Here we are again. We’re just a week away the IPC APEX Expo in San Diego. This is our time, this is our show, this is it, time to get together with everyone else in the industry and get a quick overview of what’s going on out there. No matter what your year has been like, good or bad; no matter what your specific business, PCB fabrication, Assembly, Design or you’re a customer or a vendor to these industries, I would urge all of you to attend this show.
You want to know about new equipment, it’s there
You want to hear about new technologies, attend one of the many presentations
You want to get a good understanding of the industry trends not only here but globally as well, San Diego is the place to be during the week of February 3rd.
You want to meet, and talk to your customers, your vendors, your salespeople, even your competitors, this is one time of the year you can meet a lot of them.
You want to find some new salespeople, new engineers, new reps, new operations people, IPC Apex is the right place to do just that.
You want to find some global partners or just check out what the Asian board shops are doing, then go to this show, most of them will be there.
But there’s one more thing you can do. You can start your marketing and branding program at IPC APEX. All of our industry’s trade magazines will be there and you can visit them one by one, to not only see how they can help promote your company, but quite possibly have them interview you as well, so that you can tell your company’s story.
Look, I can tell you that all of these trade magazines are pretty good, and you should check all of them out. But full disclosure, I write for I-Connect 007 and have been affiliated with these fine people even before the I-Connect days when they were Circuitree. And, added full disclosure, I happen to think they are the very best at what they do. So, I hope you will forgive me my parochialism and allow me to tell you how you can increase your market presence and brand identity exponentially by working with I-Connect 007.
First of all, visit their booth and sign up for an interview with one of their team members. They do a great job of allowing you to tell your company’s story in the best possible way. They will sit with you and have a pre-interview to find out more about your company, what your value added proposition is, and to make sure that your interview will be the very best representation of your company.
They will then publish your interview whether it is video, or audio, or print (I prefer video myself), and then once it appears in their publication, they will allow you a link so that you can use it in your own marketing. It’s the very best way to get your branding ball rolling.
Then while you’re in the booth ask the I-Connect folks for a talk on how they could help with your marketing and branding. They can advise you on how to develop and implement the right marketing program to make sure that you not only get your name out in the marketplace, but get it out there effectively in ways that will lead to sales.
They have programs for all needs, and all budgets, that are guaranteed to increase your market presence and your sales. They also offer a number of special services at no added costs, things like ad creation (which everyone else charges for), ongoing strategy sessions, press release writing, and placing, and of course regular interviews to help you continually tell your company’s story.
One of the most important aspects of a good marketing program is prospecting and lead generation, and with the right program administered properly and combined with the right sales strategy and sales tactics you will increase your sales.
We keep hearing stories about how difficult it is to get to the customers these days. How hard it is for salespeople to get customers to even answer the phone, never mind actually agree to see them, so name recognition is more important now than ever. By creating a good marketing plan which includes the right content put in front of the right people, the right amount of times, you’ll be attracting customers who need your products to the point where they will actually contact you!
Always remember the old adage that goes: The difference between sales and marketing is that in sales you drop a line in the water and hopes that a fish will go for the bait. With good marketing you actually get the fish to jump into the boat.
So, during the week of IPC APEX, use your time wisely, take a look around, and commit yourself to take that specific time as a starting point for your new marketing initiative. It’s only common sense.
