# 143: How to Identify and Speak to Your Ideal Customer with Emily Joann Wilkins, Founder of Marketing Metal

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2023-06-27
- Length: 32m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Emily Wilkins, founder of Marketing Metal, explains how job shops can build profitable brands by niching down to specific audiences rather than trying to appeal to everyone. She details the evolution of her company from a general agency to a specialized firm serving manufacturing clients, emphasizing the importance of identifying ideal customers through profitability and enjoyment metrics. Wilkins advises manufacturers to stop listing equipment and start selling services, while leveraging personal branding and community voices like Manufacturing Champions to build authority and generate real leads.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=0) Introduction: Emily Wilkins and Marketing Metal
- [3:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=196) Defining the Radical Job Shop and Niche Strategy
- [6:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=361) Wilkins' Journey: From General Agency to Manufacturing Specialist
- [9:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=584) Why Manufacturers Skip Audience Identification
- [13:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=783) The Power of Personal Branding and Networking
- [19:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=1172) Case Study: Building the Manufacturing Champions Brand
- [23:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=1382) Marketing Evolution: Talent, Automation, and Digital Presence
- [24:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=1471) Stop and Start List for Job Shop Marketing
- [27:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo#t=1621) Leveraging Personality and Health Challenges in Branding

## Topics

- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Marketing Metal (company)
- Manufacturing Champions (product)
- The Southerner (other)
- Pumpernickels (other)
- Taco + Bar (other)
- New Holland brewing (other)
- Broadview Product Development (company)
- Mavens of Manufacturing (other)
- The Fabricator (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How to Craft Messaging that Resonates with the Right Customers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-08-03-how-to-craft-messaging-that-resonates-with-the-right-customers) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [5 Ways Manufacturers Can Level Up Their Marketing w/ Allison DeFord](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2021-11-30-5-ways-manufacturers-can-level-up-their-marketing-w-allison-deford) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Advice Line with Tom Rinks of Sun Bum](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-05-23-advice-line-with-tom-rinks-of-sun-bum) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line: Growing Beyond Your Niche](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-10-advice-line-growing-beyond-your-niche) (How I Built This)
- [176: How Hardware Founders Should Represent Their Product](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-05-18-176-how-hardware-founders-should-represent-their-product) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-06-27-143-how-to-identify-and-speak-to-your-ideal-customer-with-emily-joann-wilkins-fo. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.