There’s strange and then there’s strange. In late December, Precision Model Art, better known as PMA, posted several new items to their web site, that included, among other things, an awesome looking M40 self propelled gun presumably due out later this year. Then, last week, they abruptly pulled the plug on their own web site, leaving in its wake a Word Press page written in what I assume is Mandarin. I don’t understand what it says although it appears like a Contact Us page. Moreover, I naturally assumed that the manufacturer was having trouble loading their web site, perhaps falling victim to a hack attack that has periodically plagued other manufacturers. After talking with our US distributor, however, we learned that this is supposedly the new normal for PMA and that from here on out they do not plan on posting any new product to their own web site, claiming its a “low priority” for them.
Now color me wacky but two weeks ago we ushered in 2022 perhaps without a bang but with a whimper, hopefully putting the effects of the pandemic behind us. The point is that in this day and age, placing a “low priority” on updating your own web site is simply inexcusable. As a manufacturer, it is your job to inform both your customers as well as your distribution network about the comings and goings on in your own back yard so that everyone can look forward to the fruits of your labors. To leave everyone in the dark, particularly when others are gleefully posting on social media, their web site and elsewhere is akin to burying your head in the sand, asking others to talk up the line when you yourself are reluctant to do so. I’m not clear if this turning a “blind eye” marketing strategy makes much sense in this newfangled digital world where the running of a web site isn’t all that much trouble given other complexities attached with running a business. Heck, I’ve been doing so for going on 22 years, building out our product portfolio so that it now encompasses over 6,000 SKUs. Trust me, its not that difficult once you have it down to a logical system. So, when a manufacturer with barely a couple of dozen products says they can’t be troubled with keeping their own web site up-to-date, I simply shake my head and say “is it worth the trouble of stocking their line?” Right now, the only answer I can come up with is, it isn’t, sad as that sounds…