Some of the best conversations I have at the International Sleep Products Association happen when the meeting is technically over.
Someone catches me on the way out of a conference session. A member replies to something we put in “ISPA Insider.” Someone sends me an article with a two-word message: “Seen this?” A conversation starts on LinkedIn. A company sends BedTimes a press release about something they’re doing that we didn’t know about.
Sometimes it’s a question. Sometimes it’s a complaint. Sometimes it’s simply, “You should be paying attention to this.”
I value all of it.
We spend a lot of time thinking about how ISPA communicates with the industry. BedTimes covers the people, companies, and issues shaping mattress manufacturing. Sleep Savvy speaks to the retail side of the business. “ISPA Insider” keeps members current on association work, government affairs, research, events, and other developments they need to know. Then there’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and the other digital places where conversations happen much faster.
I don’t want any of those to be a one-way street.
I want to hear what’s happening at your company. Send us your news and press releases. Tell us when someone has been promoted or when you’re expanding a plant, launching something new, solving an interesting problem, or trying something that others in the industry could learn from.
And tell us what you’re seeing.
What are your customers asking about? What’s getting harder? What has surprised you? What are we talking about too much? What aren’t we talking about enough?
Those conversations matter because they give us a much better view of the industry than we could ever get just sitting in our own offices. That is why I spend so much time on the road visiting headquarters and facilities, meeting elected officials and policymakers where they live and work, and attending not only our events, but affiliated conferences and shows.
It all affects what we do.
A question from one member can uncover an issue that is affecting dozens of companies. Feedback after an event can change what we put on the agenda next time. A conversation about missing information can point us toward research we should be doing. Something mentioned casually to one of our editors can become a story that gets the rest of the industry talking.
That’s the part of communications I find most interesting. You never quite know where the useful information is going to come from.
We’re looking closely at our own communications, too. What belongs in print? What should be digital? What deserves a full story, and what can be useful in three sentences? Where are we giving you something worth your time, and where could we do better?
Those are questions we should constantly ask ourselves. But we shouldn’t answer them
by ourselves.
So, here’s my ask.
Don’t just read BedTimes or Sleep Savvy; talk to the editors. Don’t just skim “ISPA Insider”; hit reply when something catches your attention. Follow ISPA on social media and COMMENT. Share something. Ask us questions. Agree with us when we are speaking about an issue you care about, and disagree with us when you think we’ve missed something.
And send us your news. Please. ISPA can create the platforms and bring people together. We exist to protect and promote the industry, but we can’t tell a story we don’t know about. Plus, we love it when organic conversations facilitate our work.
The next conversation doesn’t have to wait for the next conference. In fact, I’d rather it didn’t.
Alison Keane • President
