Organisers - money grabbing space agents or value adding experts?

Article published: January 2007

By Nick Jones, managing director, Nexus Collections

There is no denying that exhibitions can be expensive. When time out of the office, stand construction, planning, PR and all those other elements are factored in, we as exhibitors have to know we are spending our money wisely. I am not anti-exhibitions, quite the contrary, I think they are a very valuable part of the sales mix. However, with so many to choose from, no one can afford to try them all. We have to be selective.

Investing in a show can be a big deal for any company, no matter what size they are and it is important to understand from the outset what you are buying. Is your show organiser simply a “space agent”, trying to fill enough square footage to pay the venue hire (and make a little - or a lot on top), or do they add value?

With over ten years of exhibiting behind me I feel I have a fairly good understanding of how beneficial to my business all these exhibitions have been. However, as a chartered accountant I wanted to know more than gut instinct and embarked on some in-depth research to understand properly where our new sources of business were coming from; and in addition assess the rate of return we were gaining from various parts of our sales and marketing plan.

The results were conclusive and, I am pleased to say, reflected my instincts. Whilst the Internet is our top source of new business, exhibitions came second with a massive 25% of sales generated as a direct result of being at shows. Despite my feeling that exhibitions were always successful and important to our business, the knowledge that they were this influential has spurred me on to an even greater focus at shows. However, for me it was the next set of figures that were particularly eye-opening, 56% of the business generated through exhibitions came from Confex with a further 34% from the National Venue Show. This led me to question exactly what the successful shows give me that others don’t.

All shows are under pressure to add value for their exhibitors. As we see visitor numbers dropping year on year we need to know that we are still getting something for our money. We also need to know that the organisers are listening to us, our desires and our needs. Personally I don’t see a few percent fall in visitor numbers as being a big issue. Lets face it, over a two or three days event I am never going to talk to 8,000 people anyway. However, what I do consider to be important is the mix of the visitors and also the quality.

As an exhibitor you need to be satisfied that the mix of visitors is appropriate to your product or service. We are in the events industry which is very broad .Event organisers can range from outdoor festival organisers and party planners to conference and exhibition organisers and in- house corporate training departments. Our services are geared to conference organisers and therefore we would clearly select those exhibitions where the ratio of conference organisers were greatest. Quality of visitors goes without saying, decision makers with real purchasing power are the key.

The extras being offered to the visitors are often a great way of seeing whether the organisers really are targeting top buyers. It is something I always try to look into before signing up for a new show. Seminars for example are a great way of drawing in the numbers but I want to see sessions that are going to appeal to senior staff as well as those who are new to the industry. I also need to be convinced by the organiser that the seminars do not detract from the exhibition itself. It is important that the seminars are properly balanced within the exhibition. As an exhibitor I want them to walk right past my stand on the way to a seminar and have enough spare time to stop and have a chat in between sessions.

Exhibitions are about meeting face to face and you need to feel the organiser really understands that, a quick sales call and a follow up e-mail is just not enough. If they really want me to choose their show they need to take time to understand my business; explain why their show is relevant and tell me how I am going to benefit from being there. Many sales managers do not attempt to do this. Those shows where I have the most success are also the shows where I have a great relationship with the sales team. They don’t just make one call a year telling me how great last year’s show was – they call me once a month with the latest updates on next year’s show. They also have a good understanding of my business.

A great example of added value is an exhibitor training day, I know it sounds a bit old school and outdated. But if the organiser wants the show to succeed they should spend a little of their time (and profits) helping us to help them. Now I don’t make it to every pre-show training day but they are a great way to learn something new, remember lost techniques, or find out what else your organiser is doing to help you. Sure, some training days are better than others but it is that commitment from the organiser to go the extra mile that should help us choose one show over another.

Although there are many examples of added value I think it is also wise to add a note of caution about gimmicks. Some organisers will offer you the earth, showering you with new ideas, giveaways and ideas for added value until both you and the visitors are lost under a pile of direct mail and offers. Added value needs to have focus and be seen through to the bitter end. Too many ideas can dilute the message and drive visitors away. Any of us can make promises to our clients but our reputations are built on delivering them. So are the organiser’s.

Any business exhibition is going to involve a certain amount of trial and error, both in terms of your own exhibiting strategy and the shows you pick.   However, by careful choice and a close relationship with the organiser you should always be able to find a show that suits your business and your goals. And if you are unsure and unwilling to trust your instinct… Do some research – it may surprise you.

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Headline Research Results:

The research identified exhibitions as second only to the internet for generating Nexus Collection’s new business. The overall statistics breakdown the sources of new business into five different sectors:

•   Internet – 32%
•   Exhibitions – 25%
•   Word of mouth – 25%
•   Cold calling – 16%
•   Advertising – 2%

Further analysis of the new business generated by exhibitions includes the following results.

•   56% came from International Confex 06
•   34% came from National Venue Show 06
•   10 % came from other shows

Organisers - money grabbing space agents or value adding experts?

Article published: January 2007

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