This issue looks at trade shows, which play a role in how manufacturers (also called vendors) sell to retailers. When trade shows are successful, they are an efficient marketing format, bringing together many vendors and many buyers in one place.
On average, specialty bike vendors spend 2.9% of gross sales on trade shows, snow sports industries spend 1.5%, and tennis vendors 1%. (1)
Trade shows can be categorized according to several factors:
SIZE. Trade shows come in a variety of sizes.
1. Small Shows.
These include regional shows staffed by regional sales reps and shows for buying groups.
2. Big Shows.
These include major shows featuring product lines for just one or two sports. Examples:
3. Huge Shows.
These are multi-sport shows. Examples:
Show organizers like big shows because they attract lots of attendees, exhibitors, and media attention. But the bigger they get, the harder it is for buyers to see everything and for small exhibitors to stand out.
Said David Schultz (owner of Kinetic Design Group, a three-person company making custom-designed athletic equipment) about the Super Show, "That show just didn't function well for us. The key people we needed to meet either weren't at the show or were tied up in meetings with bigger companies. We know now that any show we go to has to be of the proper scale." (9)
Still many exhibitors feel the big shows are the place to be. Said Bill Duff (owner of Golf Specialtees of Scotland and Par Prints International) about the PGA Merchandise Show: "This makes our year. We get a lot of business, write a lot of orders and have the opportunity to display our work to the wholesale buyer. But the show has got so big over the past few years it's tough for the smaller companies not to get lost. It's a major pain in the backside in terms of long hours and work but it's essential if you want to keep moving forward." (10)
FOCUS. Some shows try to be all things to all people. Others try to serve niches.
Full-line sporting goods store buyers may be well-served by multi-sport shows. But specialty store buyers don't care to see product lines for sports they don't carry. As a result, new shows are constantly being started to appeal to narrowly defined retailer interests.
"The consensus is that there are too many shows, but the tough question is what to do about them," said Debbie Soffayer, executive director of the New England Ski Representatives Association. "When you look at each show individually, it serves its own specific and unique purpose." (11)
LOCATION. Some show attendees pick shows based on location. Many prefer regional shows, which are smaller and more convenient than national shows. "They can spend a half-day or a day out of the shop, they don't have to get on an airplane, and they don't have to pay for hotel rooms," noted Sandra Butterfield, director of the Western Winter Sports Reps Association. (12)
"A lot of stores are mom-and-pop operations and they might send someone to SIA [the SnowSports Industries America show] once every two or three years. But they rely on the regional shows to see product and write orders," said Linda Irvin, director of the Eastern Ski Reps Association. (13)
"We're writing a lot more paper at regional shows than in Las Vegas [at the SIA show]. In fact, our Southern California rep does 80 percent of his business at regional pre-shows," noted Harlow Boyd, sales manager for Joyride Snowboards. (14)
"Our rep in Florida says that he can be more resourceful in his own territory than being out in Salt Lake City [for the SIA Snow Show] for six to seven days," said Cynthia Klopp, trade show coordinator for Helly Hansen (a high performance outerwear manufacturer). (15)
DATE. Timing of shows is important to both exhibitors and attendees. Vendors want to encourage early ordering to facilitate production and delivery schedules. Retailers often delay ordering until they know how strong their seasons will be. Mismatched buying cycles can result in vendors and buyers having different show needs.
In addition, retailers don't want to go to shows during their busy season. Since different sports and different regions have different busy seasons, it can be a challenge to accommodate them all in one show.
BENEFITS/CONSIDERATIONS FOR EXHIBITORS.
1. Reach a large audience.
''The trade show enables a company to meet and sell to a large number of individuals in a very short period of time,'' said Jeff Haughton, president and CEO of Industrial Expositions, a Denver trade show producer. (16)
Marc Mauseth (whose company makes the Dynogripper hand exerciser) was able to make contacts in several foreign markets by exhibiting at the NSGA show. "We talked with buyers from Colombia, Japan, and several other countries.
"I can't even imagine the incredible expense it would be for us to travel to Japan to try to find the right people to talk with." (17)
2. Collect leads/close sales.
''(The trade show) is the only marketing vehicle that delivers a pre-qualified buyer in a face-to-face selling environment,'' noted Steve Sind, president and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, based in Bethesda, Maryland. (18)
Greg Sorenson, chief operating officer and co-owner of Gear Roller Hockey, (a small manufacturer of inline skating equipment) said this about the NSGA show. "Some retailers come here ready to buy. If you've done your homework and have the right incentives and have the product ready, you'll get orders." (19)
According to research conducted by the Trade Show Bureau (now the Center for Exhibition Industry Research), it costs $292 to contact a sales prospect in the field versus $185 to reach a visitor at a trade show and it costs $1,080 to close a sale in the field, compared with $419 to close a sale with a qualified trade show prospect. (20)
"I wouldn't sell any less if I didn't go to shows, but I wouldn't save that much money, either. If you don't spend on shows, you spend it on T&E [travel and entertainment] visiting your customers. In some shape or form, you're going to still spend the money," said Bob Fenton, director of North American sales at Prince (a tennis racquet manufacturer). (21)
"It's great to be able to come here [to the NSGA show] and talk with independent bike dealers where they're bunched up like bananas -- 600 to 800 of them come through here. To do it strictly over the phone and fax isn't even close to getting belly-to-belly with people and showing them what we have.
"I had a guy from Sears here this morning who spent 20 minutes with me. There would be no other way of getting that much time with someone like that," said Dean LaGrave, marketing manager of Paradigm Products (a bicycle pump manufacturer). (22)
3. Presence.
"Trade shows are a great equalizer for a small business. Even a tiny home-based business can look as important and make as powerful impression as an enormous corporation. On a trade show floor, the customer sees whatever you bring to show," said Scott Goldman, editor and publisher of Exhibit Marketing Magazine. (23)
George Sine, director of marketing for Titleist golf balls, explained why his company had a 14,000-square-foot booth (the show's biggest) at the PGA Merchandise show. "It's here that you make a statement of who your company is, and that you're able to show your commitment to the game." (24)
Even when they don't want to go to the shows, vendors often feel they must. According to one snowsports manufacturer, "There's always the concern about how people might regard your absence and whether you might miss some business. If someone's throwing a party, we've got to go." (25)
4. Get feedback.
Exhibitors can ask retailers about planned products, pricing, promotions, and other matters of interest to them.
5. Media relations.
While trade shows are closed to the public, they are usually open to the media, who are invited to tour the exhibits.and to attend multiple press conferences to hear about industry trends and new products.
6. Meet with sales reps.
Rather than holding separate meetings for their sales reps, some manufacturers have reps attend the trade shows and meet with them there. This is particularly important for smaller manufacturers which do not employ their own staff of reps, but rather use reps who represent several different manufacturers simultaneously.
"If you're a big company, you can dictate to your sales reps when and where to come to meetings. When you're a third, fourth, or fifth line that they sell, like we are, we need shows like this [the NSGA show] to let our salespeople see our new products without having to go all over the country," said James Smith, owner and president of Tide-Rider Inc. (a distributor of table tennis balls and badminton shuttlecocks). (26)
7. Cost.
The biggest negative for exhibitors is cost. Companies can spend anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars for promotional materials, exhibit space, booth construction and set-up, and staffing.
According to Nomadic Display (an exhibit provider in Springfield, Virginia), on average, trade show costs break down as follows:
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research also offers information on how the average exhibitor spends money when going to trade shows:
Some examples:
Because of the expense, companies are always reevaluating their commitment to trade shows. "... frankly, our retailers would rather see us put $75,000 to $100,000 into local promotions rather than spending the money on another show," said Doug Powell, sales and marketing manager for Descente (a skiwear manufacturer). (32)
"It's a catch-22. If you're not there [at the SIA show], you might miss out on the one time that you click with the person you've been wanting to meet for so long. But at the same time, orders written based on the cost of the show doesn't work out," explained Sidnie Lehner, vice president of Crash Pads (an inline skate protective gear company). (33)
EXPO Magazine has a good article about trade show costs.
Expoweb.com is an excellent resource for information on the show industry.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR RETAILERS
1. Check out products.
"It gives us a chance to sift out bad stuff before we bring it into the shop. If we don't get to try it, it's not worth selling. With snowshoes, customers are going to ask us what we think about them. If we haven't tried them, it's useless," noted John Zobell (with Denali Outdoor Recreation Supply in Salt Lake City). (34)
Talking about the PGA Merchandise show, Garry Rippy (head pro at the Tournament Players Course at The Woodlands in Houston) noted, "Just about every vendor who has anything to do with golf is there.
"You can go down there and see items you wouldn't normally see and compare what's out there.
"You can price shop, brand shop and make real good business decisions. I usually find one or two vendors a year that I've never done business with before that I end up doing business with. So it's real good for us.'' (35)
"Here's what the shows are good for: I can't carry everything--maybe I'll see some stuff I don't carry and decide to carry it. Sometimes I see something I carried once a long time ago when it was new [on the market], something I was unhappy with then, but now I can pick it up and check it out, and it looks like a better product. Maybe I'll try it again," said Peter Sakakini (with Skate City, a store in El Paso, Texas). (36)
2. Network.
"It's a great opportunity to meet all the company VIPs you wouldn't normally meet. You can make some good contacts and renew old acquaintances at the same time. It's perfect for networking with your friends,'' said golf pro Rippy. (37)
"Usually you talk to a voice on the phone; the show gives you a chance to meet them. Same with the small companies, you get a chance to meet them and see what they're like," said Sam Yago (with Pacific Drive, a skateboard store in San Diego). (38)
3. Place orders.
Some buyers go to shows to write orders at shows; others choose to do their ordering elsewhere.
"The companies that will come through for us will come to the store without our going to the trade show....