World Linker

Archive for July, 2009

Shipping often seems to be one of the most complicated parts of the exhibition tour. This guide has been developed to answer some of these questions and to help you to plan an effective shipping schedule. The ideas listed below are guidelines and not hard and fast rules. Each state is different and each venue is different, so everyone must be flexible. Even so, these guidelines should aid you as you wander through the wild world of shipping.

The Process

SITES will contact the first venue about a month before the tour begins in your state. At this time we will discuss dates and times that work best and will allow enough time for the exhibition to arrive before the installation workshop. Traditionally, the exhibit materials arrive sometime during the week preceding the scheduled installation workshop. SITES is responsible for all arrangements and cost for the first and last shipment. After the initial shipment, the individual state humanities councils will arrange all following shipments. It is up to the coordinator to work with the venues to develop the best method of shipment for the state and then to communicate to the venue representatives when the shipments will take place and by whom the shipment is to be conducted. In most cases the humanities councils will pay directly for the shipment, but not always. Venues have sometimes paid for shipment from the stipend they received from the humanities councils. It depends upon what has been worked out within your state. At the end of the tour, the last venue has an additional responsibility. They will need to work with SITES’ designated shipper to arrange a date that is best to load the exhibition. SITES will arrange and pay for the final shipment back to Washington, DC.

What sets your product, service and company apart from your competitors? What value do you provide and
how is it different than the alternatives?
Competitive positioning is about defining how you’ll “differentiate” your offering and create
value for your market. It’s about carving out a spot in the competitive landscape and focusing your
company to deliver on that strategy. A good strategy includes:

• Market profile: size, competitors, stage of growth
• Customer segments: groups of prospects with similar wants & needs
• Competitive analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the landscape
• Positioning strategy: how you’ll position your offering to focus on opportunities in the market
• Value proposition: the type of value you’ll deliver to the market

When your market clearly sees how your offering is different than that of your competition, it’s easier to
generate new prospects and guide them to buy. Without differentiation, it takes more time and money to show
prospects why they should choose you; as a result, you often end up competing on price – a tough position to
sustain over the long term.