When you can’t see the forest for the trees.
When buying a tradeshow exhibit, don’t let the terminology confuse you.
Portable, modular, custom, hybrid, rental, system, pop-up, light weight, turnkey, etc. These are some of the terms used to describe a type of tradeshow exhibit or more accurately terms used to describe a company’s specific type of product(s) that they sell, and too often they become the main selling reason that a customer should buy their offering over their competitors.
“Save on all those expensive drayage and freight costs by buying this light weight system” or “why own an exhibit when you can rent one for a fraction of the costs”, or how about “your labor to set-up this system will be much less than a custom exhibit and show over show will save you a lot of money”.
These are just a few examples of the typical salesperson speak when convincing a client that their product makes the best sense to own. When a salesperson only offers one or two types of these products, it becomes part of the process to lead the client that direction in order to make the sale.
All of the above product statements can be true…or not. When you are planning to invest in a marketing tool for your tradeshows and events, leading with the “type” of product is the wrong place to start.
I can make a successful argument for each of the above products and I can make a convincing argument against each of them as well. They are all tools to reach an end result. That is why it is so important to start at the beginning and not have any type of product in mind. Careful and purposeful analysis of your objectives and expected results from attending your show or shows are the right place to start and working with an expert that understands this and has access to ALL the types of products and services will insure that you are not influenced or restricted in the options available to you.
Working with an experienced expert who not only understands all the products and services available in the industry but also one who has complete access to all of them, will insure that when your tradeshow exhibit or marketing environment is designed, the focus is on your results and not on the tools or “types” of products available to get there.
Do you really need to care about any of these terms or types of products? No, you should not have to because the upfront focus and energy should go towards clearly understanding your objectives, your attendees, your competition and what it will take to have a successful tradeshow experience that exceeds your desired results, stays within your budget and builds your brand.
We believe that the end product (regardless of what type it is) is actually only the byproduct. The real “product” you are buying is expertise, creativity, service and results.
The BA Team