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Happy New Year Readers,
We are pleased to bring you another year of Skyline’s Trade Show Tips. To get things started we take a look at a problem that has its roots and its solution in the same place: communications.
After the holidays, most of us know what a challenge it can be to buy a gift for someone. The item must reflect our esteem and good wishes for the recipient (and be within our financial reach). Now suppose that you must buy a trade show exhibit for your company. The challenge is amplified several fold.
In this issue we examine what happens when the goals and expectations of the buyers do not meet those of the exhibit users – and how to achieve a solution for your company.
Welcome to our new year,
Bill Dierberger – Vice President of Sales & Marketing
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Closing the Gap Between the Exhibit Buyer and the People Who Use the Exhibit
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In many companies the people responsible for buying the exhibit also use their exhibit when their company goes to a trade show. But in a large number of instances, the people who use the exhibit are a very different group than those who oversee the design and production of the exhibit. What happens when the goals of the buyers don’t meet up with the goals and needs of the users? In all likelihood the investment in the show will not see its potential return fulfilled.
Let’s see how the goals of the two groups might diverge, starting with the buyers. When it comes to acquiring new exhibit properties, the responsibility falls onto marketers, sales people and increasingly other functional areas of the company. These other areas may be purchasing or procurement staff with little or no familiarity with exhibit marketing.
The main drivers for the decision-making process may vary widely from building brand to achieving the lowest cost per square foot – and everything in between. Typically the main factors are:
- Creating marketing impact
- Cost savings in production
- Low operating costs
Major concerns from those who work the trade show floor tend to center around meeting their objectives for the show:
- Stimulating visitor traffic with targeted appeal
- Creating effective workspace
- Easing problems associated with installation and dismantling
A key element of the solution to this misalignment of goals is communication. There are questions that can open up topics and provide answers that close the gap. The table below lists some essential questions and discussion points that need to be shared by each group.
| What Buyers should ask . . . |
| What is the exhibit trying to accomplish and do the objectives vary by show? |
| Does the work environment created in the booth support the reasons for exhibiting at the show? Do booth staffers feel “natural” doing their work? |
| Who are the booth staff, and what is their role in setting up and tearing down the exhibit? |
| What Exhibit Users should share . . . |
| How can we change the appeal of the exhibit to more closely match the interests of our target segment at each show? |
| Do you know how we spend a typical day in the exhibit? |
| Can we get the most out of our design without bankrupting our I&D budget? In smaller shows can we have a sharp-looking booth that I can set up easily in a short time? |
To help understand the nature and importance of this issue we have assembled a very short survey and would sincerely appreciate your response. Just click on this link and let us know what you have to say about the difficulties that arise between purchasers and users when goals and expectations for the booth don’t match.
We’ll present the results in a short article next month. So, let us know how it works in the real world, and thank you for reading. |
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What The Exhibiting World Is Turning To. . .
Get this new White Paper and better understand the market forces that are causing exhibitors to re-evaluate their exhibit properties. This timely information can also help you to demonstrate and explain exhibiting trends to your company management.
Click here to get your copy of the new White Paper,
The Trend to Custom Modular Exhibits.
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Trade Show and Event Calculator
To keep your trade show budget, you must prove your program's success. Before you can prove it, you must first measure it.
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"Calculating Your Measure of Success" is a computer program CD that helps you understand, calculate, measure and report the success of your trade shows and events. There are 4 planning templates and 9 calculators built into the program.
Click to receive your copy. |
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Skyline Exhibits
3355 Discovery Rd.
St. Paul, MN 55121
Phone: 800-328-2725
www.skyline.com
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