My goal, since starting Huff Industrial Marketing in 2014, is to be the Gold Standard for manufacturers when it comes to creating websites and providing follow-on marketing.
“If you want to be the Gold Standard,” said a colleague many years ago, “then you need a Gold Standard team.” I’m pleased to say I’ve achieved that goal.
I’m fortunate to work with really smart people who share my values and passion for excellence. (See Our Team page for full bios and photos.)
Rachel Cunliffe and Stephen Merriman (brother and sister) are the absolute best at what they do — design and development. Both provide excellent service, support, and most important, flawless work. They’re also a lot of fun!
Whenever we have a photoshoot with a new customer, I always get asked, “Oh my gosh, how did you meet Al (the photographer)?” Al Ferreira is *amazing.* Watching him work is like watching a ballet performance. He’s smart, creative, and comes up with ideas on the fly. His photography is exceptional. I won’t work with anyone else.
Two years ago, I asked Art Sesnovitch, a PR expert, if he’d like to join our team. That decision has proven to be a good one. He’s smart, works hard, and is quite knowledgeable at how to get press for our industrial clients.
And most recently, I’ve added my son, James. He’s the one who helped me create our newest service, Conversion Reporting, by doing the back-end programming for the custom reports our clients receive on a weekly basis. Now he’s taken over Google Ads management.
Our team is why a Huff Industrial Marketing website, and the follow-on marketing, is the Gold Standard for manufacturers.
My drive to succeed
I often hear from manufacturers, “We’ve hired agencies (or writers / consultants) in the past, but they never work out. The material they provide is unusable.” Sometimes, so are the websites.
I don’t ever want anyone saying this about Huff Industrial Marketing. It’s for this reason I’ve worked very hard to ensure we deliver websites and follow-on marketing that deliver results — as in sales-ready RFQs — and exceptional service.
It’s why the buck stops with me and why my last name is part of my business name.
And, it’s why we work solely with manufacturers — because creating the content and website design for a manufacturer’s audience requires specialized knowledge: about manufacturing and marketing, and how to deftly integrate the two.
This integration is my gift, skill, passion. I never take it for granted; I work hard to consistently improve.
On a more personal note, being the Gold Standard is of particular significance to me because of my background. I come from what was essentially working class poor in a household that didn’t value education or achievement.
I also dealt with extreme family dysfunction and abuse. You can listen to my story in the interview Candy O’Terry did with me as part of her “Stories Behind Her Success” podcast.
I don’t talk about this part of my life because it’s not pretty. But, it does have a huge influence on who I am today, and why I’m so driven to succeed at whatever I set out to do.
It’s why I have this quote from Coach Herb Brooks hanging on my refrigerator:
“Let me start with issuing you a challenge: Be better than you are. Set a goal that seems unattainable, and when you reach that goal, set another one even higher.”
Jim Craig posted it on LinkedIn. I’ve lived my life by it.
Filed under: Behind the Scenes