tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837427308824480868.post5420849446070910811..comments2013-03-08T11:42:36.331-08:00Comments on DABbling: A walk down memory lanePennwell Blogs Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757232455847950283noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837427308824480868.post-74998981820135449392009-06-08T16:05:53.115-07:002009-06-08T16:05:53.115-07:00In the midst of a tough market I visited Eastec 20...In the midst of a tough market I visited Eastec 2009 in Springfield, MA and found that the laser marking companies were out in force. I counted at least 13 different companies with laser marking offerings. This included both galvo and gantry companies.<br /><br />This showing caused me to ask the question, “has laser marking progressed along the technology adoption curve far enough to make it more broadly applicable and acceptable to a larger less technical customer base?”<br /><br />A few thoughts on the way to an answer (hopefully).<br /><br />The price of entry into the fiber laser marking market continues to go down.<br /><br />Laser marking companies seems to think the old strategies for reaching customers still work.<br /><br />From my seat all of these companies pitched very similar products with predictable messages. The large companies talked about their quality and service, the small ones talked about their low pricing and responsiveness and the ones in middle complained about the other two.<br /><br />Most of these companies are essentially middlemen for the laser technology developers and in the age of the internet we all know what happens to middlemen – don't we? <br /><br />Where are the blogs, online communities, Twitter posts, user groups etc. from this market?<br /><br />Is there no laser USERS community out there to for laser companies to provide what Jeff Jarvis calls an “elegant organization”?<br /><br />The thought that kept coming back to me was that someone very soon will find a way to change the game in the laser marking world and deliver laser technology at a low enough price to challenge other marking technologies like dot-peen, ink, and pad printing. They will probably do it by using information technology along with a radical new business organization to drive even more people toward lasers for their marking needs.<br /><br />This will be good news for the laser industry in that overall the market will grow but will be bad news for those companies that cannot see past their static and staid ways of approaching the marketplace.<br /><br />Todd Hockenberry<br /><br />www.top-line-results.comToddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18020614295826779174noreply@blogger.com