The Binding Industries Associaton Conference is coming up in May and we took the time to talk with past attendee Frank Shear, president, Seaboard Bindery, Inc., about his conference experience. Enjoy the brief interview and let us know what you think in the comments!

Have you implemented anything you’ve learned from the BIA conference into your own work?

Most definitely.    Much of what I take back with me results from conversations with people. I remember a discussion from one year about employee communication that resulted in me having monthly meetings with our employees to review what we have accomplished in the past month and discuss challenges and opportunities ahead.  Employees have told me they find value in those brief meetings.

What were some of the takeaways from the conference?

One part of the marketing session involved discussion of where social media marketing fits into the marketing mix.  We are now trying to implement a social media focus into our marketing.

Last year there was a panel of print buyers discussing how binders can expand their reach into non-traditional customers.  We have implemented some of this here.

Two years ago the seminar on mailing and fulfillment really excited me.  We started offering more fulfillment as part of our services, not to the degree of a specialty fulfillment house, but to give us added value.

How useful were the tours?

The tours are always eye opening.  There is always something that someone else does differently.  We all get to the same end point, but the paths there are always different.  You get to chat with operators, you get to watch jobs run, it’s a great time to pick the brains of others looking at the same process. New ideas pop up, the juices start flowing.

Was it useful to share ideas with your peers?

That is what the conference is all about.  The most effective learning for me comes with simply chatting with others. You might overhear someone talking about a problem that you are encountering, or a solution that they are implementing for a problem that you share.  Standing around and talking is perhaps one of the best opportunities to learn.

What would you say to someone on the fence about attending the BIA Conference?

One never knows what is likely to come up from a seminar or person to person discussion.  I have always had some issue in common with whomever I happened to be talking with.  One new idea or insight can be priceless.