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Evaluating whether there is a
direct financial return on the
rather large investment of time
and money required for a supplier
or service provider to exhibit at a
trade show is certainly an impor-
tant part of building an effective
marketing budget. However,
given the difficulties in accurate-
ly assessing the direct and indi-
rect ROI from trade shows, these
numbers should be used cau-
tiously as the primary factor
when deciding whether or not to
exhibit.
At DistributorCentral
(UPIC: DC), we spread a por-
tion of our marketing budget
over a mix of large trade shows
(The PPAI Expo being our pri-
mary show of the year), smaller
trade shows, regional association
events, supplier factory visits, dis-
tributor office visits and other
events we support as a general
sponsor or education partner. We
invest our money (and quite a bit
of time) in each of these events
with the understanding that yes,
we are there to increase sales in
the short term, but more impor-
tantly we’re there to create and
foster relationships that may not
result in sales until much later
(or occasionally, not at all). In
other words, we may not see the
full return on our investment
until weeks, months, or even
years after we return from Expo.
A discussion with a new cus-
tomer at our Pro Party during
Expo this year exemplified this
idea: “We are amazed and grate-
ful that your team has spent the
past year talking with us when
we haven’t yet made any financial
investment in your company.
During that time, you’ve helped
us understand what we need in
terms of a technical solution,
what services your company pro-
vides, and how your platform can
help us engage more customers
and run our business more effi-
ciently.”
As of this week, after a full
year of talking to this customer
at multiple industry events, visit-
ing their offices halfway across
the country, and spending time
with them again at Expo this
year, I’m happy to report that
they are now a (happily) paying
customer.
This example is certainly not
unique to us, and others in the
industry who take a long-game
approach to sales and marketing
will be familiar with these types
of successful relationship-build-
ing outcomes. Expo is a unique
event in the industry and I can
honestly say the relationships
we’ve built with customers, col-
leagues and even competitors at
this event over the years have
had a lasting positive effect on
our development and growth as a
company.
Whether it’s talking to cus-
tomers in the booth, attending
education sessions or committee
meetings, discussing technical
initiatives with industry leaders,
partners and competitors or talk-
ing to people at networking
events such as the SuccessFit 5K
run, the PromoKitchen mixer,
the Awards Gala, the Power of
Two Party or the nightly ad hoc
late-night networking sessions in
the bar, the week is chock full of
opportunities to meet new peo-
ple and foster relationships with
old friends and business partners.
These events, and the associated
conversations and relationships
found therein, make it easier for
us to focus on the long game
during Expo week rather than
focus on our financial investment
and its direct (and immediate)
return.
Don’t get me wrong. I still
get irritated when I can’t refill
my water bottle on the show
floor because there are not any
water fountains or I have to pay
$5 for a banana (that costs $0.19
at my local grocery store … yes
folks, that’s a 2,500 percent
markup). Likewise, I’m still
thrilled when we come out of
Expo with a high number of new
(or growing) accounts in place
immediately that can be directly
attributed to our investment and
efforts at the show.
But in the end I’m even
more excited that our experience
over the years has left us in a
position to more easily view the
long game through the short
game when it comes to evaluat-
ing the effectiveness and return
of these events. As a company,
we’re happy to be in a position to
focus on the long game and grow
with our customers as we look
forward to 2016 and beyond.
David Shultz is vice president of
operations at industry service-
provider DistributorCentral, LLC.
In addition to being part of the team
behind DistirbutorCentral’s technol-
ogy platform, he works with key
supplier and distributor clients to
help them evaluate and implement
technology tools in their businesses.
EACH YEAR OUR TEAM and more than 10,000
other industry professionals touch down in Las
Vegas, steeped in anticipation of another great week
at The PPAI Expo. Inevitably, either prior to or just
after the show, someone at many of these companies
(usually a well-meaning CFO or controller) will ask
the question,
“Is it worth it?”
SEEING THE LONG GAME THROUGH THE SHORT GAME (OR, WHY EXPO PAYS OFF
IN THE LONG RUN)
By David Schultz,
DistributorCentral
An Exhibitor’s
View Of Expo
30 •
PPB
• MARCH 2016
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