Next week, we’ll be at StonExpo in Las Vegas. Hope to see you there, too!
Every year, we agonize about participating in trade shows. They’re expensive and disruption to our business. Instead of plugging away coding, selling software, and supporting our customers… we need to concentrate on being at the show for a few days. So why is it worth it?
Meet our customers. Most of our relationships users is over the phone and email. That’s great and works, but the level of interaction is just better in person. Part of the reason is that we think of each other as real people (rather than just a voice on the phone). Because we meet so many of our users in a short time, it also helps us with generating new feature ideas and improvements.
And, when you’re talking to someone face-to-face, you get a sense of the emotion that drives them. If they’re super-happy or frustrated with the way something works, you can connect. The more we can connect with those underlying needs and emotions, the better it makes our software and our company.
Find new users. Hey, the only way to stay in business is to sell. And the reality is that most countertop fabricators who’re growing their business or purchasing equipment come to a show like StonExpo before they invest. They want to see what’s available, and the’ll stumble upon our booth and say “this is exactly what I’ve been looking for… where have you been?” So, we need to be in the place where countertop shop owners are looking for new technology.
Build industry relationships. Over time, we’ve gotten to know many of the other players in the industry. For us many of our relationships are with CNC manufacturers, digital templating providers, press. It’s good to know what they’re up to, get a general sense of the industry, and help our mutual customers succeed with all of our technology.
Scope out competition. Most of the time, we’re “heads-down” running our own business and don’t really think about competition. By concentrating on our customers’ needs we think we can build the best software for the countertop industry. But, occasionally its important to look around and see who else is trying to do the same thing. If someone else is solving a software problem that we don’t, we want to at least be aware of it so we can decide whether to incorporate it into our future plans.
Get together as a company. Moraware employees are really spread out. Really. In order to get together in person, at least 3 of us need to get on a plane. Being at a show means that in the evenings we get to hang out in person and have the casual conversations that most companies take for granted. It’s a chance to get to know each other better, and to plan for the future.
If you’re coming to StonExpo please stop by our booth B732 to chat! We’re looking forward to seeing you there.
Want to know more? At Moraware, we make software for countertop fabricators. CounterGo is countertop drawing and estimating software. JobTracker is scheduling software that helps you eliminate the time you waste looking for job folders. RemnantSwap is a free place to buy and sell granite remnants with fabricators near you.
