Hi everyone and welcome to Growth Challenges for Manufacturers and How to Overcome Them. I’m your host, Katherine Seymour. This episode is brought to you by MacRAE’S, trusted by North American businesses for over 100 years.
As a leader in B2B digital marketing, we help industrial and manufacturing companies struggling with stagnant growth or lead generation. By leveraging advanced AI integration and automation into our SEO and lead generation programs, we help you appear more prominently on search and AI results, including chat GPT.
This drives significantly more qualified leads and traffic to your website, resulting in stronger lead flow and increased revenue. Crucial in today’s highly competitive digital landscape. Learn more at macraes.com today. Today I’m joined by Stacey Steele, Digital Marketing Manager at XL Automation, a company that specializes in material handling and industrial automation systems. XL Automation works with manufacturers to design and implement systems that improve efficiency, reduce costs,
and streamline operations. As a digital marketing manager, Stacey plays a key role in helping Excel connect industrial clients, communicate complex technical solutions, and support the company’s growth in a highly competitive space. Stacey, so great to have you with us. Welcome to the show.
Yeah,
thank you so much, Katherine, for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Amazing. Stacey, let’s start with your journey. How did you come to the world of digital marketing for industrial automation and what drew you to Excel Automation specifically?
I can tell you, Katherine, I started my digital marketing journey in a very different way. I laugh with some of my younger interns around the office that I actually am a grandma of the digital marketing industry. And I started all the way back in 2005.
But during that time I was at a radio station doing their social media marketing and a little bit of digital marketing for them. And then I moved into other avenues that were live entertainment, touring shows, working with artists. And so it’s a very different dynamic than Excel automation and our automation technology, right? I came into this industry with very little knowledge of the automation side of things.
Yeah.
but a backlog of tons of digital marketing. And I have been learning more and more about it as I go. one of the things that drew me to this particular company was how they intended to reach out to the right people and how they help the right people. You know, my very first…
10 minutes walking in here when I was on my interview, I got to witness a customer service call that just happened to come in while I was in the middle of chatting and they stopped what they were doing, took the customer service call and the care and the desire to help and fix the issues sold me right there. And I went, wow, this has got to be the company that I work at because if they’re treating every single customer the way that they treat that one, it’s a special place.
Amazing.
For sure, absolutely. Absolutely. So in that regard, a marketing technical solution to manufacturers can be a little different than other industries. How do you approach making Excel’s capabilities clear and compelling to your target audience?
That’s definitely a challenge. Making sure that something that can be presented as pretty dry and pretty technical, that taking that message and making it accessible and engaging for the public is definitely a challenge. But I have found in my time with Excel Automation that the more and more you lean into just how
cool the technology is and how innovative the new products that are coming out are and what the benefits are of these products, the more and more they become as interesting as all of those pyrotechnics that used to be on stage in my previous job or all of the laser lights that were on stage. You can see the tricks and the tools that are used every day in manufacturing become the star
Yeah, for sure.
you can, you know, kind of package it, right? And I guess that’s what we’re all here to do, right?
Yeah, and I guess just opening people’s minds to new possibilities for sure. Very cool. For our listeners who may not be familiar, can you give us a brief description on what Excel Automation does and how your marketing helps highlight what the companies, help the companies stand out?
Exactly.
Sure. So we actually are a distributor for about 150 different product lines and we work worldwide. So we are that wonderful meeting between the technological and the…
boots on the ground, right? So ⁓ you have an engineer who is unbelievably brilliant that’s sitting in an office somewhere developing this new technology and then you have a maintenance
for sure
operational person who’s in the factories, on the floor, making it go. We’re the one who gets between them and says, the engineers intended to be this way, but it can also be used this way and this way. How can we help? What can we do? We find the solution to their application challenges, and we identify those products that would really help them. And that’s one of the things that we’ve been highlighting in our marketing is, you know, we’re not just here to sell you a product and say good luck.
Yeah.
We’re here to make sure that you have the solutions and it all goes back to that original phone call that I saw in my very first I mean, it wasn’t even my first day. It was my interview ⁓ But that very first impression that I got of Excel automation was what is what is the application need? We will find the solution We will implement the solution with you and we will make sure that it’s the right one six weeks six months and six years down the road because things change so rapidly we want to make
Yeah.
sure that people have the best technology.
For sure.
That’s actually, it’s truly amazing, truly amazing. What are some unique challenges that you face when marketing to manufacturers? Being slower to adopt digital channels. Traditionally, we find that that might be the case. Or have you noticed that there’s been a shift in industrial buyers and solutions and they’re more open to online, I guess, exposure?
Well, I can say in this particular company.
We have a very innovative leader. Dan Weber, is the president of Excel Automation, he sees the value and sees the market trends are changing. ⁓ As you said, it’s slow to change and it definitely is something where we still find people that have been long-time customers of ours that are still calling and saying, I picked up the brochure and I flipped through.
Ready.
And whereas you can absolutely do that and we still do have all of the brochures for you, you know, our entire catalog of hundreds of thousands of products are available online. And as the manufacturing industry moves from people who have been in this industry for quite some time, who are, you know, in the little bit of an older demographic, who have all of the knowledge and don’t necessarily need
Yeah.
all of the details because they’ve been working with these products for 20 years, there’s this new influx of 35 and younger coming into the industry who are just now getting into it, who need a little bit more detail, and who are quite a bit more digitally apt. So while the traditional marketing avenues of going out and shaking hands and putting a brochure in somebody’s hand definitely have their place in this industry, I am seeing a market
Yeah.
trend towards the digital because as we get new members into this industry it’s only going to grow more digitally.
Yeah, so similar to, I guess, your product lines and your solutions, like your digital marketing is constantly evolving in terms of like who’s coming into the system. Totally makes sense for sure. With… Yeah.
Yes.
Yeah, I mean you really have to focus on who’s coming in. Who are you trying to reach?
Who do you want to be with? Who do you have as your customer? mean, because right now we have two very separate demographics. The people who have been here and know the products and know what they’re doing and the people who are just coming in and eager to learn.
For sure, for sure. So I guess with the changes of buyer behavior then and the rise of digital tools, how has Excel’s marketing strategy evolved to kind of, I guess, speak to those two groups?
Well, we have definitely made some shifts even just in the past few months where, you know, this is gonna sound a little strange at first, but follow me down this rabbit hole, right? ⁓ So we have kind of embraced the silliness of the internet. You know, this is a very serious…
We’ll do, we’ll do.
industry. This is an industry that works in nanometers. This is an industry that needs things to be perfect all of the time. But the internet is a very silly place and digital marketing is a very silly world to live in. we changed a couple of our marketing schemes from maybe being super informative to being both informative and entertaining. At one point in time, I got one of our employees to don
Yeah.
It is. ⁓
⁓ a Hawaii print bathing suit, jump into a kiddie pool and do some promos for us there. And you would never think that those would be the ones that took off or that those would be the ones that really drew in customers. But I think the tongue in cheek, like, hey, we can be just as fun as we can be technical has really paid off for us in the long run because more people are skewing towards the silliness of the internet now.
And it
brings a human and fun side to your team, which people can engage with. For sure, that makes total sense. I guess, so let’s talk tactics. With digital channels being effective for Excel automation, so far, which is the most effective? Would you say it’s like SEO? Would it be PPC, content management, LinkedIn, or those social reels like you just mentioned?
So we
do focus very heavily on our SEO and our digital marketing through digital ads. There’s a strong connection there between our success and what we’re doing. However, one of the places that we’ve seen the most growth is actually in our social channels because we have been putting a lighter tone to them. We’ve seen those grow very fast, very rapidly. Actually, from the time that I started
with Excel Automation, which was only in January of 2025. We have grown by over 400 % in followers on LinkedIn.
Wow, that’s really great.
Yeah, so it
was was you know meeting our followers and our audience where they were and letting them know like yes, we can be just as silly and and fun as we can be smart and technical and we’re gonna give both of that to you because while we are a larger business this I feel like Excel automation still has a very small company feel to it. You know in the guise of we treat every single customer
whether they’re buying one sensor for $2 or they’re buying, you know, 1200 sensors and building a full new factory with us. Every single one of them is somebody that we’re going to make sure that they have what they need. And I think that that comes across in our social media marketing, which is why I think we’re getting the growth that we are.
importance.
Amazing. So in that case, industrial buyers often rely on detailed technical information. How do you balance the content with both highly technical and engaging to drive leads? So I know you mentioned the silly aspect for your social media, but how do do it for the more traditional channels like the SEO and other digital marketing channels?
Sure. Well, one of the things that we have been really working on here on the back end is making sure that we have all of the data sheets and all of the technical information on our website correct, available, ready for download. So if there is a product that is out on our website, there is a data sheet for it so that you can make sure that you have the technical aspects available. And the other thing that we’re doing is through our YouTube channel, which is Excel Automation LLC.
Amazing.
We have taken to making some short videos, three to five minutes long, that are informing people of some of our best sellers. This is an ongoing attempt for us, so there will be more videos coming out and more things that come in, but we’ve been really co-branding teams like Tritronix, who we do quite a bit of sensors with them and quite a bit of industry leads with them, and they came into our
studio right where I’m sitting right now and we filmed a few videos together and it went over, you know, all of the wonderful things that their sensors can do. We’ve had Autonics in here, we plan on getting Leutza. So really partnering with the people who make the products, who have the technical knowledge, getting the engineers in here so that we can get that information out to our people has really kind of jump started us as an educator as well as an entertainer in the digital marketing world.
world.
Which is so important. Just the fact that you’re with the product knowledge as well as making sure the website is up to date with that information and educating. Because you’re right, in your field it’s so fast moving that you kind of have to take that educator role for sure. what was six months is huge. A lot can change in six months for sure, for sure.
The amount of product
launches that have come out from our partner companies between when I started and now, I feel like I am consistently sprinting to see what they’re going to come up with next. And it makes me so happy because there’s always something new to talk about.
Yeah
Amazing. If you can instantly enhance one aspect of your digital marketing, whether it’s visibility, engagement, conversions, or analytics, where would you put your focus on and why?
That’s a great question. I think one of the things that, you know, if I could, you know, close my eyes and make a wish and have it be there, it is the connection, actually. I have found that the more we connect with our audience and the more that we connect with our customers, the better we do overall. We have such a strong connection with our customers. And, you know, there are some people who we started in 1989 and there are
Yeah.
some people who have been buying from us since 1989. And those types of connections are so rare now in business and they also just add so much value. I have learned so much from our customers as well as our partners, as well as the product lines that if I could, you know, close my eyes and wish I wish that I had that type of connection and draw with every person that touched any of our products.
Amazing.
or solutions because if I could have that I would be the most informed marketer that has ever existed on the face of the planet and I’d be able to do my job tenfold over.
No
For sure, for sure. Excel automation operates in a fast moving industry. As you look ahead, what trends and technology in digital marketing are you most excited about leveraging for your business?
Well, actually, this is kind of a great time to talk about this for anybody that is interested in digital marketing. Very recently, it was announced that Instagram is now going to be in collaboration with Google and be searchable, which means that the SEO terms that you use for your site, for your searches, are going to translate right onto Instagram. We do have a decent following on Instagram, of course. I’m a digital marketer, social media. I want it to be more.
Yeah.
I always wanted to be more, but being able to showcase the products in short form video and in, you know, highly tuned photography and have those become searchable as well really kind of opens up a whole brand new world of SEO for us that I’m really excited to dive into and that just happened very recently. So I think everybody is really hot on this topic in the marketing side of our industry and we’re really looking forward.
for sure.
to adhere.
Amazing. Can you share an example of a recent marketing initiative that delivered strong results or helped you move the needle forward for Excel? I know you mentioned the silly videos, but was there a specific one besides the one you mentioned that really moved the needle or opened up the idea that this might work?
You
know, there’s a couple of them that I could mention. You know, the first one that we had that really had some traction as far as social media is concerned was a video of Danny, who, not to be confused with Dan Weber, this is Danny O’Donnell. He is our kind of spokesperson. He’s been put into that role and he’s the one in front of the camera while I stay behind it. But… ⁓
You
I mentioned how we had him come into the office in a silly bathing suit and jump into a kiddie pool. Those, because they are so silly and because they are so short, are doing really well for us. But one that I had to kind of twist some arms to get going, because I was so sure of it, we have an intern here from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio that came to us and said, I really am interested in social media as far as the digital marketing side of things.
concerned that I’d really like to edit a video and I said well you know there’s this trend going around that’s ⁓ my Gen Z intern.
edited our video and it has zero to do with product, zero to do with the industry. It’s just a funny clip that lets people know that we don’t take ourselves too seriously here. And that one actually turned into quantifiable conversions because so many people were laughing at that particular video that they then jumped onto our website and saw, ⁓ this company can laugh at themselves.
and they can be a deep knowledge well for this industry all at the same time. And we actually had a couple of our partners come to us and say we want to be in your next intern video. they said well you’ll have to check with the intern for that.
⁓
awesome but it also shows that you guys are a strong team that you’re willing to do you’re willing to you trust each other enough to do those silly videos and that’s that’s really amazing also really cool and finally for marketers working in the manufacturing space what advice would you give them about connecting with industrial audiences and driving meaningful results
think the biggest piece of advice that I can give is something that I actually received when I first started here that I’ve kind of been running with. So thank you very much, Rob, for telling me this. But when I jumped into it, I really took the more traditional…
You
entertainment marketing things from my past positions and said how can we adapt these into this industry and this industry is unlike any other that I have worked in in that
It is so very supportive all around. I have not yet found a single person who’s not willing to sit down and explain or sit down and chat or find the solution. And so I think one of the things to just remember is that there’s so much support out there. If you have a question, if you think that you’re not doing something right, if at any point in time you go, hey, know, my Google ads were hitting last week and they’re not hitting this week, what’s going on?
Very true.
happening. Reach out post something on LinkedIn for your followers to see. Reach out to other industry professionals. Get out of your office and go to a meeting and talk to somebody who’s in the same position as you. I have not found a single person yet that wouldn’t be glad to answer my questions and I would be glad to answer any questions that anybody has of me. You know you guys can find me on LinkedIn you can follow Excel automation and just reach out.
I’m here to help as is everyone else in this industry. It’s really refreshing to know that there is that support out there.
It’s a community, it really is. Even though there’s so many manufacturers across the US and North America in general, there’s always a connection between them. It’s very concise the way you described it for sure. So Stacey, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your perspective on digital marketing in the manufacturing and industrial world.
your insights between bridging technical and engaging marketing with two different audiences has been really, really insightful. And I’m sure our listeners are taking away practical ideas from you as well. Thanks again for being here. And for all our listeners, we’ll see you on the next episode of Growth Challenges for Manufacturers.
This blog post is based on an interview with Stacey Steele, Digital Marketing Manager at Excel Automation, conducted by Katherine Seymour for MacRAE'S Growth Challenges for Manufacturers podcast
In today's rapidly evolving industrial landscape, digital marketing for manufacturers requires a delicate balance between technical expertise and engaging content. We recently sat down with Stacey Steele, Digital Marketing Manager at Excel Automation, to explore how she's bridging the gap between complex technical solutions and compelling marketing that actually drives results.
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