Re: Re:N.A.M.M show

[Kim Flint <kflint@chromatic.com>]

At 11:10 AM 12/12/97, Michael P. Hughes, Ph.D. wrote:

>>Who is going to check the credit status and invoice and collect from 
>every
>>single consumer that calls up to order direct? What will shipping costs 
>be
>if >every unit is sold and shipped to an individual? Who will
>repair/service the >units? 
>
>Well, Musician's Friend manage it, and make a profit into the bargain...
>...remove the middleman, take out that profit margin, help starving
>musicians... ;)

well, Musician's Friend is a middle man, right? Besides, I never thought
their prices were that great, so their profit margin must be larger? or did
you mean Carvin? 


>>Guitar Center and their fellow retail establishments are exactly the 
>right
>>places to mass market the Vortex (or Boomerang, or Echoplex, or
>whatever...) >because that's where guitar players go to buy gear. 
>
>OK, in the US I guess.  Fair enough, point taken.  

You don't have Guitar Center there, yet? You poor guy. ;-)  


>I suppose I feel it's strange because the European fairs, principally
>Frankfurt but with smaller ones in the UK and I presume other countries,
>have public days. One thing this allows is for the public to try kit which
>is pretty obscure, and unlikely to appear in your next-door store.  Like
>custom manufacturers - f.e. allowing people to try a Klein without 
>spending
>$2000!!!

At the public days in Frankfurt, I'm relatively sure that Lorenzo doesn't
let many people touch the Kleins. It really is a madhouse.


>Kim:
>>That's what marketing campaigns in magazines and in store clinics and
>>displays are for. 
>
>Sigh... store clinics with famous people.  I've heard about them...
>Here it's The Marshall Roadshow - with Phil Hilbourne!  Who?  Exactly.

What? you can't get Oasis to stop by?


>>At a tradeshow it's like this: An important dealer comes
>>up. He's busy, got a lot to do that day, you spend 5-10 minutes 
>discussing
>>the products in the booth with him. He knods, says, "I'll buy 50 of 
>those,
>>100 of those, let's do the order now." Papers signed, he's gone.
>
>Is this really not possible over the phone?  If they spend so little time
>with the gear and can't touch it anyway, why bother getting them together?

It's the free liquor and big parties with famous people. You get a lot more
sales that way, and its not the same over the phone.

kim
________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                      408-752-9284
Mpact System Engineering       kflint@chromatic.com
Chromatic Research             http://www.chromatic.com