More than 8k business meetings held at 2014 General Merchandise Marketing Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Members of the Global Market Development Center attended more than 8,000 scheduled meetings in the span of five days at the 2014 General Merchandise Marketing Conference held in San Antonio from Sept. 5 to 9, GMDC has announced.

With more educational resources than ever, and a refreshed data set of the GMDC/Nielsen GM Hierarchy, this conference gave retailers, suppliers and service companies the ability to incorporate exclusive insights into their meetings about the GM industry and its categories. GMDC’s supplier- and buyer-led meetings also were accompanied by numerous receptions, networking events and educational sessions to maximize business building opportunities.

On Sept. 8, Kristin Gorski, new business development at Nielsen, hosted “Winning in GM: GM Hierarchy Workshop,” that shared a working perspective of GMDC/Nielsen GM Hierarchy data usage. Attendees learned how companies of different sizes can integrate GM sales data into their meetings to drive sales by using a common ground of discussion with key buyers regarding category performance. The supplier panel consisted of Scott Bradshaw, SVP, sales at Bradshaw International and Michelle King, director of sales and energy efficiency programs at Earthtronics, who both shared how the GM Hierarchy has been instrumental in guiding their meetings.

“The GMDC/Nielsen data set will give you the confidence you need as you move forward with your customer meetings. Before you head into meetings, you have the ability to know ahead of time one or two key things that you can take with you and share with your customer that will help drive their business forward,” stated Bradshaw.

Mark Mechelse, director of insights, research and communications at GMDC, elaborated on what the data currently offers GMDC members and how it will reinforce and build the GM industry.  

“GMDC is all about connectivity. We bring the right people to the table and create that right marriage for business. Now with a common language that we’re helping associate with our members through data, it’s making these meeting more productive. Our suppliers can approach retailers and have an educated discussion and build a more compelling message,” Mechelse said.

Conference attendees were provided with the “GMDC/Nielsen GM Hierarchy: Retailer/Wholesaler Usage & Application Report,” which summarizes how the GM Hierarchy can impact business, become a benchmark for product sales and open windows of opportunity for suppliers with retailers and wholesalers.

Additional highlights from the five-day conference include:

• 
  The latest technology was provided for retailers to scan products in the GM14 Showcase room, with 1131 “live” scans recorded and delivered instantly to suppliers based on buyer interest. Additional on-site meetings were scheduled as a result;


• 
  161 companies participated in the showcase, bringing their most innovative, latest development of GM products. Of those companies, 44 were new this year; and


• 
  17 of the 18 mega-categories listed in the GMDC/Nielsen GM Hierarchy were represented inside the showcase.

The next GM Marketing Conference will be held May 29 to June 2, 2015 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla.