There are many prestigious awards handed out at the SEMA Show. While each is significant in its own way, there is one award that should be of particular interest to everyone at the Show, and potentially, everyone in the auto industry. That would be the SEMA Award because it represents the collective voice of the industry.

By counting and sorting the vehicles displayed in exhibitor booths, we can gauge which vehicle models SEMA exhibitors believe will lead the way when it comes to generating accessory sales. The SEMA Award is a way to spotlight our exhibitors’ unique ability to identify which models are hot, just as the trends are gaining momentum.

Spotlighting Yours at the SEMA Show

Each year, SEMA commissions an internal study to help association staff understand how to make the SEMA Show better. Based on thousands of interviews with exhibitors and attendees, it’s a study that contains valuable insights about the SEMA Show for the association. Of those insights, perhaps the most valuable takeaway is that new products are the force that drive the Show, yet many exhibitors don’t utilize successful Show features that highlight their products.

Our surveys tell us that 87% of buyers consider new products their number-one priority when the Show opens. Not surprisingly then, we see that roughly three-quarters of buyers visit the New Product Showcase at some point during the Show.

SEMA has fielded many questions about the emissions certification process over the years, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. We’ve recently taken some important steps to help member companies create performance parts that both make power and comply with state and federal regulations. You’ll be glad to know that these services are now wrapped into a new facility. The SEMA Garage–Industry Innovations Center offers a range of tools and opportunities to help you develop high-quality products more quickly and effectively.

If you are looking for information to understand the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) exemption program, both new and experienced members will benefit from our new “CARB EO Assistance.” For starters, we’ve collected all the information you need to know about the regulations and the EO exemption process in a user-friendly way. For a digestible overview, we suggest that you download a copy of the updated SEMA Black Book. It’s available free to SEMA members.

Here’s the big news: The SEMA Data Co-op is currently building SEMA Search, an online product look-up tool powered by the SDC product information library.

Scheduled for roll-out in November of this year, SEMA Search will allow member retailers, including countermen and sales consultants at brick-and-mortar retail outlets, to find and present the digital product information and images of their manufacturer partners for every customer.

Not only will this provide the opportunity for resellers to view more sales options than ever, they will also enjoy this information at a speed to market rarely experienced before.

It has become fairly routine for businesses to periodically review health-care coverage to monitor cost and quality. But this year, health-care review will be more difficult. That’s because the Affordable Care Act—the national health-care plan otherwise known as “Obamacare”—is being phased in, bringing with it new rules about how companies offer health care.

The law took effect in 2010, but its most consequential requirement—that all individuals obtain minimum levels of coverage on their own or through their employer—takes effect next year. Starting in 2014, large companies (50 employees or more) must decide whether they will offer affordable coverage or pay a fine. Under the law, companies with 49 workers or fewer have no obligation to offer coverage. Insurance exchanges, both public and private, will take effect to help insurance buyers shop for affordable coverage. These are just a sampling of the highlights. There will be more regulations to consider year by year until the law is fully implemented in 2020.

If you’re reading this, you’re holding the annual SEMA Membership Directory issue. With more listings, this directory is one of our largest ever, as your association continues a healthy trend in membership growth.

While we now make membership listings available online as well, we think the printed edition is well worth the effort, since SEMA members consistently mention the directory as a primary benefit to their business. Now that you know about it, you can take advantage of this industry sourcebook to connect with other leading companies all year long. But what other valuable SEMA benefits are you missing simply because you don’t know about them? Are you overpaying for shipping, insurance or credit-card processing fees?

No matter what your role in your company or your knowledge of today’s business tech tools, everyone is striving to increase sales. This issue of SEMA News is loaded with info on great business technology that will help you do just that. One biz tech system all SEMA members should be aware of by now is the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), and we have big news—a new tool to help members get started and maximize product sales.

As the new year gains steam, SEMA leadership and the Board of Directors have been considering new goals and offerings to help our members succeed. As always, we are looking at investments that would do the most good for SEMA members and the performance aftermarket in general. One focus this year is to deliver new and improved tools and services to help members quickly and efficiently develop new products.

It’s certainly no secret that customer information has become a key element of success in business. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to conduct long-term planning, execute more targeted marketing and ensure success when it comes to strategic investments. That kind of information can be the difference maker when a business is under stress or when it’s time to expand.

By now, most of the industry—and certainly those operating in the racing and performance segment—will have heard that SEMA has acquired the International Motorsports Industry Show, otherwise known as IMIS.