What did you expect? - benefits of marketing and attendance of trade shows and conventions - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Sept 3, 2001 by Rob Cappiello

I had a good National Hardware Show. In fact better than I expected. But "better than expected" is a relative term and begs the question, just what did I expect?

My inbox wasn't exactly filled with invitations to show-related parties. But I expected that. It hasn't been a great year for business and I figured expenditures to be down. I know my own publication, as well as others in this market, have felt the pinch of lower marketing expenses, cutbacks, money-saving measures and so on.

In addition to fewer parties and less pre-show advertising, I also noticed fewer press releases coming my way leading up to the Show. There also seemed to be a dearth of announcements and booth promotions at the Show. I guess this also was all part of the same cutbacks.

Certainly we've been making cutting back and saving money a primary activity in this industry this year. But I wonder: What are we expecting to happen as a result?

I met with exhibitors who had a good week and others who were disappointed. The exhibitors who were pleased all seemed to have made a great effort to ensure their success. There were new products, demonstrations, appointments set up, a better booth ... something. I saw badges from every major retailer in the United States and some heavy hitters from the rest of the world. And I saw manufacturers who took advantage of it.

Then there were those who just cut back. Are they expecting sales to improve by their doing less? Are they expecting to gain market share by not aggressively competing, not aggressively marketing?

The company I work for was founded in 1925. Not a particularly good time to start a business. You see, when the company was barely a few years old, the economy took a slight turn for the worse. I think they called it The Great Depression. During that time the company persevered and grew. If my company's founders tried to save their way out of the Depression, would we have survived? The answer back then wasn't doing less, it was doing more. The answer wasn't promoting less, it was promoting more and more aggressively. The answer wasn't avoiding travel costs, it was going to your trade shows to meet with your customers, make deals and learn about what's happening. In any economic climate, the winners are never the ones who do the least. The winners are the ones who do the most.

One of Sam Walton's guiding principles was to "swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom." With so many companies doing less right now, I wonder...

I overheard a major retailer ask a major supplier on the floor, "What are you doing here at this show? You don't need to be here." David, (the supplier) responded, "I don't know, we just can't stop selling."

David expected to have a great Hardware Show. He had a great Hardware Show. What did you expect?