A few weeks ago several of us from Dingley attended the NEMOA Spring Conference in Boston. If you’ve never been to this conference you might want to consider going to the Fall session in September. The conference is made up of people from every part of our business. In attendance were graphic designers, web administrators, marketers, senior executives, and yes, a couple of suppliers too. The speakers insight and stories were very motivating. They shared information on how they grew their business and some of the struggles along the way.

Marketing tips were plentiful this year. We learned how catalogers can create unique customized experiences for customers, how important it is to be consistent, why engaging and addictive brands are successful, and how intelligent behavior targeting is expected and welcomed from consumers as long as it is done right. Marketers are competing against thousands of other marketing messages each one of us is exposed to in our normal daily routine. The trick for marketers is to make their message stand out in the crowd. Are your customers noticing your brand in the crowd, and enjoying an unforgettable experience?

We heard a fair amount about international market exploration. With some help from those who’ve already made the leap, it sounds like it’s pretty easy to accomplish for companies big and small. Once currency and language issues are addressed, it’s really about understanding if your products work in the new market place. Can social media be that catalyst to get your started?

If you didn’t already know it before the conference, you would have certainly left the understanding that tablets are changing the shopping experience. Their usage continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Consumers want to shop or browse your website, apps and digital editions anywhere, and anytime they want. They are technology savvy or well on their way to gaining the knowledge they need to use technology, which means they expect you to have all the available channels for them to use to gain access to products they want. As a matter of fact, they are even expecting that you know their buying behaviors and that you will serve up products that are relevant to their wants and needs.

This year NEMOA had record attendance with over 500 attendees. The companies attending range from giants like L.L. Bean to smaller companies like The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg. All the attendees we met were willing to share ideas and knowledge, and really were passionate and optimistic about their businesses. If you feel like you or someone on your team needs inspiration or motivation, check out NEMOA’s Fall conference. We’ll see you there!