Wow.
I am tired.
But it could be worse…prepare yourself for a shameless plug; I love Skechers shoes–look them up and do your own research. It took me a couple of weeks to get use to them, but now, oh my. Can’t wear regular shoes without looking like…a penguin with frostbite. Do yourself a favor and try a pair on. You won’t go back.
WIA was, just like all the other WIA’s, phenomenal. As you might imagine, the staff at Pop Wood was pooped but not without reason, they did a great job. I did not hear a single complaint all weekend, and when I did, it was from my own mind because it was too busy to retrieve food…
If only every trade show was done with such passion. That said, I think I am (perhaps BCTW too) cooked for future trade shows…
Although I love talking to friends and customers, especially the Drive Starved Nation (who turned out in force), I now have strong reservations about shorting my family for what really amounts to…money. Shame on me. Now I realize that the reason I attend these things is to see my fellow tool makers–kindred spirits for sure–but I could just call them all and chit chat every once in awhile, which I now intend to do! We at BCTW love our customers, but they talk to us regularly wondering where their orders are and we don’t need to go to trade shows to update them… (did I just write that?) Yes you did.
Anyway, I would like to mention all the names that showed up but I would likely leave several out, maybe all, so I won’t. Thank you all.
To the staff at PW; thank you–what an effort. Hope you made a buck or two.
To all the toolmakers–keep up the great work and let’s get more people in this business–the more the merrier.
Yes, I am getting old.
–John
PS: For those of you wondering, the KM-1 Kerfmaker was a hit.
John,
Not that I’ve ever done it but I totally get what you’re saying. It has to be a very heavy energy drain being “on” for days at a time. A vast amount of energy is spent just getting to the venue, setting up, answering the same questions over and over, interacting with the multitudes, packing up and getting back home again.
There’s no one that could be sent in place of you?
Paul
John, I’ve always wondered how you guys (and so many others) can sacrifice so much time and energy to hawk your wares at these shows. It must be exhausting. I could see you were pretty worn out by Saturday. On the other hand, libations on Friday night might have had some influence (they certainly did for me…).
So, while I understand your wanting to stay home with the family rather than reel in new customers (ouch!), I’ll certainly miss the opportunity to yak and play with the tools. I guess the alternative would be to buy tickets to Portland, and spend a day wasting your (and Michael’s) time at the workplace…
It was wonderful seeing you this weekend, and thanks for all the time you took to talk. It was fun and educational, as always. I particularly enjoyed redesigning that piece in a popular magazine devoted to woodworking.
It was particularly pleasing seeing how many BCTW customers there were at the WIA. Impressive. You sold that JM-SW out from under me in no time (Gillian is giving me the evil eye, but Sharon was just rolling hers). You do collect a crowd of interesting, skilled people.
Hope your toolmaking class is a blast. Rutager is planning on charging me 4 figures for his square. Good to see the young people getting into the business…
– Peter
P.S. The Tenonmaker was a big hit, too!
P.P.S. Gillian loves Skechers too.
From my perspective, that would be a shame for reasons having nothing to do with socializing. Trying to pick up the woodworking from an unusual angle (i.e., no experience in shop class, manufacturing, trade, or family), there’s no place *but* trade shows to get tactile and visual comparisons among different products.
John,
If Peter doesn’t order a Jointmaker, I think you may have to bill him for all the fun he had using the one at the show and for all the creative ideas it gave him! My original mission at the show was to get both Peter and Fred to order an HP-6. Now I will try and get Peter to order a JMP, but Fred still needs the HP-6.
Peter,
We never talked price on that square, but being that it is one of a kind, 4 figures seems low. but if I can save you some money so you can order a JMP-sw, I’ll settle for the 4 figures!
-Rutager
In terms of marketing strategy, event marketing is an odd niche with some value, but not a tremendous amount. Here are some guidelines to consider:
– Dont market at events that your potential customers don’t attend.
– Dont market at events in which your products wont standout.
– Dont market at events with a lame stand and a boring line up of products for customers to see. Your booth must be highly interactive.
– Use events to solicit information from your customers. Bring prototypes and let people use them. Use their feedback to improve the product. Ask your customers to bring their ideas for you to build. Concerned about intellectual property? Host your own events or subevents (beer and food with your customers in an invite only mode)
– Many events are more of an industry gathering. If that’s the case, dont market at the event. Just attend the event and use the time to network.
– Use events to get coverage in industry publications – invite the press/reporters.
– Know what image you want to portray and do that.
With all this said, I agree with comments by others that, as a potential customer, events are rare occasions where I can compare competing products seldom found in stores. For example, in the audiophile world, most retailers carry only a few lines and there are few local retailers. It’s the rare chance to compare speakers and components. Where I live, I can see every product available, except some niche manufacturers’ products. I expect this is the same for most, but not all people. Using events to reach the people who can’t see your products in their local markets is okay, but you can’t reasonably expect a large portion of those customers to attend.
Frankly, given the prevalence of YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook to communicate and demonstrate products and provide customers direct sources of detailed specifications, I see events to be a dramatically smaller component of any manufacturer’s marketing budget. Bad Axe Toolworks and Festool have a good presence on Facebook, but neither really leverage YouTube that well. Twitter is a waste IMHO. Festool does an okay job with their monthly email newsletter. I think the best YouTube videos are not just glossy product unveilings – they need to demonstrate the product in action from a customer’s perspective. *Use* the product in the video.
In short, events are an expensive, ineffective way to directly increase your sales. If done well, they are a good way to get coverage in industry trade publications that can reach your audience – but if you only get a paragraph in a long article full of summary findings, one has to question the ROI. You have to get better coverage.
That seems pretty fair, Rutager. But just to clarify, does “0” count as a figure?
– Peter
John –
I hope you don’t give up totally on the show circuit. You have too many stories to tell. If you give up on shows, we may all have to enroll in a class I guess!
It was a fun day in Ohio. I’ll need to book earlier next year to take in the sessions plus the show area.
neil