Should we exhibit again to JEC World next year?

 

Have you ever been in this position when you start thinking about the next edition right after great success at a trade show?

So you wondering, “shall we do it again”?

• Is the ROI already available?
• Does the sales team know how many deals they will close following this event?
• Can the marketing team track all the new touchpoints yet?
• Do we want to measure at regular intervals before deciding?
• Is the PR team satisfied with the coverage of the announcements?
• Is the talent team busy with the increased number of candidates applying for the job advertised along the days? Etc.

 

It is true that you might be tempted to decide on the spot, while it’s still fresh in your mind, the adrenaline after 3 days is high, and you perfectly know that this trade show is a must in your list of annual exhibitions. And on top of it, you can benefit from the “early bird” prices if you book a year in advance. Nice savings opportunity, that we cannot forget.

However, at Fairmat, we asked ourselves if this was going to be the trajectory of our company, being present each and every year at the same place.

 

Is there a better and more productive way to engage with clients and prospects?

As you can imagine, the answer is not simple.

Part of the sales team would be in favor of the renewal, seeing all the advantages of gathering in the same place and talking at once to as many people as we can. The other half would want to explore other channels and opportunities, not entering a routine that we wouldn’t know how to interrupt without damaging our reputation…yes, people assume when they don’t see you that you are having trouble. Even at the top of their games, when Sony or Nintendo decided to stop exhibiting at the E3 game show in LA, it was a massive wave shock for the sector and some speculation started around their decision.

And yes, it’s great to meet our clients, prospects, and suppliers face to face, after 2 years of pandemic and social distancing. Who can deny it?

The marketing team needs to see the sales plan development before committing. But all in all, everybody agrees: there is still great importance in trade shows. We could deliver our messages and get in real-time the feedback we desperately want when you are innovating every day.

Sales pitches, comments, and objections are the bread and butter of live show interaction. The highest valued data in my opinion. Real-time and not anonymized.

In the era of digital and social media, it can feel strange for a young start-up to dedicate time and $$ to offline – wide exhibition shows when there is so much to do online. Nevertheless, the sector remains the key criteria, and what we saw during our stay at JEC World that it was valuable for us today, so see you next year!