“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
—Henry Ford

It’s almost hard to believe that the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC) was officially launched just two short years ago with one employee, an ambitious mission and a handful of industry hopefuls who were willing to test drive an idea that, by all accounts, was going to be difficult at best. It seems appropriate as we approach the end of our second year to stop and take a look at where the SDC has been in its short existence and what the future holds for us in the coming months.

It happens to all of us: You just can’t pull the trigger on a purchase simply because there isn’t enough information to make you comfortable with the decision. It might be on the Internet, where you’re staring at a page with vague content and poor pictures, or it could be in a brick-and-mortar store, where you’re dealing with a salesperson who just doesn’t know his or her stuff. Other times, it all seems to fall together. The salesperson is informative and knowledgeable, or the Internet presentation is complete and confidence inspiring, resulting in a quick, satisfying purchase.

Obviously, research plays a critical role in this decision-making and sales cycle. Like many of you, when I’m ready to spend some hard-earned money, I dive into research mode. What are other people saying about this product? How much information is available? Can I be confident that it will meet my needs?