With the majority of companies pulling back or “ putting their head in the sand ,” waiting until things return to “ normal ,” the companies that are finding new ways to capture business are being noticed many folds over their competitors during normal conditions .
One of those companies is PNAA member TNT Aerospace in Sumas , Washington . Located up near the Canadian border , this younger aerospace manufacturing company made a decision to make the investment in both time and money to pursue their AS9100 certification during the downturn . Making an investment as they did does not align with the risk-adverse thinking common in the industry . As a result , they have seen an increase in activity and RFQs , which should lead to an increase in business , making the investment worthwhile .
Another local company is Alaska Airlines . I would like to meet the person that came up with the “ Safety Dance ” commercial . This genius piece of marketing bucked even the internal marketing trends of the company and in short order , they saw increases in many areas as a result . Someone had an exceptionally creative idea , which may have been denied at points in the past , but during this period we are in , someone took the risk of approving the commercial . This set them far apart from their competition and positioned them as a marketing trendsetter .
Finally , there is PNAA ’ s annual aerospace conference . Can you imagine being a company that puts on events during the COVID era , serving an industry in a significant downturn , and additionally , facing ever-changing health restrictions , making planning nearly impossible ?
Like many similar organizations around the world , it would have been easy to simply cancel the event or create a minimum-grade event .
With this being the 20th anniversary of our conference , PNAA purposefully chose to attempt to create the very best virtual conference the industry had experienced . With unknown targets , integrating a risk-filled palette of first-time-used technologies and unknowns of the industry ’ s interest level , PNAA aimed to create a first-of-its-kind event that would solve a need : bridging the gap between in-person events that people love and some of the virtual events that left people wanting more .
Creativity was pushed to the max , creating an entire virtual world inside of the PNAA International Airport and combining this with conference planning , virtual meeting software and live broadcast — most of which was new to the organization . The team pivoted from event planning to software development and broadcast engineering , areas which were new to them . The dedication and risk paid off , creating a unique experience resulting in much positive feedback and validating our commitment and ability to support aerospace manufacturing and the competitiveness of aerospace manufacturing in the Northwest .
At the PNAA Advance 2021 conference this year , Paul Menig from Business Accelerants said that in business you “… grow or shrink , there is no stay-same .”
As we continue into the unknown that lies ahead , one thing is for certain . If you are to grow , or even sustain , you will likely need to try something new ; get creative , return to the hunter mentality , and look for opportunities to be a leader and standout . Trying something new and doing something even bolder may make the difference between gaining your next client or not . Your stand-out effort also may be refreshing to those you are trying to reach . The alternative of doing nothing new will likely produce a predictable outcome . This is your opportunity to demonstrate leadership and be noticed ; many companies are watching to see who will immerge as the next industry leaders .
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