CREATING THE NEW MARKETPLACE WHERE SMALL BUSINESSES WILL INTERACT }{

The project will aim to understand how small businesses interact in the changing world of communications and human interaction. In order to survive and create value, small businesses have to adapt to social changes and reinvent the way they market themselves, meet potential buyers and create value from such contacts. By analyzing traditional ways of marketing, such as trade shows, the project will focus on creating an interna-tional and virtual community marketplace for small businesses to interact.

The project will start by focusing on how small businesses use trade shows to create value and make profit. Small companies, with an annual revenue of under $3.5 million and approximately less than 100 employees, are often dealing with finding new ways to stand out in the industry. Trade shows have had a strong presence for the past 100 years, and today are a symbol for exchange, presence, and growth for small businesses. Trade show, however are expensive (approx. $10,000 ), inefficient (due to set up and distance), and not im-mediate (requiring approx. 10 follow-ups).

Trade shows are still a big part of the marketing reality of small business and the internet is still too far away from this reality. The project is going to analyze how these two systems can start interacting with each other to then become integral to one another in a near future.

This project will examine how the aspects of trade shows are fulfilled by the Internet world by focusing on fac-tors such as human interaction, physical contact with the product, steady exposure to the international market, and building relationships with outside parties. Focus will be placed on how these aspects are devel-oped, how they fulfill the needs of a small businesses, and how these needs can be enhanced in a more global, continuous and substantial way.

THE

IDEA

THE

FOCU

S THE FURNITUREINDUSTRY

EXCLUSIVE

NON - EXCLUSIVE

FURNITURE

“fine objects”

mass production

The industry I decided to focus on is the furniture industry.

This industry will represent a constraint but not a limitation

for the project.The industry presents a compro-

mise between the needs of finding fine objects (tactile and

physical experience) and the best mass produced pieces

(remote investigation).

THE

INDU

STRY

237

130

97

148

145

Furniture

Home Furnishing

Household ConsumablesOffice Furniture

Home and Garden

757 yearly shows

Design, modern and classical furniture

Furniture and acces-sories for the office

environment

Solutions for fix furni-ture

Solutions for the outside furniture envi-ronment

Design, modern and classical accessories for the house

Furniture Trade Shows Worldwide

$50-12,000

$50-3,000

$20-800

$30-8,000

$200-4,000

Product Price Point $20-12,000

Maximum range of employees is between 500 and 1500

Maximum range of employees is between 100 and 500

Manufacturing

Wholesaling

Annual receipts may not exceed $2.5 to $21.5 millionAnnual Receipts

VALUE PROPOSITIONTHE BEST WAY TO:

NET-

WORK

MAKE

SALES

BE IN

SCENE

BUYER

SELLER

PRODUCT

TRADES HOW

who?

what?

2

where?3

TRENDwhen?

4

why?5

userexperience

TRUSTRELATIONSHIP

THE PROCESS}{TH

E EX

ISTI

NG S

YSTE

M

WHAT’S IT LIKE?}{ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST HOME DESIGN

NEW YORK15th-17th march 2012

Pier 94exhibitors 120

STAND OUT

TOO MUCH VARIETY NO CATEGORIZATION

NO COHERENCE

DISORGANIZED

assistance NO hierarchy}{

}{ }{

}{

}{

}{

THE

SHO

WS ?

THE PEOPLE}{TH

E US

ERS Different realities

HAVE Different backgroundsDifferent clientsDifferent needs

THE

OVE

RVIE

W

THE USER}{

THE

INTE

RVIE

WS

$

{SATISFACTION

FREQUENCY{

Pre

During

PostTHE THOUGHTS }{

HOW OFTEN DO SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATE TO SHOWS?

ARE OUR USERS SATISFIED OF THEIREXPERIENCE?

THE OUTCOME

The mind map shows the patterns of repetition that the map has. We can see how the users might use their time between pre - show, show and after - show. How can we optimize this time and how can we make the experience more efficient?

THE

RESU

LTS

{ {EXISTING (NEW)

THE N

EEDS

}{

HUMAN INTERACTION

TACTILE EXPERIENCE

EFFICIENCY

LOGISTICS

NETWORKING

TOUCH POINTS

THE EXPERIENCE}{

THE

RESU

LTS THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY}{

1 32 4 5 6

The areas represent the different phases of a collaboration between the two users. After the completion of the first 4 phase, the last 2 phases recur in a cycle. How can we link the entire cycle back together at the end of the experience? How can we keep this connection alive between shows?

THE E

XPER

IENCE

}{

Pre-

engag

emen

t

Commercia

l

Consult

ing

Initia

tion

Coordina

tion

Completion

TOUCH POINTS

Pre-

engag

emen

t

Commercia

l

Consult

ing

Initia

tion

Coordina

tion

Completion

THE T

OUCH

POIN

TS}

{

HumanInteraction

TactileExperience

Logistics

Efficiency

Propaganda

Existing Touch Points Further Integration of Touch Points

THE REALITY}{Big companies are starting to cut outtheir trade shows budget.

Smaller companiesare starting to usethe internet as means of communicating.

$

1950 2007 2015

THE

CONT

EXT

The new system will take in consider-ation today’s reality, where the Inter-net is complementary but not equiva-lent. The system’s goal will be to aid the process (from pre to post) of a trade show utilizing the Web, famil-iarizing its users and eventually grow and expand to satisfy the analyzed requirements.

WHAT

’S NE

XT}

{Tactile

Experience

Efficiency

Propaganda

Human Interaction

StoreRemindSuggestOrganizeCommunicate

ConfirmAssignScheduleOrganize