Customers Have Opinions Too
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/30/2007
Each year, Tradeshow Week editors and writers attend dozens of shows, interviewing hundreds of exhibit managers. Our news coverage only allows space for a small fraction of their comments; most end up on the cutting room floor.
Our executive readers in charge of business-to-business media companies and corporate marketing programs focus more on business strategy and less on the nuts and bolts of showfloor management - as they should. But those on the floor, both on show and exhibit management sides, never stop thinking about on-site issues like floor plan layout, space selection and booth location.
It's with these front-liners in mind that we sought comments we might otherwise discard and present them to you here, for a view of showfloor management from the exhibit manager's point of view.
• SHOWFLOOR CATEGORIES (OR LACK THEREOF)“You have nine different types of customers coming by. It can be a little confusing.”
–Paul Lunter, HydroMassage, Cosmoprof North America, July 15-17, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
“I like to be in the middle (of the showfloor). I think there's more traffic.”
–Peter Lau, Modondi.com, Anime Expo 2007, June 29-July 2, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, Calif.
“With small shows, I like bulk. I like everything mixed together, I like big competitors on opposite sides of each other so people will have to meander. But when you get into shows like the SHOT Show , they're so big then they need to be categorized. ... If I want to talk to the gun guys, they need to be in one place so I don't have to walk five miles to get to each of them.”
–Wade Atchley, Blackfin Skeg, ICAST, July 11-13, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas
“Obviously, we're not in the right spot. What does any of this (gesturing to surrounding exhibits) have to do with us?”
–Franck Benhamou, Emys Spa and Cosmetics, Cosmoprof
“I like it scattered, not all the same products together. You want that because it keeps the traffic flowing.”
–Kevin McKeever, Robotec, Anime
“I think that grouping exhibitors together is a disservice to the exhibitor. It may be good for the attendee, but the giant conglomerates are going to gobble up the little bitty guys. I would be hesitant to go to a show where I was lumped together with a whole bunch of other people.”
–Allison Hershberger, U.S. Reel, ICAST
• SHOWFLOOR LAYOUT“We want to be near the large exhibitors. If a family member comes and isn't particularly interested in the show products, perhaps that family member will be interested in a video camera or some other 'extra' product being sold at a show.”
–Bobby Laster, Etonic Bowling, Intl. Bowl Expo, June 24-29, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
“This thing (a column near the middle of the 10'x10' space) is definitely a problem. … Some engineer that never left his office to go to a tradeshow designed this exhibit hall.”
–Paul Lunter, HydroMassage, Cosmoprof
“I think I like it more when it's lines like this, in aisles. I think it's an easier flow.”
–Peter Lau, Modondi.com, Anime
“Cosmoprof in Bologna is more crowded. Here there's more space (between exhibits). It's kind of nice.”
–Andrea Baruffaldi, Baruffaldi Fratelli, Cosmoprof
“I like grids. I've always been a grid guy. I like clean corners. I don't really have a least favorite; I just really like grids.”
–Wade Atchley, Blackfin Skeg, ICAST
“I'm more concerned about where my location is (than the design of the showfloor). This one actually hasn't been too bad.”
–Michi Catanese, e frontier America, Anime
“Usually, we're at the back of the show. Every year I've been here we've been back here.”
–Michael Borkovec, Maurice Sporting Goods, ICAST
“Given the choice I'd prefer to be up front, but I don't mind being near competitors because, typically, with your competitor you can draw off their customer base.”
–Frank Bruno, Maurice Sporting Goods, ICAST
• SPACE DRAW“We lucked out. … There was a cancellation, and we just happened to get this spot (near the main entrance).”
–Duane Crenshaw, Altimus Hair Systems, Cosmoprof
“If it's a good show, you get to sign up right away.”
–Peter Lau, Modondi.com, Anime
“I'm a personal company, and I'm between two really large companies that get every big buyer in the boat, so the buyer is going to see me whether they want to or not. My favorite spot (if I could get it, would be) near the front and to the right.”
–Don Peabody, Dee's Diamond Flashers, ICAST
“They should reward the guy who supports the show the longest.”
–Mike Schimmel, Diamond Comic Distributors, Anime
“We go to about 12 shows a year. To get a new booth we have to sign up for certain tradeshows. And they promise all sorts of things, as long as you do this or that, and that's bothersome, but that's politics.”
–Harl Asaff, SmartShield, ICAST
“Right now they do a lottery, and it's always the luck of the draw. Better to do it live online. The other problem with a lottery is you have to do it on-site during setup, it takes a good hour out of your day, and it's a waste of time just sitting there.”
–Michael Borkovec, Maurice Sporting Goods, ICAST
“We don't want to select the next expo's booth location until our partners have made their selections. We want to be near them. This year at Bowl Expo, some of the larger companies were delayed in making their selections, so we waited … and waited. We're told that the process will be streamlined next time, but this year wasn't so pleasant.”
–Bud Clapsaddle, Dexter, Intl. Bowl Expo
• SERVICE CONTRACTING ISSUES“Our electrician came and worked for 15 minutes, took a lunch break for an hour and a half and then came back and said he had won $500 at the roulette table. He worked for 10 more minutes, and he was done. Our (electric) bill was for $1,100, so it was a pretty good day for him. But that's cheap compared to some places. We payed $2,500 at the Hilton.”
–Paul Lunter, HydroMassage, Cosmoprof
“My colleagues and I always seem to be looking for someone who cares and, yes, we are frustrated if our booth setup is delayed or we have missing boxes. And the high fees to move a box 50 feet are a constant sore point. Yet we would still be at a tradeshow like Bowl Expo. It's our best chance to interact with customers.”
–Bobby Laster, Etonic Bowling, Intl. Bowl Expo
“We have a lot of issues with the unions on different things. We're from Texas.”
–Harl Asaff, SmartShield, ICAST
“Freight's always a big pet peeve of mine, not getting your freight on time. Seems like it's always (late), no matter how well you think you plan it. We sat here half a day on Wednesday waiting for our freight to get here.”
–Allison Hershberger, U.S. Reel, ICAST
• LEAD RETRIEVAL“I like the magnetic strips better than the lasers, only because every show I go to that has the lasers, it takes a lot to get them working. (Magnetic strips are) less convenient but more consistent while, with the laser thing, it takes two or three times to get it to work.”
–Harl Asaff, SmartShield, ICAST
“A business card and notes are used by most of the sales team members as lead retrieval.”
–Bud Clapsaddle, Dexter, Intl. Bowl Expo
