Manufacturing Week was last week in Sydney. I spent Wednesday there, snooping for solutions to problems most of my SME manufacturing clients may not yet recognise they have, and just looking for ideas.
Found one that might be useful, but it was hard going, very hard going.
There were 170 exhibitors in one of the ICC halls, ranging from the small 9 square foot booths to enormous installations that must have cost tens of thousands just for the floor space. On top of that there was the cost of the installation of the gear, manning the stands, and all the associated costs.
Every stand had the name of the company emblazoned somewhere.
Not one stand, not one, had any reference to the problems they solved.
Why?
It is useful to have the names up there. Many visitors would find their existing suppliers to have a yarn, complain about service, look at the new versions, or do a deal. However, those like me, with a problem to solve, the name of the company is of little use.
How much better would it be for them to have up in lights the problems their products are uniquely designed to solve?
I had a look at several participants websites, and they make the same mistake.
They almost all have an ‘About us’ page. It might make them feel good, but I am not interested in the family history, or the great awards they have won, I only care about the problem they solve for me.
They all fail my 3 second Vegemite test, and as a result have wasted at least part of the investment made in being there.
Where are their marketing people hiding?
Having thrown a brickbat, it is also fair to acknowledge that there was some pretty impressive stuff on show.
Header photo courtesy university of Woolongong.
