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MJ DeMarco
I followed the science; all I found was money.
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Note: This was years ago and in an industry that is now on life support...
I found our trade shows pretty worthless and far too expensive for any benefit.
I did our major trade show twice and instead of finding new customers, our existing customers stopped by and said "hello!"
When I clarified that our growth was predicated on user traffic (not companies to feed that traffic upon) I stopped going.
Sure saying "hello" to your clients is nice, but not at a cost of $30K for 3 days. When the show is in Vegas or some other heavily unionized place, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg.
Need a crate hauled in from the shipping port? $100.
Need electricity? Pay an electrician $500 for a 30 second hook-up.
It's a f*n racket.
Obviously things might be different per the respective industry, especially if you're launching something new and innovative, but that was my experience.
If you meet ONE person at a trade show (say a big distributor) it could really get the ball moving.
It's a big decision that needs a really hard analysis of cost-benefit.
I found our trade shows pretty worthless and far too expensive for any benefit.
I did our major trade show twice and instead of finding new customers, our existing customers stopped by and said "hello!"
When I clarified that our growth was predicated on user traffic (not companies to feed that traffic upon) I stopped going.
Sure saying "hello" to your clients is nice, but not at a cost of $30K for 3 days. When the show is in Vegas or some other heavily unionized place, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg.
Need a crate hauled in from the shipping port? $100.
Need electricity? Pay an electrician $500 for a 30 second hook-up.
It's a f*n racket.
Obviously things might be different per the respective industry, especially if you're launching something new and innovative, but that was my experience.
If you meet ONE person at a trade show (say a big distributor) it could really get the ball moving.
It's a big decision that needs a really hard analysis of cost-benefit.