The Transportation Marketing & Sales Association (TMSA) annual conference just unofficially kicked off in Florida tonight. Media biggies, JOC, SupplyChainBrain, Supply Chain Dive and AGILE are all in attendance. Editors from each will be panelizing tomorrow.
This is my second year and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about the transportation and logistics industry and the challenges marketers in this space have—especially regarding content and copywriting. This year’s theme is customer experience (CX).
It’s an important topic. Last year’s keynote speaker Jeff Davis touched on it. This year’s conference promises to explode it.
During last night’s speed networking and welcome reception, I spoke to TMSA’s new CMO and COO, Don Friddell about this year’s CX-focus. He emphasized the inseparableness of CX from business success today—and stressed that regardless of the data supporting this, there are still a lot of business leaders who have yet to be convinced. By the looks of the agenda, TMSA aims to change that.
The speed networking was a good time. Andrew Gulovsen, Director of Sales for Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), kept it lively with his humor and bullhorn.
Met some very interesting people (too many to mention here) and got to see familiar faces from last year’s conference.
I networked with Carleen Herndon from Women in Trucking. This is a unique organization that I’m told has over 800 members at present, hosts a growing conference and even has it’s own doll, “Clare the Truck Driver Doll”available on Amazon no less.
I talked to Denny Grim of SoundBusinessNetwork who was content marketing and podcasting before the two even existed. He once produced a transportation-related audio magazine which was distributed by audio cassette to a select C-level audience back in the 80s.
I also had the chance to ask marketers their biggest challenges. I heard the same sentiment on a number of occasions: it’s a big challenge feeding the content machine with quality posts, white papers etc.
That’s sort of my theme this year: “I help keep your quality content moving.” Speaking of this year, this conference I boothed up. That’s right. If you’re at the event, please stop by. While you’re there, you can pick up one of my limited edition “Keep your content moving” post cards that entitles you to 20% off your first project.
