If you are anything like I am, once you get "in the zone" you’ll do just about anything to stay there. When work begins to roll and I disappear into a story or project or web site task, there’s no time for lunch. Heck, there’s hardly time for a bathroom break.
Yeah, I know, too much information. The point is, I know how it can be difficult to pull yourself away from a job—especially if it’s one that you love.
Working a trade show is very similar. When I get down on the show floor and in the zone—talking to retailers and exhibitors, checking out the piles of cool new apparel and gear, discovering news scoops and all that—it’s hard to pull myself away. Soon the afternoon arrives and I’m wasted and dragging because I didn’t pace myself.
But come this September I’m going to avoid this trap once and for all. No, I’m not going to crawl under some table and take a lunchtime siesta (although I’ve seen that done). What I’m going to do is head to someplace where I can sit, be quiet, rest my feet, and still learn. Someplace filled with experts and interesting questions. It will be like taking a break while enhancing my understanding of the market. Yep, I’m going to Surf Expo’s seminar program.
Okay, I’ll admit that I once viewed seminars as a bit of a cop out. I mean the real action is down on the trade show floor, right? Isn’t just sitting in a room upstairs a bit of a waste?
But as the years went by I discovered something interesting: no matter what the topic, I always left a trade show seminar with not only a head full of interesting new thoughts and questions, but with a sense of reinvigoration of what my job was all about. Far from being a time waster, they were sometimes among the most valuable moments of the show—plus my no-arch, good-for-nuthin feet love ‘em.
So take a moment to step out of the zone and check out the programs our partners at the Board Retailers Association have devised for you. Whether you are a store owner, buyer, or manufacturer, I think you’ll find something interesting and will leave with a new-found perspective on your business.
Surf Expo September 2008 Seminar Schedule
Friday, 11:00 – State of the Board Sport Industry
Friday, 2:00 – Online Marketing – Search Engine Optimization
Saturday, 10:00 – Email Marketing
Sunday, 12:00 – Apparel Merchandising
Saturday, 2:00 – Sunwear: The Powerhouse Profit Builder
Sunday, 11:00 – Loyalty Programs
State of the Industry
Friday, September 12; 11:00 AM
State of the Board Sport Industry
Maximizing the Value of Your Store Data and Industry Data
Presented by Cary Allington, ActionWatch
Surviving today’s challenging retail environment while preparing for the next wave of board sports participants takes dedication & commitment from specialty retailers. With changes in consumer demographics & market niches, an aging market, and increased competition from manufacturers & online sources, a successful retailer needs to focus attention on personalized service, inventory management, personnel training, and more. This presentation will focus on ways to increase the health of your business by using your own store’s data along with broader industry data to: 1) increase negotiating power with your suppliers, 2) increase your suppliers’ abilities to provide you the right products at the right time and 3) increase the efficiency of your industry. We will look at how these efforts can help maximize the use of your POS system for increased profits and inventory turnover. We will also spend some time looking at actual broad-industry data aggregated from the ActionWatch Retail Panel, focusing on what the data means to the individual retailer and to the industry as a whole.
Marketing
Friday, September 12; 2:00 PM
Online Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Presented by Mike Duncan, Sage Island Marketing
In today’s highly competitive market, your business success depends on reaching the top of the search engine results. Which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects using to search for you and your competitors? Uncover Google’s secrets, including their intricate PageRank system, and use them to your advantage. The invaluable information covered in this seminar will teach you how to get your site to the top of the search engines and keep it there without breaking the bank. Learn to build and maintain a site that is ethically successful in search engines through keyword research; finely tuned content, HTML, design, and site architecture; link building; competitive analysis and benchmarking; and measuring the ROI on your search engine marketing investment.
Saturday, September 13; 10:00
Email Marketing
Presented by Mike Duncan, Sage Island Marketing
Email is a hot topic now more than ever. Improve your e-mail marketing skills, attract new customers, and build loyalty among your existing customer base using the cutting-edge techniques covered in this seminar. Create and implement an effective permission-based e-mail marketing campaign, develop high resolution online marketing collateral to drive your brand and visibility, and create memorable interactive campaigns designed to drive sales. These valuable tricks of the trade will help you create buzz, build brand awareness and grow your reputation with the click of a mouse.
Sunday, September 14; 11:00
Loyalty Programs
Controlling Bro Deals Using Loyalty Programs
Presented by Mike Stephenson, TallySoft
Loyal customers do not happen by accident and loyalty programs create repeat customer business and strengthen a retail brand. Frequent customer cards (shoes and t-shirts), automatic emails that thank customers for their purchases, monthly special emails and locals only discounts all generate repeat customer visits. In addition to covering various loyalty programs, this seminar will teach retailers how to use technology to implement these programs and discount plans that ensure that retailers don’t lose profits. Your POS system is more than a cash register and can be used as a means to generate sales.
Merchandising
Saturday, September 13, 2:00
Sunwear: The Powerhouse Profit Builder
SunPower™: A retail panel discussion brought to you by Sunglasses Magazine
While sunglasses serve to protect your eyes from the sun’s damaging ultra-violet rays, their prominence as a fashion accessory is what should be taking priority in the retail environment. Like bags, hats, sandals and other accessories, retailers must treat Sunglasses as a must have item. Sunglasses Magazine will conduct a retail panel education summit, SunPower. SunPower will be focused on practical strategies for maximizing profitability with in multiple retail environments. This forum on profitability will feature a wide range of topics including greater profits within a smaller footprint, higher margins, co-op marketing and advertising, merchandising strategies and product specific sales techniques.
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 12:00
Visual Merchandising 101 - Yes the way you display your tee shirts matters!
How your store looks is sometimes more important that what you are selling. Is your store entrance inviting? Are your tables and wall standards easy to get to? Are you telling a good visual “story” with your windows? In this session we’ll explore the basics on merchandising your store from a visual perspective. You’ll get an introduction to C.A.L.M. (Color – Access – Lighting – Maintenance) as a base for your visual displays. We’ll also discuss how to build a formula to keep your store fresh and exciting to your frequent shoppers as well as your new guests. Oh… and the Mom factor too!