ToMarketToMarket_feature - Window Film

Volume 15, Issue 4 - July/August 2011

feature

To Market, To Market
A Look at the Customer of the Future with International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference™ Speaker Kelly McDonald

Increase Your Marketing Know-How
For a window film company image really is everything. When selling a product that is used to change the look of a car or building, knowing how to market your company is particularly important. Renowned multicultural marketing and business trends expert Kelly McDonald will hold an hour long session during the International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference™. “Understanding the Customer of the Future,” will take a look at changing market trends and who your customer is. She’ll discuss how to build business with potential customers that aren’t like you.

So who is your customer? To whom exactly are you marketing on a daily basis? Knowing who will be viewing your marketing messages can make a big difference in what kind of message you ultimately will send. Are you marketing to the young and modern generation or established energy-conscious baby boomers? Renowned multicultural marketing and business trends expert Kelly McDonald will speak about just
that at the upcoming International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference™ event on
September 15-17 in Memphis, Tenn.

McDonald’s session, “Who is Your Customer? Understanding the Customer of the Future,” will take a look at the changing demographics of the United States, along with necessary marketing changes required by such shifts.

McDonald, who has spoken to many major groups including Toyota, Sherwin-Williams, Harley-Davidson, State Farm Insurance, Mattel, AAA Travel, and BlueCross BlueShield, recently took the time to speak with Window Film magazine about her work in this area.

WF: How did you come to study this topic?
McDonald (KM): I am a marketing and advertising person, and before I started my own company I spent 25 years working for some of the top ad agencies in the country. When you’re in advertising, you’re duty-bound to keep your fingertips on the pulse of the marketplace. That doesn’t just mean your competition but also consumer trends. It’s really important to not only keep up with demography but also to keep up with what those changes mean.

WF: What types of changes do you expect to discuss?
KM: Some of the key trends I want to discuss is what the 2010 census shows us. The big news recently has been about the Hispanic population. One in 10 people [in the United States] is Spanish-speaking. What does that mean for business? Also there have been tremendous shifts in geography. People are moving from rural areas into the cities. What do you do to prepare your business for that shift? Some of the customers you’re used to having might not be there any more. Other demographics also are crucial, such as the aging of the population, and questions such as, “what do young people want?” Do they only want to be communicated with by text?

There’s no average consumer today, and businesses are going to have to adapt.

WF: What do you usually hear from people after they’ve attended your seminars?
KM: They love it. Everyone sees the changes around them, but they don’t know what they need to do to change their businesses to adapt to the changes. You can look around and see that young people are constantly using their phones but they’re not talking on them. Changes like these make you ask, what do I need to do from a business standpoint? How do I stay profitable and competitive?

I’ve never presented this information where people weren’t completely riveted, and info like the census is a gift that only comes once very 10 years.

My thought is, how can you serve the local community if you don’t know who the local community is? Be smart—pay attention to the demographics around you and use this information to serve customers better because every business is local.