In a recent conversation with my friend and colleague, Kin Jones, we talked about something that most companies using exhibit marketing encounter: going to a show just to go.
“Prior to this year’s NAB show (National Association of Broadcasters), one of my clients had a change of heart about going,” Kin said. “It was the usual argument of ‘it’s too expensive,’ and ‘does it matter if we’re gone, anyway?’,” he related. “I was able to counter both arguments.”
Kin is a partner in the business consulting firm of Churchill Terry Associates and a colleague of mine from the North Dallas Chamber.
So what if they didn’t go?
“They would have been conspicuous by their absence,” Kin said. “they are a leader in their segment of the industry and not being there would raise all kinds of questions about the company, its products and future. They had to be there.”
So, just how did you overcome the “too expensive” argument?
“It would have cost us just as much or more to not exhibit because of all of the damage control we would have had to do,” Kin continued. “Besides, I came up with a plan on how to exhibit for far less by using select equipment and linking the freight and services of several shows together,” he said. “In fact, I was able to produce three shows for a little less than I had been doing one in the past.”
Before you choose not to do a trade show, assess the show and your company’s position in the marketplace. The cost not to do a show could outweigh the cost of actually producing it and going.
TTSG
