NACDS Total Store Expo exhibitor Joyce Griffith, vice president of sales at KT Health, LLC, a manufacturer of kinesiology therapy tape, is a veteran of NACDS Total Store Expo. Griffith attributes her company’s participation at the conference with helping put her company’s products in front of the right people to expand their business.
We had an opportunity to really explain what the product is and really generate some interest.
NACDS.org caught up with Griffith this week to discuss the conference, and why it’s been beneficial for her to attend every year.
Q: How has coming to Total Store Expo contributed to your company’s growth?
A: Most people had no idea what kinesiology therapy tape was. I had to really start from the ground up, and I think the Meet the Market program at Total Store Expo was phenomenal because it guaranteed getting us in front of so many people. We had an opportunity to really explain what the product is and really generate some interest. It really helped us get our foot in the door to a lot of places.
Q: What advice would you give to first time exhibitors?
A: The first thing is, absolutely positively become a member of NACDS because you will have so much information at your fingertips if you take the time to use it. Second of all, always do Meet the Market. And when you are there, don’t just sit in your booth and work on your computer. Anybody that comes down that aisle, whether it’s a retailer or vendor, they are all customers. Take the time to explain your product to everybody.
Q: What have been some of the most positive aspects of your participation at Total Store Expo?
A: I think the most positive experience you get from NACDS is that you have the opportunity to talk to upper-level management. When you get their support behind you, then the people—your actual buyers—will say, ‘OK, my boss has approved this, I’ll do it.’
Q: What do you look forward to at next year’s Total Store Expo?
A: Well, first of all, Boston—I love Boston! That location is just phenomenal. But, besides my personal preference for Boston, I love Meet the Market because it’s fabulous. You don’t get to just interact with the retailers; you also get to interact with a lot of the vendors. I think Meet the Market is the best thing in the industry.
Q: What made you want to increase the size of your booth next year?
A: We have a lot more new items to show, and we’ve really gotten the retailers to understand how important it is to have kinesiology tape. When you start having two and three retailers in a 10 x 10 booth, it’s a little tight. We just had so much more interaction in our booth this year that we realized, we’re growing and we need a bigger booth.
