What's Your Edge?
Ryan F. Laurin, Director of Sales and Marketing, [email protected]
There are more than 500 photonics companies that sell lasers. When it comes to optics, you have your pick from more than 1600. None of these companies are the same. In fact, it's hard to observe any discernable trend of characteristics among these suppliers. Sure, we've all been seeing the general trend of mergers and acquisitions, especially in the laser market, where consolidation has forced some well-known brands into obsolescence. But would you have guessed that 34 percent of the laser companies in the industry do $1 million to $5 million in sales (noted in the Photonics Buyers' Guide)?
Compared to the 5 percent of the laser companies that lay claim to doing more than $100 million, the vast majority of companies in the industry are not those with the behemoth booths at Photonics West and work forces of 1000+. In this complex ecosystem of both large public companies and startups working out of a spare bedroom, it is important to know and convey your competitive advantage in the industry.
What's your sweet spot when it comes to customers? Are you looking for massive OEM orders or are you looking for that one custom sale from a researcher that will keep you in business for the next year? How long is your sales cycle? Do you have a quick turnaround time on orders and superior after-sales support?
These are just a sampling of questions whose answers help form the foundation of benefits that your company's competitive advantage builds upon. There is a subset of companies in the industry that do this part very well. If you are a potential customer and were to ask the president of one of these companies what their competitive advantage is, they might be able to go on and on, and you may learn a lot. However, this is not good — their competitive advantage should already be ingrained in your mind set long before you even talk to anyone in the company.
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Upcoming Magazine Features
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Trying to get new customers by targeting your product or service to the photonics industry? Take a peek at what our members will be reading about.
MAY Photonics Spectra
• Adaptive Optics
Contributor: Marie Freebody, Contributing Editor
Adaptive optics is moving into life science imaging applications, including superresolution microscopy and deep biological tissue imaging.
• 2D Materials
Contributor: Hank Hogan, Contributing Editor
Only a few atomic layers thick, 2D materials such as graphene and the compound semiconductor germanium selenium could provide photonics with new capabilities.
• Quantum Dots for Displays
Contributor: Peter Palomaki, Palomaki Consulting LLC
QD materials are advancing and finding more applications in displays and lighting, as well as QD optical properties and spectroscopy, QD implementation in LCDs, and next-generation QD display technology.
• Volumetric Display
Contributor: Liang Gao, University of Illinois
The convergence of recent advances in optical manipulation and digital processing yields a new generation of display technology: computational displays, which bridge the realms of applied mathematics, optics and high-performance computing. Such a technique could potentially revolutionize the near-eye displays and disrupt the quickly growing virtual and augmented reality markets.
• Commercial Sources for Deep UV
Contributor: Faiz Rahman, Ohio University
There is an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) gap between the deep ultraviolet and x-radiation. With several pressing applications in the EUV region, much effort has been directed at developing compact sources of ultrashort wavelength UV radiation.
MAY/JUNE BioPhotonics
• Spectroscopy and Multispectral Imaging for Diagnosis
Contributor: Igor Lednev, University at Albany
Raman hyperspectroscopy combined with advanced statistics is uniquely suitable for characterizing microheterogeneous systems. A great potential of Raman hyperspectroscopy for medical diagnostics is based on its ability to integrate the impact of multiple biomarkers in a specific spectroscopic signature.
• Light Technology for Botany
Contributor: Tessa Pocock, RPI
Crop growth in controlled-environment agriculture is resource-intensive, with approximately 30 to 50 percent of electrical energy dedicated to light. The availability of a wide range of LED wavelengths, together with the promise of lower energy use and greater control of crops, has resulted in a resurgence of light regulation of CEA (controlled environment agriculture) crops.
• Patient-Specific Laser Additive Manufacturing
Contributor: Christoph Gayer, Fraunhofer
The powder-based additive manufacturing process of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is already used in practice to manufacture patient-specific prostheses, ortheses and surgical guides. By extending the range of materials to biodegradable polymers and polymer-based composites, the feasibility of manufacturing patient-specific biodegradable implants by SLS is demonstrated.
• 3D Microscopy
Contributor: Gary Greenberg, Edge-3D
There is additional depth information provided by multipurpose 3D microscopes that can prove invaluable by reducing misdiagnoses and increasing productivity in a wide range of areas, including plant biology, neuroscience, cytopathology, vascular research, embryology, 3D tissue culture and marine biology.
Contact your Account Manager to reach these customers.
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Special Marketing Opportunities
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Upcoming Webinars: Put your expertise in the spotlight and draw qualified leads with a Photonics Media webinar.
• Smart Cameras: Technology and Applications March 13, 1 pm EDT
This webinar explores the characteristics of smart cameras, how they have advanced, typical applications, and issues where the product offerings may not meet expectations.
Presenter: Perry West, founder and president of Automated Vision Systems Inc.
Sponsored by Teledyne DALSA.
• Optics and Lighting Solutions for Machine Vision March 20, 1 pm EDT
This webinar will address the basic principles and methods of machine vision optics and lighting, and review some of the many advances in methods and components that have made machine vision easier to implement in recent years.
Presenter: Kevin Harding, president of Optical Metrology Solutions LLC
Sponsored by Smart Vision Lights, Euresys, and Chroma Technology Corp.
Contact your Account Manager to reach these new buyers.
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Visit the Photonics Media booth at upcoming industry events to get the latest issues of our magazines. Are you exhibiting at these events? Make the most of your trade show investment with our preshow marketing opportunities!
• Image Sensors Europe 2018: March 13-15, London
• LASER World of PHOTONICS China 2018: March 14-16, Shanghai
• AeroDef Manufacturing 2018: March 26-29, Long Beach, Calif.
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Your monthly marketing and creative tips from our experienced editors and skilled designers.
What is CMYK?
CMYK refers to the four inks used in four-color process (or full-color) printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK. These four ink colors are mixed during the printing process to produce a nearly unlimited number of colors. Spot color is a premixed color, such as a Pantone, and cannot be printed on a web press without incurring extra time and costs.
You should also be aware of how your designer creates your printed piece. If you specify that your logo is always a Pantone color, the designer will designate the use of the spot color in your ad files without trying to match it with CMYK. However, some Pantone colors do not convert accurately into CMYK. This should be caught at the design stage to avoid inaccurate matches and problems during the printing process.
Visit Photonics.com/DesignLab to see how we can help you stand head and shoulders above the competition.
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For more marketing insights, visit the Photonics Media Advertising Hub — your guide to a successful marketing program in the photonics industry. You'll find all the tools you need to build your brand, drive traffic to your website, generate leads and grow sales.
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