Exhibiting in an industry event, costs.

It costs on:

• Time:
  the preparation may take several weeks, that you could use for other tasks
• Personnel:
  both internal and outsourced resources are needed before, during and after the event
• Money:
  all the time your personnel spends on the boot is not used to create value. and this is on top the boot costs, T&L, advertising, etc.

All these costs become an investment only if you have a clear Goal and a Plan.

What is yours?

Here you find my exhibition's priorities:

Have a look, and if you need a hand with your plan,
grab a coffee and give me a call!

Flavio

1. Orders:
   if your offer can be signed off on the spot, exhibitions could be a nice Point of Sale. In all other cases this can happen only if the agreement has been completed before the event, and the event is used to celebrate the deal. Both customer and supplier can benefit of the immediate visibility it could have in the industry.
2. Prospects:
   a more realistic goal is to hook some new potential client. Leaving this to luck, is something that may make sense for certain industries where the size of the players is too small to allow for a proper marketing or sourcing organization. In all other cases a prospect should be guided to our boot. Better if the prospecting activitiy is initiated well before the event, and the event is used as a magnet to book a face to face meeting on the customer's agenda.
3. Distributors:
   when getting directly in touch with clients is not possible, the second best option is to use the same procedure to convey to our boot possible distributors, agents, business partners, value added resellers. Expecially to enter a new market, the help of a local partner can be invaluable to reduce entry costs and rump-up the initial sales.
4. Recognition:
   Assume you are a dominant player in the industry, or an absolute nobody. Quite strangely in both cases you may be forced to exhibit. In the first case, your absence could be noticed more than your presence. In the second, this is your chance to leave a lasting (positive) impression on you prospects mind.
5. Market intelligence:
   to see and be seen is a cannot miss of the life at events. Gathering key ideas, point of vies, burning problems, future trends and scenarios with jus a few days of visit is always nice. As a strategic marketer, I always appreciated that I could immediatelly test my observations asking to the visitors on the spot about their opinion.
6. Competitive intelligence:
   you do not need a camuflage. just a bit of observation talent and curiosity, to transform an expo visit to a whealthy source of information.
7. Human Resources:
   What better place to find the right person for your company? Probably advertising your HR needs on the boot could generate a bit of overwelming response, but leaving an open door to capture high profiles and competition's internal mood, could be worth the effort.
8. Suppliers:
   put all of the above from the perspective of the supply chain, and you may be willing to exhibit just to find smarter partners for your organization.

These are my strategic Goals.

I also have a tactical goal whenever I exhibit.
I want to get in touch with the exhibition manager. The managers know every one at the event, and is thier goal to assure the maximum success of the venue.
Who better than the exhibition manager to ask for an introduction?
I find the manager and ask:

Could you introduce me to the person you think I should talk first?

It's always a nice surprise to see the results.