The Trade Show Dilemma

In the wake of a stretch of June event participation I wanted to reflect on the value of the conference/trade show. I have been going to events for 13 years and no matter how well attended the event may be there always seems to be an undercurrent of reluctance to participate.

At this year's Builder Show, an event that has more than 100,000 attendees, there were many exhibitors who were concerned about traffic being "off." This observation and concern is very real, but does it mean that the investment is not as valauble?

The multifamily industry doesn't have the market cornered on this marketing challenge. If you have come from another industry you probably can identify. After doing some research of my own, here are the most common issues that ALL industries have with the trade show:

* not enough leads to justify the investment
* attendees don't want to interact on an exhibit floor
* attendees that do interact seem to only be looking for giveaways
* we can't track sales that result from our participation
* my booth was in a low traffic area of the floor

These are just a few concerns, I am sure all of us have a few to add to the list! The bottom line is that trade shows are effective. If they weren't, there simply would not be so many. The key is figuring out how to set a reasonable expectation of success and focusing all of our efforts on achieving that success.

I received a newsletter today that did a wonderful job of explaining the dilemma and why we often think that our efforts may not be effective. Check out this article on BtoB Online. The research is a bit self serving because it is conducted by a firm that creates exhibit displays, but I think the strategy observations are on the money.

In summary: If we define a show by immediate ROI we are typically disappointed. And sometimes within our own orgazinization sales, marketing and senior management each have a different definition of success. This disconnect may seem harmless but it is certainly a barrier to achieving a positive outcome for everyone involved.

When all 3 groups are on the same page, and direct the firms resources towards a unified strategy, the results will follow.

When I look back on a "successful show" it is always the ones where I was able to be most prepared. I set appointments beforehand, had a gameplan during and followed up effectively afterwards. If nothing else a conference or trade show gathers hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of potential clients in one city for a limited amount of time. The opportunity is there to meet customers, change perceptions of prospects, build your company's brand and boost your industry knowledge.

These points seem painstakingly obvious but when we don't make time to prepare and develop realistic goals we are probably better off staying home. Unfortunately I can speak from experience in this area.

I will follow-up with some specific tips that I have gathered on how to make your show experiences more productive.