Getting to Know Your Customers; Get Tips at Upcoming Auto Glass Week™
August 31, 2011

Kelly McDonald

The way you reach potential customers likely has changed over the years, and renowned multicultural marketing and business trends expert Kelly McDonald discuss just that at the upcoming Auto Glass Week™, September 15-17 in Memphis, Tenn.

McDonald will hold two sessions during Auto Glass Week. The first, "Understanding the Customer of the Future," will take a look at changing market trends and who your future customer is. She'll also discuss how to build business with potential customers that aren't like you. The second session will be held in a workshop format and will be called "How to Market to Your Future Customer." McDonald will provide marketing tactics through role-playing exercises, and attendees will learn how to reach future customers in a manner to which they will respond.

McDonald recently took the time to discuss this important topic with glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR™ magazine.

glassBYTEs.com (GB): 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 demographic changes but also to keep up with what those changes mean.

GB: What types of changes do you expect to discuss?
KM: One key trend 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.

Pre-registration for Auto Glass Week™ ends this Friday, September 2. Registration also will be available on-site, but the discounted rate ends on September 2.

Auto Glass Week will bring together the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards (AGRSS®) Council Inc., the Independent Glass Association® (IGA), the National Glass Association (NGA), National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA), and AGRR™ magazine's Pilkington Clear Advantage Auto Glass Technician Olympics and the Walt Gorman Memorial Windshield Repair Olympics. The International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference™ also will be co-located in Memphis together with Auto Glass Week for one unprecedented event.

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