annual marketing plan based on our business objectives, then we looked to cost-effective technology we can leverage to implement our strategic plan and achieve the right online / offline marketing mix …

–    BEblog on WordPress: written by our product development and marketing leader … early product/service messages, lighter content, our hub of TME

–   Monthly BEblasts through Constant Contact: strong click-through rates since we often include at least half a dozen ways to interact with us: new articles, application notes, product info, community registration and of course, personal conversation opportunities with our sales team

–    BEpoll leveraging PollDaddy technology: gauges what our customers are thinking … then we share the results on our BEblog and continue the discussion there

–    Our online configurator: puts product creation in the hands of our customers, then we connect in person to make sure they’re getting the best solution possible

–    Starting our own Twitter TME community!

Check back tomorrow. We’ll continue our interview with Jim Burns, CEO of Burns Engineering.  If you’re in temperature measurement, check out Burns Engineering Booth 3205 at Interphex, New York City, March 17-19.

Update:

Part 2 of interview here

The last post of the interview is here.