Comments on: Good shows make lively marketplaces, even in suffering industries http://www.b2blog.com/2009/11/good-shows-make-lively-marketplaces-even-in-suffering-industries.html B2B and Industrial Marketing Blog Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:48:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Ken http://www.b2blog.com/2009/11/good-shows-make-lively-marketplaces-even-in-suffering-industries.html/comment-page-1#comment-1124 Ken Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:28:53 +0000 http://b2blogwp.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/good-shows-make-lively-marketplaces-even-in-suffering-industries#comment-1124 Right on Dave! We had a similar experience last spring at our lab expo Pittcon... smaller exhibit floor with less advertisers and smaller booths overall (okay, ours was slightly larger than usual) but many marketing managers I spoke with agreed the show was better than it has been for quite some time. I had a conversation with a marketing manager who said he cut back from a $130,000 show budget the previous year to HALF that expense and generated the SAME NUMBER OF LEADS with only a modest-sized booth (20x20) versus a titanic of a booth in previous years. Half the budget, same leads??? …tells me that some expenses really aren't being measured and egos get in the way far too often at these shows. Don't get me wrong, there is value in a larger booth but at some point you have to ask where the return ends for your business. <br /><br />I too find the greatest value in these shows is the human element. I'm definitely a web marketing guy, but I can't agree more that you need to join real conversations and get that face to face interaction at a show or two each year. <br /><br />All the best.<br /><br />...I'm off to buy some pens! Right on Dave! We had a similar experience last spring at our lab expo Pittcon… smaller exhibit floor with less advertisers and smaller booths overall (okay, ours was slightly larger than usual) but many marketing managers I spoke with agreed the show was better than it has been for quite some time. I had a conversation with a marketing manager who said he cut back from a $130,000 show budget the previous year to HALF that expense and generated the SAME NUMBER OF LEADS with only a modest-sized booth (20×20) versus a titanic of a booth in previous years. Half the budget, same leads??? …tells me that some expenses really aren't being measured and egos get in the way far too often at these shows. Don't get me wrong, there is value in a larger booth but at some point you have to ask where the return ends for your business.

I too find the greatest value in these shows is the human element. I'm definitely a web marketing guy, but I can't agree more that you need to join real conversations and get that face to face interaction at a show or two each year.

All the best.

…I'm off to buy some pens!

]]> By: Ken http://www.b2blog.com/2009/11/good-shows-make-lively-marketplaces-even-in-suffering-industries.html/comment-page-1#comment-2529 Ken Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:28:00 +0000 http://b2blogwp.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/good-shows-make-lively-marketplaces-even-in-suffering-industries#comment-2529 Right on Dave! We had a similar experience last spring at our lab expo Pittcon... smaller exhibit floor with less advertisers and smaller booths overall (okay, ours was slightly larger than usual) but many marketing managers I spoke with agreed the show was better than it has been for quite some time. I had a conversation with a marketing manager who said he cut back from a $130,000 show budget the previous year to HALF that expense and generated the SAME NUMBER OF LEADS with only a modest-sized booth (20x20) versus a titanic of a booth in previous years. Half the budget, same leads??? …tells me that some expenses really aren't being measured and egos get in the way far too often at these shows. Don't get me wrong, there is value in a larger booth but at some point you have to ask where the return ends for your business. I too find the greatest value in these shows is the human element. I'm definitely a web marketing guy, but I can't agree more that you need to join real conversations and get that face to face interaction at a show or two each year. All the best....I'm off to buy some pens! Right on Dave! We had a similar experience last spring at our lab expo Pittcon… smaller exhibit floor with less advertisers and smaller booths overall (okay, ours was slightly larger than usual) but many marketing managers I spoke with agreed the show was better than it has been for quite some time. I had a conversation with a marketing manager who said he cut back from a $130,000 show budget the previous year to HALF that expense and generated the SAME NUMBER OF LEADS with only a modest-sized booth (20×20) versus a titanic of a booth in previous years. Half the budget, same leads??? …tells me that some expenses really aren't being measured and egos get in the way far too often at these shows. Don't get me wrong, there is value in a larger booth but at some point you have to ask where the return ends for your business. I too find the greatest value in these shows is the human element. I'm definitely a web marketing guy, but I can't agree more that you need to join real conversations and get that face to face interaction at a show or two each year. All the best….I'm off to buy some pens!

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