Friday, January 27, 2012

We actually MAKE our products!

It amazes me how many of our long-time customers do not know that Model Expo actually MAKES our own product lines (Model Shipways, Model Airways, Model Trailways, Guns of History).

Friday, January 20, 2012

Model Expo and the Micro-Precision Table Saw from Preac Tool Company

Many of you may remember the Micro-Precision Table Saw from Preac Tool Company - a great saw from a great company! Ask any modeler who owns one--There is no other modelers tool on the market that enjoys such popularity. Professional Modelers, Museum Shops, and Amateurs the world over own "A Preac"!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Customer Service

Hi Modelers,  my name is Tom, one of your Customer Service Representatives.  Please check this blog site for future updated information from our CSR department.
Happy Modeling

(Un)expected Turbulence

As I wrap up another exciting week of running a small business, the thought of "Unexpected Turbulence" comes to mind. This week, we encountered several instances of turbulence in the manufacturing of our model kits.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

What it means to stand behind your product!

What does it truly mean to "stand behind your product"? We've all seen, read, and in many cases experienced where this has gone terribly wrong - and it ultimately left us with a "bad taste in our mouth".

Friday, January 6, 2012

Trading in your pain - from Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a marketing hero of mine and a recent post in his blog really resonated with me - I hope you enjoy. Also, note that I added his feed to the right-hand side of my blog - check it out, very good reading!

Trading in your pain

The pain of a lousy boss, of careless mistakes, of insufficient credit. The pain of instability, of bullying, of inadequate tools. The pain of poor cash flow, corrossive feedback and work that isn't worthy of you.
Pain is part of work. And it leads to two mistakes.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

We have customers that still write letters...

Recently, I received a hand written letter and actual photographs of the work of one of our modelers (David Armitage) and I paused to reflect on our on-going transition. Model Expo, like many older companies, is a company in the middle of a technological transformation. For over 30+ years, Model Expo was predominantly a direct mail-based business and our internal processes, systems, and employees supported that type of business (slower response times). While we still mail catalogs and post-cards, this type of marketing is VERY expensive, time consuming, and quickly becoming outdated (much to the dismay of many of our customers).