Tyler Louth

FABTECH 2026 brought North America's largest forming, fabricating, welding and finishing show back to Las Vegas for the first time in a decade, and the energy matched the moment. From October 21 to 23, the Las Vegas Convention Center was packed with foot traffic, and great conversations were happening in every aisle. The session lineup was just as broad — automation engineers, workforce experts, plant leaders and a manufacturing marketing agency or two.

I had the opportunity to lead a marketing workshop on a question I think every manufacturer should be asking: Is your website costing you revenue? Here are the biggest takeaways from that session.

Should a manufacturer implement inbound or outbound marketing strategies? It’s an age-old debate that never seems to get solved. Why? Because it’s built on the false premise that a company – specifically, a manufacturer with long, complex sales cycles – must commit to one strategy over the other when, in reality, they are complementary functions.

As a marketing agency CEO, I’ve had a front-row seat to the AI revolution and its impact on businesses of all sizes. We all know how game-changing artificial intelligence can be, but one concern I often hear from business leaders is that AI feels "hard to use" or "disconnected from my data." Enter HubSpot's Breeze — a breakthrough that changes everything.

Quiz time: How well do you think your current website is performing for you? Remember, a good website is like having one of the most dependable salespeople around. Evaluate your own website using the guidelines below to see how you measure up. 

Having trouble converting clicks into customers? Like your competitor’s website more than your own? Is your website no longer driving traffic?