Smart Show Day 2

Today (Saturday) was the first day of the trade-show portion.  The 8:30am session with Martin Lindstrom on “Buyology” was packed.  It was indeed evident that attendees to this show are motivated to learn.  Lindstrom started out by proving to the audience that consumers are irrational.  We knock on wood, and we buy things we don’t really need.  “Jewellery” he claims, “is irrational; it’s emotions in a little box.” 

Lindstrom’s best selling book, Buyology is about focusing on escapism, nostalgia, story-telling, sensory stimulation and community.  Note, none of these factors have anything to do with what cert your selling, which brands you carry or what your competitor is doing.  His emphasis on they psychological stimuli that make people buy had the packed conference room riveted. 

Particularly poignant was his revelation about Alfred Hitchcock’s writing.  He wrote blue scripts and green scripts.  The blue script was all about the words, and the rational parts of his screenplays.  The green scripts contained the suspense and emotion he sought to evoke from his movies.  If you don’t have a green script for the experience you’re trying to create for your clients, you’re destined to struggle against discounters, unscrupulous retailers and internet sellers.

According to Lindstrom it’s not about competing on price with that no-good competitor, it’s about under-promising and over-delivering.  Create an experience worth your clients gossiping about, and you’ve got a viral brand; whether you’re a master of social media or not!

Being the first day of a three day show, many of the buyers were previewing the show and exhibitors reported a relatively slow start to selling.  As for Customgold, The Colored Diamond Family Ring Collection is officially INTERNATIONAL.  We’ve got a good start and look forward to higher crowds tomorrow.