Chris Kersting

If you’re reading this, you’re holding the annual SEMA Membership Directory issue. With more listings, this directory is one of our largest ever, as your association continues a healthy trend in membership growth. While we now make membership listings available online as well, we think the printed edition is well worth the effort, since SEMA members consistently mention the directory as a primary benefit to their business. Now that you know about it, you can take advantage of this industry sourcebook to connect with other leading companies all year long. But what other valuable SEMA benefits are you missing simply because you don’t know about them? Are you overpaying for shipping, insurance or credit-card processing fees?

No matter what your role in your company or your knowledge of today’s business tech tools, everyone is striving to increase sales. This issue of SEMA News is loaded with info on great business technology that will help you do just that. One biz tech system all SEMA members should be aware of by now is the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), and we have big news—a new tool to help members get started and maximize product sales.

As the new year gains steam, SEMA leadership and the Board of Directors have been considering new goals and offerings to help our members succeed. As always, we are looking at investments that would do the most good for SEMA members and the performance aftermarket in general. One focus this year is to deliver new and improved tools and services to help members quickly and efficiently develop new products.

It’s certainly no secret that customer information has become a key element of success in business. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to conduct long-term planning, execute more targeted marketing and ensure success when it comes to strategic investments. That kind of information can be the difference maker when a business is under stress or when it’s time to expand.

By now, most of the industry—and certainly those operating in the racing and performance segment—will have heard that SEMA has acquired the International Motorsports Industry Show, otherwise known as IMIS.

The dust has settled and the 2012 edition of the SEMA Show delivered the goods in a big way. Exhibitors and quality buyers participated in near-record numbers—which in itself is an encouraging indicator—and the buzz on business value was strong. Looking back on the past year, we note some of our other key accomplishments and the road ahead in 2013.

By now you’ve likely heard news that this year’s SEMA Show is tracking at near-record levels. When the Show opens October 30, we’ll have more than 2,100 exhibiting companies, 1,500 custom rides, close to 1,800 new products in the Ideas Alive showcase and more qualified buyer attendees than ever before. The SEMA Show is once again set to deliver the best of our industry’s innovative genius gathered into a single, highly effective marketplace. We’re shining a spotlight on “Innovations of Generations”—celebrating the accomplishments of our past but also highlighting the advances and innovations being led by our younger industry members.

As you read this, thousands of exhibitors are preparing hundreds of cars and trucks that will be on display at the 2012 SEMA Show. By the time the Show opens on October 30, exhibitors will have finished customizing the vehicle models they think will best showcase their new products and styling innovations for 2013.

SEMA will soon be celebrating its 50th year and, like many 50-year-olds, we are taking stock. We’re asking, “How will the association stay relevant and help SEMA members in the coming decades?” Within the automotive specialty-equipment arena, we see the rising generations moving into a range of market segments, seeing new opportunities, using different tools and communicating in different ways. SEMA is taking action to help younger individuals and companies find clear pathways to tap into the association and its seasoned members and to build productive business relationships, just as it did for prior generations.

Our primary mission here at SEMA is simple: to help our member businesses succeed and prosper. One of the most important ways we do that is through legislative and regulatory advocacy. In a nutshell, it’s our goal to make your voices heard. To that end, SEMA supports a dedicated and highly active team of government affairs experts on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. They’re focused on identifying and affecting issues that make a difference to your business.