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Trade Shows: Boom or Bust?
by Nancy Solomon, president of Nancy Solomon & Associates
It's not brain surgery. If you're a B2B company, you are either already a trade show exhibitor, or you should be.
Even after 9/11. Especially after 9/11.
Trade shows are the best way to talk to new and potential customers face to face. They give you an extraordinary chance to showcase or launch your products and services, sell from the floor, sign up distributors, generate leads, promote your brand and see what the competition is up to.
Glenn Ehrlich and his two partners own Corks, a Denver wine store. "Trade shows deepen my understanding of what companies are offering. They give me the information I need to sell their products better.
"I get to talk to high-level people I might not usually meet. I can give a good rep a boost - or complain about a bad one.
"Companies think they're giving you the products and services you want. That's not always true. I can tell someone who can do something about it what I really need."
"I get new ideas for special packaging and promotions," Ehrlich continues. "And I get a chance to relax and be a customer for a change. I'm reminded of how I like to be treated as a customer and how I need to treat my customers.
"And, I buy."
Whether you sell wine or widgets, trade shows and exhibits belong in your marketing mix.
You have so many choices. Exhibits come in all shapes, sizes and prices. They range from tabletops and portables to rentals and custom-builds. You can customize rentals or have a corporate exhibit built exclusively for your company in any size you need.
The same exhibit can be constructed to convert to smaller units. Many companies have more than one type of exhibit and more than one size.
For example, Gates has an extensive array of displays from a mega, two-story 50'x100' exhibit to small tabletops. Gates Industrial advertising specialist Barb Schanno sends out tabletops, pop-ups and portables almost weekly. "We loan our smaller exhibits to our distributors for their open houses and local regional shows," she says.
Schanno has been with Gates for almost 24 years and has been managing the industrial trade shows for the last 10. "Trade shows give us a great opportunity to get our name out and build our distributor network," she says.
"A major challenge for us," says Schanno, "is that many potential distributors and customers think Gates only manufactures products for the automotive industry.
"But Gates Industrial also manufactures belts, hoses and hydraulic products for a wide variety of industries, including food, mining, oil field and general construction. We sell through distribution and displaying at shows is another way to introduce new products.
"Trade shows are great opportunities for us to demonstrate our products, build name brand awareness, cement our relationships with current distributors and attract new ones. We get a great return on our investment," says Schanno.
"We find creative ways to attract people to our exhibits. Once we get them there, we explain our products and get them excited about selling them."
Gates Industrial took a retro-diner exhibit to the National Tank Truck Carrier show, NTTC 2001, in Rosemont, Illinois, last October. "We got rave reviews," Schanno reports. "Attendees said that if there were a prize for Best of Show, Gates would get it."
As it turned out, the exhibit did win an award in May 2002. Gates Industrial took home the Gold Key and Best of Class for exhibits under 20 feet from BMA, the Business and Marketing Association.
Gates Industrial also won a Gold Key award in the larger than 20 feet category from BMA in May for its exhibit for CONEXPO, a major trade show that's held once every three years.
"Proctor Productions, our exhibit house, and the Gates team came up with 'The Strongest Link,' a trivia game show," Schanno explained. "Our booth was immensely popular. People lined up to play and they kept coming back. We were able to educate our audience, demonstrate our crimper and other products and generate a ton of leads."
The impact of 9/11
Has 9/11 affected trade shows? Of course.
Hundreds of shows were rescheduled immediately after the attacks on 9/11. Exhibitors and attendees stayed home out of respect, shock and apprehension. The economy took a nosedive, marketing budgets were cut, people stayed home.
"We took an immediate hit after the attacks," reports MaryBeth Gieser, vice president of sales and marketing for Los Angeles-based Abex Display Systems. Abex manufactures portable and modular exhibit systems with distributors worldwide.
"Many new exhibits and rental properties were on their way to shows and events on 9/11. They either sat on the docks for a while or were immediately rerouted back because of a cancelled or rescheduled event.
"There's no question that companies are more conservative with their money since 9/11," continues Geiser. "They've cut back on all their spending. Marketing budgets in particular have been severely reduced."
She estimates that big trade shows will stay flat for the rest of 2002. She expects to see the beginning signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2003.
Donald Svehla, publisher of Exhibit City News, observes that attendance at the largest 200 shows has been off about 30 percent since 9/11. "It all depends on the market segment," he says. "Some medical shows are up, while many hi-tech events are down. We don't expect an across-the-board recovery until well into 2003."
For industries such as IT that had begun to experience a downward slide before the attacks on 9/11, recovery may take even longer. Marilyn Kroner, marketing communications manager for Benchmark Storage Innovations and president of the Computer Event Marketing Association, CEMA, notes that her industry started feeling the pinch in the first quarter of 2001. Then came the dot-com debacle - and the dust hasn't settled yet.
But companies still have to market. Since 9/11, there has been a renewed interest in less expensive video conferencing and virtual trade shows. However, most experts believe technology will be used to enhance rather than replace trade shows.
After all, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, CEIR:
- Trade shows are used more in the selling process, 90 percent, than any other marketing technique.
- Exhibitions reach unknown prospects; 88 percent of attendees have not been called on by a salesperson in the last year.
- Smaller companies rely on exhibitions for their very survival.
- Exhibitions are the number one source for the people who make purchasing decisions.
This is why Gieser believes that, "Trade shows should be a priority for any marketing budget. And because they are measurable, return on investment is more visible and manageable."
However, trade shows demand a major investment of dollars and human capital. Since 9/11, companies are more conscious than ever of return on investment. Exhibitors, sponsors and attendees alike, are taking a hard look at trade shows.
And that's a good thing.
Lessons learned
Svehla suggests that, prior to 9/11, there were too many shows doing the same thing for the same markets. Some shows had been struggling with attendance for years.
Exhibitors are choosing next year's shows more carefully. Suzanne Pullen, trade show coordinator for Value Plastics, Inc. for example, was disappointed with the results from a recent show in Chicago. "The show had been losing ground for some time," she reports. "We're looking at a smaller, more targeted show in Minneapolis for next year to replace it."
Svehla said that prior to 9/11, many companies didn't establish measurements and objectives for their shows. It was impossible - or at least extremely difficult - for them to determine return on investment or return on objectives.
For example, many exhibitors didn't know if they were at a show to sell, educate or gain access to a particular market. Many did not have a systemized method to follow-up on and measure the quality of leads.
In addition, as CEMA's Kroner points out, many shows, particularly those that catered to the technology industry, did not provide standardized, independent audits that could give exhibitors reliable and substantiated attendee data. "That makes it difficult for exhibitors to participate confidently in shows," she says.
But one of the biggest problems, according to Svehla and Gieser, is that too few companies had professional trade show managers in place prior to 9/11. And they're pretty sure the drastic budget cuts since 9/11 is only going to make that situation worse.
"Too often, companies hand over the responsibility for trade shows to an inexperienced person, often an assistant to the sales manager," says Svehla. "With luck, they have talent and ability. But usually, they pass through the job quickly.
"Trade shows are an incredible selling opportunity," reiterates Svehla. "Companies need to start with an exhibit coordinator or trade show manager with imagination, passion, attention to detail and experience. It needs to be a professional position and supported by upper management."
Trade show opportunities
As flat as the big shows have been - and will continue to be for a while - many small and medium shows recovered quickly after 9/11.
Gieser and Svehla both noted that attendance at certain medical and high-tech trade show have returned to their pre-9/11 attendance numbers. In fact, attendance at some of these shows has increased since the attacks.
Suzanne Pullen, the trade show manager at Value Plastics for the last three years, agrees. The company manufactures precision plastic tubing components for medical devices. "The economy hasn't had as nearly a drastic impact on our industry as it has on other markets," she says.
"We do about three or four shows a year," Pullen continues. "The attendance at the February MDM West trade show in Anaheim actually grew from last year."
Value Plastics owns a full custom-built 20'x20'exhibit that showcases more than 250 products. It's constructed to convert to smaller configurations.
"Trade shows give us a chance to have face-to-face contact with designers and engineers, show them our products and promote our brand. And the engineers get a chance to talk with our experts.
"We come into a show knowing what we're going to measure," says Pullen. "We qualify everyone who visits the booth. We want to be sure they're not just stopping by because of the pretty colors and samples. We track and follow up on all leads. We want to be sure the cost per lead is worth it."
Pullen rates the quality of the trade show facility and the responsiveness of the show staff as well. "At one show, we were next to a pillar that hadn't showed up in the schematic and there was a huge display blocking us in front.
"The staff couldn't do anything about the pillar, but they moved the display quickly and willingly. Of course, it probably helped that we had been at the show before. You develop clout over time."
Don Svehla will be pleased to learn that Value Plastics' new booth was mandated by the company's CEO and COO and that the CEO attends every trade show.
Focus on results
SignalSoft is another example of a company that understood its objectives from the get-go.
The company's software suite allows mobile operators to provide value-added location-based services to their subscribers. At past trade shows, SignalSoft had found it difficult to explain the benefits of its products to wireless providers.
- To introduce a new product
- To educate attendees about the company's product portfolio
- To increase the company's visibility within the wireless industry
All within a 30'x30' space.
Leean Bradburn headed up the SignalSoft team. She's a professional trade show and events manager who's been in the business for 12 years.
Bradburn strongly recommends "Idea Kitchen," special marketing workshops by Lorraine Denham, to anyone in the trade show management business. "You only have 10 seconds to grab someone's attention," she says. "And you need all the help you can get."
Following Denham's guidelines, Bradburn assembled a creative team from SignalSoft and the exhibit house, Proctor Productions. "We brainstormed and came up with 'SignalSoft City.' The exhibit is fun, interactive and inviting. It demonstrates how SignalSoft's products apply to everyday situations."
The exhibit showcased a hotel, café, movie theater, restaurant and even a disabled car. A SignalSoft blimp circled above the exhibit, attracting attention from everywhere in the hall.
Attendees "registered" at the hotel and toured the city with trained SignalSoft guides. They stopped at the café for espresso, snacked on popcorn while they watched a SignalSoft product video in the movie theater and had hands-on experiences with SignalSoft's software applications on iPAQs.
The exhibit was a huge success. The percentages of lead generation, including 32 hot leads, booth attendance, demos, press interviews and customer meetings skyrocketed into multiples of hundreds of percentage points from the previous year's show.
And visitors said, "Wow! I get it. Now I know what you do."
Secrets of trade show success
Trade shows are not inexpensive enterprises and, as Marilyn Kroner of CEMA says, "Attendees at trade shows these days are there to seriously consider products." You have to know what you're doing and what you expect.
Here's what the experts recommend:
- Do your homework.
- Understand your market.
- Understand how trade shows fit with your overall marcom plan.
- Hire a professional event marketing and trade show manager with creativity, attention to detail and passion.
- Study the show data to make sure there's a fit.
- Know why you're there, and set appropriate objectives.
- Understand all the direct and associated costs.
- Create a team and brainstorm.
- Identify your key messages.
- Determine collateral and staff support.
- Train the booth staff.
- Assign a special sales force to follow-up on leads.
- Debrief after each show.
- And find an exhibit house you can trust, one that's creative, honest, responsive and reliable.
Bottom line
The point is, trade shows belong in your marketing mix.
They give you opportunities to meet new, current and potential customers face to face. You have a chance to put your best foot forward, promote your brand, showcase your products, introduce new products and services, schmooze with the folks who are actively looking for what you're offering - or should be offering - sell from the show floor and generate qualified leads.
As Tracy Nickless of CEIR says, "You can't replace the handshake."
Editor;'s note: The feature writer, Nancy Solomon, was arranged through Leo Proctor at Proctor Productions. Our thanks to him and Nancy for their excellent job.
Gates Industrial, Value Plastics, SignalSoft and a long list of other satisfied customers are crazy for exhibit house Proctor Productions. "We love Leo," says Leean Bradburn. "He's as passionate about trade shows as we are. He's creative and a perfectionist."
Leo is Leo Proctor, president of Proctor Productions, a full-service exhibit house located in a 109,000 square foot facility in Denver.
Pullen at Value Plastics says, "Proctor Productions is the only exhibit house that consistently hits every one of our specs. They listened to every request we made and created a display on time and on budget. With his client-oriented attention to detail, Leo even proposed small additions to the booth that gave it the finishing touch. And they are completely up-front with all costs at all times."
Schanno at Gates Industrial agrees and adds, "The team at Proctor Productions is responsive. They turn on a dime. In my next life, that's where I want to work."
"We've been building relationships with companies nationwide since 1981," says Proctor. "Our staff does it all - from tabletops and portables custom-builds and rentals. Our in-house design teams produce all kinds of exhibits, animation, graphics and multimedia, such as The Strongest Link game show for Gates Industrial."
Proctor Productions' show services include installation, dismantling and all coordination. A proprietary software program keeps the Proctor Productions team and customers up to date. Everyone knows exactly what has been ordered and where exhibit properties and graphics are at all times.
"There are no surprises and nothing gets lost," says Proctor.
To find out what all the hoopla is about, visit www.proctorproductions.com. Take a look at online, the Proctor Productions e-newsletter at www.proctorproductions.com/news. Contact them at 303.572.1149 or info@proctorproductions.com.
Written by Nancy Solomon, president of Nancy Solomon & Associates, a virtual agency specializing in marketing communications consulting and copywriting for the best clients in the world. You can reach her at 303.399.8527 and nancysolomon@att.net.
Contacts for this article
Ken Custer. Advertising & Marketing Review. 303-277-9840. kencuster@aol.com
Leean Bradburn. 303-274-6155. jklbradburn@juno.com
Glenn Ehrlich. Corks. 303-477-5799. glenn@corksonline.com
MaryBeth Gieser. Abex Display Systems. 818-764-5126, cell 818-523-9229. mbgieser@abex.com. Marilyn Kroner. Benchmark Storage Innovations. 720-406-5130. cell 303-478.3044. mkroner@4benchmark.com
CEMA. 508-278-7966, www.cemaonline.com
Tracy Nickless. CEIR. 312-808-3057. tnickless@mpea.com
Leo Proctor. Proctor Productions. 303-572-1149. leo@proctorproductions.com
Suzanne Pullen. Value Plastics, Inc. 970-267-5217. suzannep@valueplastics.com
Barb Schanno. Gates Industrial. 303-744-4101. bschanno@gates.com
Donald V. Svehla Jr. Publisher, Exhibit City News. 702-309-8023 x 102. don@exhibitcitynews.com
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