Reduce travel costs: Exhibit at trade shows
For companies who cut back on travel to reduce costs consider this:
- Exhibitions offer an efficient way for your sales and technical people to see more prospects and customers on one trip and under one roof than any other venue.
- According to studies conducted by Exhibit Surveys, 51 percent of attendees travel more than 400 miles and spend an average of nine hours on show floor. That's up four percent over 1999. Visitors are paying their own way to come to see you.
- People who attend shows today want to be there. They target which exhibits to visit based on product and brand interests and are writing more orders than in the past. Three-quarters of visitors to shows come with an agenda and two-thirds of the exhibits they see have been pre-selected.
- In short, going to shows in down times means you are meeting buyers with real needs and real budgets, and you have less competition for their attention.
- The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) indicates that exhibitions are used more in the selling process than nearly all other techniques. Why? You can go on a sales call, but you can't always bring your products or demonstrate every capability, and you can't always bring your technical experts. You can do all three at a show. It is an integrated live selling opportunity where you can bring all the tools in your company's arsenal (including your CEO) to communicate and respond to buyer needs.