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Are You Really Innovating Today?
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SEMA-member companies have continually appealed to consumers through the creation of new and interesting products—and not just to stay competitive within our own marketplace. Today more than ever, our members also vie for discretionary dollars against a host of different practical, entertainment and recreational uses. The success of your business depends not just on innovative products but on innovation in all aspects of business.
What does your business-wide innovation look like today? SEMA recently sponsored an educational seminar dubbed rather generically “Profit 101.” Behind that title was a workshop on tapping into the diverse knowledge and experience of company employees—everyone from marketing to engineering to financial—in order to generate innovative and profitable ideas for your business. Different individuals with different job functions bring a diversity of opinion, and one person’s spark can ignite a fire of productive dialog.
Behind Your Business 100%
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In just a few months, specialty-equipment exhibitors will descend upon Las Vegas for the annual SEMA Show, providing qualified buyers with a can’t-miss opportunity to check out new products, connect with industry suppliers and peers, stay up-to-date on industry trends and attend educational seminars. Those are only four of the most common reasons for attending the Show, according to Tom Myroniak, SEMA vice president of marketing and member services. Myroniak led an exhibitor training seminar about how to bring buyers to your booth at the first-ever SEMA Show Exhibitor Summit at the Las Vegas Convention Center on May 25–27. He said that it was critical for exhibitors to understand the goals of buyers prior to the Show in order to capture their attention.
Best Practices: Manufacturers’ Reps
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Unlike other types of salespeople, manufacturers’ representatives work
for multiple companies across multiple product lines in a large
geographic area, either as individuals or as part of an agency.
A rep is an independent businessperson, an extension of the
manufacturers’ sales force, and he or she can also be a highly valuable
jack of all trades who not only closes deals but also teaches in-house
manufacturer, warehouse distributor or retailer/jobber salespeople how
to best present the manufacturer’s marketing plan to create sales.
Hall of Fame 2010
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Richard “Dick” McMullen, Chuck Schwartz and Van Woodell Join the SEMA Hall of Fame.
A hall of fame—it’s a place reserved for legends, trailblazers, visionaries and leaders. It’s bestowed on sports figures, musicians, inventors and others who inspire and shape an industry. A hall of fame is how the world finds out that, hey, this is a person whose work, contributions and service have left an indelible mark.
Open Sourcing, Open Design
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The concepts aren’t totally new to the automotive world: Get a group of designers together, brainstorm a vehicle concept, noodle out the financing, then sell every unit the market will bear. All a car company has to do is pick the right designers who develop the right concept that can be produced at the right cost for the right group of consumers. But that’s a whole lot of uncertainty, and the most common result is compromise after compromise, resulting in a bland vehicle for the masses.
Original Isn’t the Only Way
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In traditional hobbyist terms, automotive restoration refers strictly to classic cars rebuilt using classic car parts. And while there remains a significant portion of the market for which that holds true, today’s restorations are just as likely to include an amalgam of modern running gear as well as comfort and safety systems combined with factory-spec knobs, moldings, panels and fabrics. “In today’s market, restoration holds the more broad definition of ‘resurrection,’” said Michael Manning, president of American Autowire, a wiring harness and accessory options manufacturer.
The Business of Speed
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If you scan no farther than these next words, know this: You should read The Business of Speed: The Hot Rod Industry in America, 1915–1990 by David Lucsko.
Since you’re browsing through SEMA News, you must be favored with some interest in the automotive specialty-equipment industry, and Lucsko’s book offers a primer about where it began, how it evolved and, if not precisely where it’s heading, at least an optimistic appraisal of why it will live on.
