At the moment I think that it is like everything else in this testing business climate – any success is hard won! And I don’t see why trade shows should be any different. Yes – people have reduced capital spend, yes – decision makers are being forced to account for every penny spent and yes – closing a sale can be a long drawn out affair with so many hoops to clear before you secure that elusive order number.

However should that mean that you discount one of the principal marketing tools in your strategic artillery? Should you ignore the yearly round of trade shows – whatever your area of business?

After much deliberation, Cobalt hasn’t taken that stance at all. Instead we have sought out new trade shows that we think will attract a similar type of decision maker to those who already number amongst our existing clients. Directors looking for a conveyor company that can offer maintenance of current kit as well as brand spanking new stuff and Maintenance Managers that need existing lines restored, recycled and refurbished to save money but win new business all the same.

In that vein we sourced a trade show all about maintenance and saving time and money. We booked our stand, overhauled our marketing messages, produced some appropriate sales material and thought through our show offer carefully.

What I am trying to say – we didn’t just keep going to the shows that we have always been to. We haven’t just dusted down old pop ups and dug out boxes of literature from two years ago. Times have changed. Companies really have to think and work smarter in every area and that includes in marketing themselves.

But then again – nothing is ever guaranteed in business – so I’m off to make an exhibition of myself at MAINTEC 2012 at the Birmingham NEC tomorrow – let’s hope it rains! (Apparently it increases visitor numbers!)

Simon

The new website has been live for a few months now and we are delighted with the results and have received some fabulous feedback regarding the new content and navigation.

One of the more eye-opening aspects of the launch of the new site for me was how important it is to integrate the use of social media with what a company does online. So to complement our website, you can also find Cobalt on Twitter, facebook and Linkedin.

However, and I think this is really important; we are not using social media to ‘sell’ in the old sense of the word. No, we are trying to give our followers a sense of who we really are at Cobalt and what makes us tick. So yes, there is industry information that you will hopefully find interesting, but we also tweet and update to let you know who we are working for on any particular day, what products we are conveying on our systems and what we think about any given event or situation. Even when we encounter a traffic jam we will give you the heads up to avoid it. Already we have made loads of interesting new contacts and indeed friends on social media and above all we are finding it fun!

There is a school of thought that has denigrated social media – calling it impersonal and cold, but we can honestly say that we are interacting with people all over the country and indeed abroad from areas of business with which we would not usually communicate. So why don’t you follow us on Twitter or ‘like’ us on facebook?

We promise to reciprocate…so come on let’s get social!

Simon

Four years on and I am very proud of the company that Cobalt has become. We have established clear strengths in terms of product development and market niches and have carved out a reputation for being a company that works for our clients as if we are a team within their team.

Simon from Cobalt Conveyors

We set out with a four year business strategy and that blueprint guided us through good times and bad times (show me a boss that doesn’t admit to the latter and I’ll show you a liar!). We learnt from our successes… and our mistakes and have emerged stronger with a clear vision of where we want our future to lead.

Today marks the start of the next phase of Cobalt. The launch of new website is key in our internet marketing campaign as it forms the bedrock of how we source a great chunk of our new business enquiries. However we also wanted it to be a more dynamic interface between us and our existing clients, suppliers and stakeholders. A word of sincere thanks to the team that has helped us develop our new site: Panovista Marketing and Nemo Designs – it’s been a long haul guys, but thank you for all your hard work and patience. (We know that to the lay person – all conveyors look the same!)

So here goes … looking forward to where we go from here!