How much moola are you saving with that old exhibit?

It's not a rendering - it's Ziosoft at RSNA in Chicago/McCormick Place. Rental.

It’s a question of opportunity costs. To some business people, that is a fictional, made-up term that they ignored during Econ100 lectures. Would you blame me for trying to show what it means to your exhibit program?

Suppose you’re exhibiting at a few shows in 2010 – and you own an exhibit that can support all of the booth sizes you’re in. Renting a new booth would cost a significant sum when compared with reusing the booth you own (just ship it, set it, and forget it! How easy!). On paper, that’s a no-brainer.

Why aren’t you using your brain?

Attendees at 2010 shows are looking for cutting edge companies that provide value and who are strong in an economic climate that has weakened so many. How do you want to be perceived?

Dress for the job you have, or the job you want?

Is your company trying to increase their market-share, investing in their future?

Or

Are you already the market leader, looking to bolster your lead or retain it through tough times?

Hopefully your company falls into one of those categories. If so:

Should you dress for the role you played last year, or the opportunity you’re currently faced with? Should you wear a brand new suit, or the one you rocked back when Pets.com was selling for 11 bucks a share?

On a more explicit level: why are you unveiling the same tired properties to the scrutiny of attendees?

Thinking that your budget is only achievable by using an obsolete exhibit puts your marketing results into a permanent decline – it degrades the perceived quality of your brand, your product, and greatly imperils your leads gained from the show, at the least. You aren’t saving, you’re destroying.

2010 is a year of the innovators, of those who can prove their value, and of those who dress for the jobs they want.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.