There was a lot of skepticism surrounding whether or not the 2021 Annual Product Showcase for the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association (DPHA) should happen or not. However, now that the in-person and @Home version of the event has come and gone, boy was it memorable and packed with value!

Here is a list of the top 5 things that the team at ShowroomMarketing.com walked away feeling great about from the DPHA show:

1. From The Very First Speaker, We Learned That “Having HOPE Is A Must”.

According to Dr. Randy Ross, “hope is a dynamic motivational system tied to inspirational goal setting…” It turns out that hope is indeed a strategy, and a must-have mindset for every organization, team, and leader.

Dr. Ross described the benefits of employees who have a high level of hope:

• Lower absenteeism and cost. Employees with high hope only miss an average of 3 days of work per year compared to employees with low hope who miss an average of 10 days or more per year.
• Higher production rates. High hope results in 14% higher production rates. High-hope employees accomplish more work in 6 days than what their counterparts accomplish in 7 days or more.
• Better grades. Students with high hope earn better grades of up to 12%.
• Higher morale, collaboration, and creativity. High hope leads to higher morale, collaboration, and creativity.
• Better health. High hope also increases health, happiness, and longevity.

Depression is the absence of a sense of hope.

Today’s evidence indicates that suicide is up 200% with little foreseeable end in sight. The moral of the story? Become a carrier of “high hope” because you never know who may need a little pick-me-up or who may be facing challenging times.

2. Being HIGH TECH is important but being HIGH TOUCH will level up your brand building, networking, profit-producing, and relationship development capabilities.

Amidst the sea of vendor booths at the DPHA showcase, several brands and businesses provided an interactive experience, creating a “biz buzz”.

Event marketing is an ever-evolving and changing business development, especially now that we are in the post-pandemic economy. However, one thing is certain: The company that authentically and creatively interacts with their clients and community will create and widen their ‘ripple effect’ on their marketplace.   

In an effort to make a giant “splash” at the conference, the “Mermaid with the Mostest”, Christine Miskinis, Director of Marketing Strategy at ShowroomMarketing.com, made quite an unforgettable inaugural appearance. Christine provided entertainment by engaging conversations and photos with show attendees, and  gently nudged action-oriented businesses back to her company’s booth to look at customized Market Analysis Reports made specifically for each company in attendance. And as a grand finale, Christine and John Gosselin raffled off a big, ole bottle of Belvedere Vodka, which was claimed by Martin Siwy, CEO of CEU Events. #CheersMartin

3. Because end users’ buying preferences and purchasing patterns have been impacted, people working in the trades, manufacturers’ reps, and the supply chain at large had to PIVOT to accommodate customers’ needs.

Streamlining the communication cycle is an outcome and goal for all players trying to keep up  with the hectic supply chain today.

Here are several tips and techniques that were shared during the roundtable sessions to help you be more effective and successful while communicating during today’s supply chain mess:

• Send bi-weekly backorder reports to all stakeholders involved in the transaction
• Dealers and specifiers should offer a “product A” or “product B” option just in case
• Copy the rep(s) on order status, POs, delivery dates, and other relevant information
• Broadcast which product(s) are in stock on your website and in all written correspondence (and consider having more high-selling products on-hand)
• Manufacturers on the cutting edge are offering social media success kits so that dealers can represent their products and messages consistently

4. The #1 competitive advantage of an independently-owned decorative plumbing and hardware showroom is their ability to BLANKET the first page of Google using multiple media sources while providing white glove customer service.

Our company has been working on various business development initiatives with decorative showrooms and plumbing supply houses since 2013. We have also been involved with the DPHA, various buying groups in and outside of our industry, and in 2017, one of our co-founders, Austin Pike, was recognized in the “30 Under 30” from the NKBA at KBIS for his  talent for turning online insights into recurring revenue.

So, in short, we know what operating using nothing but best practices looks like.

Our portfolio features clients who used to be independently-owned but are now owned by private equity firms, showroom owners and manufacturers, clients with e-Tailer clients that sell locally and nationally. We also consult with many reps and rep firms and have relationships with a host of manufacturers in our industry to provide them with data on what people search for before converting to buyers.

=============================================

If you haven’t taken a look at our “Monopolize Your Marketplace” game board yet, you’ll be excited to see just how simple it is to increase the number of inquiries, grow your business (with or without e-Commerce enabled on your website), and control more market share. By establishing easy-to-implement processes and systems for “winning” with the 20% of the spaces on this board, this will help you yield you 80% of the results.