IndustrialSage Logo
  • Shows
    • Bright Ideas by Acuity Brands
    • Executive Series
    • From the Floor: Trade Shows
    • Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric
    • Making Connections Presented by Brennan Industries
    • Sales & Marketing Insights
    • Sales & Marketing How To
    • Webinars
    • Create Custom Content
    • Sponsor A New Show!
  • News
    • Industry News
    • Submit a Story
  • Articles
  • Members
    • Login
    • Member Dashboard
    • Add Agency to Directory
    • Profile
    • Create Account
    • Press Submission
  • Services
  • About
    • About Our Team
    • About IndustrialSage
    • About the Studio
    • Reviews
    • Agency Directory
    • Our Sponsors
      • Optimum Productions
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
  • Contact
Menu
  • Shows
    • Bright Ideas by Acuity Brands
    • Executive Series
    • From the Floor: Trade Shows
    • Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric
    • Making Connections Presented by Brennan Industries
    • Sales & Marketing Insights
    • Sales & Marketing How To
    • Webinars
    • Create Custom Content
    • Sponsor A New Show!
  • News
    • Industry News
    • Submit a Story
  • Articles
  • Members
    • Login
    • Member Dashboard
    • Add Agency to Directory
    • Profile
    • Create Account
    • Press Submission
  • Services
  • About
    • About Our Team
    • About IndustrialSage
    • About the Studio
    • Reviews
    • Agency Directory
    • Our Sponsors
      • Optimum Productions
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
  • Contact
Search
Close
Home Additive Manufacturing
How Manufacturers Can Build Awareness In Emerging Technologies Like 3D Printing

How Manufacturers Can Build Awareness In Emerging Technologies Like 3D Printing

with Sonita Lontoh of HP

by Rica
July 21, 2019
in Additive Manufacturing
5 min read
60
SHARES
Share on LinkedIn Share on FacebookShare on TwitterEmail this Article

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

This week’s episode is a real treat! We sat down to talk shop with Sonita Lontoh, even though she lives all the way across the country! Sonita is the Vice President of Global Marketing for HP’s 3D Printing & Digital Manufacturing division.

Before her time with HP, Sonita worked both in the high-speed environment of venture-backed Silicon Valley businesses, as well as with Fortune 100 companies.

Once again, she’s at the forefront of a hot topic. 3D printing and additive manufacturing have surged into the public eye within the past decade. But how long have these techniques actually been around?

More importantly, as with any emerging technology…how exactly does one market it?

1. THE APPLICATIONS OF 3D PRINTING

Most consumers know HP as a commercial human technologies company. Their laptops and tablets pose one of the biggest threats with the powerhouse that is Apple. Sonita’s division, on the other hand, focuses on manufacturers and industrial companies.

“It’s not enough for a technology company to only be viewed as a hardware technology vendor. It’s more important for the company to be viewed as that trusted solutions leader that actually has the expertise in the end-to-end solutions, namely hardware technology, software, and services.”

HP entered the field with plastics three years ago, and started working with metal as well last year. So for which industries is HP’s 3D printing most applicable? Trick question– every industry can benefit from additive manufacturing.

3D printing can be used for:

  • Functional Prototyping
  • Manufacturing Aids
  • Final Parts Production

Additive manufacturing reduces waste during parts production, but that’s not all. It can also allow for far more customization. From phone cases to glasses to orthodontia and prosthetics…the possibilities are endless.

Some industries, like automotive, have already been using these emerging technologies for years. Additive manufacturing reduces the weight of Volkswagen car parts and increases their efficiency– to say nothing of increasing customer experience with customizable options.

2. HOW DO YOU MARKET EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES?

If something is new to the world of your consumers, how do you take it to market? After all, 3D printing is such a new field…or is it?

Believe it or not, additive manufacturing was invented back in the eighties. It’s only just now advanced to a point where the technologies and resources to use them are far more accessible for independent users.

“3D printing has actually been around for 30 years, but in the past, it had been primarily been used only for prototyping. In the past few years, with the advancement of the technology…we have seen more and more use of 3D printings for industrial manufacturing applications.

“3D printing, in the role of industrial manufacturing, enables three cool things. First, it enables new geometries that wouldn’t be possible. Second, it enabled new part properties that also wouldn’t be possible otherwise. And, the third thing, it also enabled new mass customizations that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”

The first step to building the market for emerging technologies like additive manufacturing is to create awareness.

If people don’t know what you’re selling or how it’s beneficial, they’re very unlikely to buy it. Accordingly, Sonita and HP focus on explaining the practical uses of additive manufacturing as a central tactic. They offer a lot of educational services and thought leadership to inform their consumers.

However, their very strongest spokespeople don’t actually work for the company.

“In the industrial world, nothing speaks louder than the customer’s success.

“I cannot say enough about the importance, really, about customer advocacy.”

Buyer testimonials, especially when filmed to feature a smiling human face, mean a lot more to your prospects. They know the speaker wasn’t paid to praise you– what they’re saying is genuine.

3. WHAT’S NEXT FOR HP IN THE MARKET FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING?

The industrial industry is moving more and more at lightning speed. More and more emerging technologies beyond just 3D printing keep coming from the ether. Digital manufacturing – the internet of things – represents another massive tidal wave hitting the manufacturing world.

For HP and many other companies, they’re realizing that one of the next big steps is to go beyond just hardware.

“We understand it’s about the end-to-end solutions: which means the hardware, the materials, the software, the services.”

For Sonita and HP, they ultimately strive to work closely with ecosystem partners in order to be able to deliver, at the end of the day, an end to end solution.

For example, HP recently announced their alliance with Siemens. Now they can create fully-integrated systems that combine HP’s 3D printing services with items like the Siemens Mindsphere industrial IoT platform. All of it can be used to service a digital factory from start to finish.

There can be a lot of fear in an emerging market when you’re trying to roll out with emerging technologies.

Providing valuable resources like thought leadership; customer testimonials; or end-to-end integration solutions can alleviate a lot of those buyer worries.

What are you doing to create awareness around the next big thing in your industry?

 

ACCESS THE FREE PERSONA BUILDER
 

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get every new episode, blog article, and content offer sent directly to your inbox. You can also subscribe wherever you download podcasts so you can listen on the go!

If there’s a particular topic that you’d like for us to talk about, or if you have a particular a challenge that you’d like us to take a crack at, send us an email. We’d be happy to answer them for you. If your topic gets picked for a future episode, you’ll win a free IndustrialSage t-shirt!

 

Sponsored by Optimum Productions

Rica
Author: Rica

Since the inception of IndustrialSage back in 2017, Rica has been one of the driving forces building IndustrialSage. As Marketing Manager, she's dedicated to producing amazing content on the site. There's little she loves more than storytelling: helping to explain new ideas in order to aid others in solving their problems. Fortunately, that's what IndustrialSage is all about.

Tags: 3d printingadditive manufacturingblogblogsdigital manufacturingemerging technologieshpmarketingsonita lontohVice President
Share1Share55Tweet2Send
Previous Post

Three Steps for Marketers to Gain Executive Buy-In With Digital Tactics

Next Post

Statistics Reveal the Top Three Challenges Faced by Industrial Marketers

Related Posts

Blog

Blind Spots On the Road to Net-Zero Carbon Emissions

December 15, 2022
Mastering Mobile: How to Reach More Mobile Buyers
Blog

Mastering Mobile: How to Reach More Mobile Buyers

December 8, 2022
“Industries of the Future” Campaign by Schneider Electric Wins Silver Award for B2B International Campaigns
International Marketing

“Industries of the Future” Campaign by Schneider Electric Wins Silver Award for B2B International Campaigns

December 1, 2022
Lattice Semiconductor and MassRobotics Announce Partnership to Accelerate Next-Gen Robotics
Robotics

Lattice Semiconductor and MassRobotics Announce Partnership to Accelerate Next-Gen Robotics

October 5, 2022
Blog

The Story of Enexor on Industries of the Future

September 26, 2022
Distributors

Addressing Unstable Economic Influences As a Company

September 17, 2022
Industries of the Future, Presented by Schneider Electric: Watch the All New Monthly Series Now!
No Result
View All Result
We Create & Distribute Custom Branded Content for You

Want to reach more Industrial & Manufacturing Professionals? Learn More »

A dynamic, open platform, publishing compelling content for industrial professionals.

Shows

  • Sales & Marketing
  • Executive Series
  • Agency Success Podcast

Members

  • Login
  • Create Account
  • Member Dashboard
  • Press Submission
  • Be A Guest On A Show

Resources

  • Downloads & Video Guides
  • Partner Agency Directory
  • Become a Contributor

Grow

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe

© 2020 IndustrialSage, Inc. All rights reserved

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • UGC Terms
Linkedin Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Instagram