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Apr 17, 2015 – Apr 19, 2015

JEBar

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in thinking about it, EM publishes the general location of their tour stops days (if not weeks) in advance along with the hours the booth will be staffed .... example : next stop Apr 22, 2015 - Apr 22, 2015 Cape Canaveral, FL - Kennedy Space Center Vistor's Center: Earth Day Celebration! 9:00am - 3pm ... its interesting to see/listen to someone who shows up hours after the posted closing time and gets all fired up about it .... yep, very interesting ....it says a great deal about them .... armchair quarterbacks most certainly have a right to question the decisions made and can raise valid points about such decisions .... however, the bottom line is, its their company, they are paying the bills and have the right to schedule events as they see fit ....
 

Florida Guy

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Once again a firm grasp of the obvious, JEBar. Does it really need to be said that a company has the RIGHT to schedule as they see fit? Also, it surely is not only their money they are spending. All of us that have all-in reservations are seeing our money get spent "as they see fit". You are looking at things in a very narrow way and adding very little in the way of information.
 

RUCRAYZE

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Once again a firm grasp of the obvious, JEBar. Does it really need to be said that a company has the RIGHT to schedule as they see fit? Also, it surely is not only their money they are spending. All of us that have all-in reservations are seeing our money get spent "as they see fit". You are looking at things in a very narrow way and adding very little in the way of information.
Gotta say from one Florida guy to another, you are smooth. Most of my trolls are usually more confrontational, but you have an appealing spin. I know you're good when people continue to react to your posts and you knowing how pleasantly you pull chains. Don't fall into the trap, keep up your insights, they make this grumpy ol'd guy smile (my avatar is really me smiling)
Flame away, I like to read your posts, it's like when I drive past an accident and slow down to look, knowing it can't be pleasant, but I still gotta peek
 

JEBar

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Once again a firm grasp of the obvious, JEBar. Does it really need to be said that a company has the RIGHT to schedule as they see fit? Also, it surely is not only their money they are spending. All of us that have all-in reservations are seeing our money get spent "as they see fit". You are looking at things in a very narrow way and adding very little in the way of information.

thank you for acknowledging that my post reflect facts .... not twisted facts, not anger based emotional comments .... as to the degree of information that they may provide, that will vary from person to person (another simple fact)
 

BaldGuy

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I think Elio has already proved they can man there both less hours then the exhibition/show hours. The debate is should they. Personally, I would want it maned by at least 2 energetic representatives when customers are there. If I was Paul, I may feel bad about asking 2 of my team to work 2nd shift on occasion, but least face it, every job can't be 9 to 5. I know they got to drive it there, set it up, etc etc. Life can be tough. But as the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
 

JEBar

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I think Elio has already proved they can man there both less hours then the exhibition/show hours. The debate is should they. Personally, I would want it maned by at least 2 energetic representatives when customers are there. If I was Paul, I may feel bad about asking 2 of my team to work 2nd shift on occasion, but least face it, every job can't be 9 to 5. I know they got to drive it there, set it up, etc etc. Life can be tough. But as the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

point well made .... they have proven to be effective in the way they handle the tour events .... that said, hopefully they do review all operations with the intent of improving the way the do business
 

Lil4X

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My observation(s)
The venue didn't seem the best to show-off the E.
Surrounded by big buck toys, and the instant gratification of buying them, the E was a novelty, with no real home. Overheard part EM pitch -about folks who couldn't get to a job because they couldn't afford cheap, reliable transportation, rang hollow in toy land.
That can be a real problem for many exhibitors, selecting the right venue. You're about to invest a lot of company money and take up a lot of key people's time, so the potential benefit has to outweigh the costs. While the gee-whiz factor is fun, it doesn't make people plunk down their cash - at least in the numbers you will need to keep deposits a couple of months ahead of the assembly floor once the initial flush of early-adopters is over.

I often suggested my smaller clients exhibit at small specialty shows, rather than two or three GLOBAL shows, on the theory they'd get more bang for their buck at a dozen regional shows in the Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana area, rather than the European Oil Show in Aberdeen, Scotland, or the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. The logistics are not only expensive, but kinda hard to justify. It's that cost-benefit thing again, where blowing the marketing budget for the next year might not produce proportional results.

Often times I'd have clients tell me afterwards they wrote more business at a tabletop exhibit at a local specialty tech conference than they did with a 20'X20' exhibit at a worldwide oil show. It's a function of bucks, as they say. A couple hundred bucks for a tabletop show or tens of thousands for an appearance at the big annual industry blowout. There's a method in this madness . . . Why go out and compete with the multimillion-dollar exhibits for the spotlight when what you're looking for is an introduction to a specialized local market and coverage by your niche industry press? Playing in the big leagues is really expensive, and although it's an ego boost to be sure, spending 50X more on the world stage is unlikely to get you 50X more results. Then there's the outside chance you might get an order you can't handle. Like a dog chasing a car, you need to decide in advance what are you going to do if you catch it!

I think EM has been extraordinarily successful with it's roadshow, but it's time to step it up a notch as the first articles go into production in the next few months. As a firm rollout date approaches, we need to get the product in front of more potential buyers - not just the gearheads that tend to follow automotive news. That'll be the next big step in marketing before we get to the dealership level. That's going to require multiple roadshows turning up at a wide variety of smaller venues that attract your target market. Look at some of the majors for guidance here. Porsche, Lexus, Nissan, and several other automakers that have products of interest to a performance market found years ago, that nothing sells the car like putting someone behind the wheel. A little chalk track outline and a few traffic cones let prospects get a feel for the vehicle - and in some cases compare them directly to the competition.

When there are early production models available, pull three or four off the line and put them in a ride and drive tour, where prospects can get their hands on them and attract media attention. Hit the big commuter markets, the top ten or fifteen cities in America that represent the average guy and his daily slog to work. Sure, the Elio appeals to a number of market segments, but this, according to PE's business plan is the big one. For now, flying under the radar may be a good idea, but we're approaching the point we need to go "mainstream". Ramping up the visibility in the marketplace as manufacturing begins to come on line is going to be the next big step. Just a suggestion guys . . . in case anyone at EM is reading this. :D
 
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