The Packaging Industry - To Show or Not To Show

My question to everyone out there in Packaging Industry Land is this: Do the benefits of exhibiting at a trade show justify the cost? Also, what percentage of the annual marketing budget is or should be spent on trade shows? I’ve been hearing many conflicting sides and interesting stories about this topic and thought I would ‘put it out there’ to see what industry insiders really have to say about it.

I’m sure the benefits and costs vary greatly from company to company. But, what are they? I’m going to make a list of the obvious ones here and ask for readers to add to my lists:

Benefits of Trade Show Exhibiting:
1. Ability to show potential customers your goods and services
2. Ability to network within the industry
3. Ability to keep up with new trends/ideas/developments in the industry
4. Ability to gain contact information for potential new customers
5. Ability to sell products at show

Costs of Trade Show Exhibiting:
1. Booth space
2. Shipping exhibit materials/stand/machines
3. Travel expenses for show workers
4. Utilities for booth space
5. Labor for set up and take down of booth
6. Rental for equipment used in booth

One large company recently told us that they have cut their trade show budget by 2/3’s. They are taking a much smaller space and filling it with tables and chairs to sit down and talk with potential customers instead of showing them the products they manufacture. The money they are saving on their trade show budget is going to increase their direct sales force and sales travel budgets. They feel this strategy will pay off in more sales. Time will tell.

Another machinery manufacturer is considering increasing their trade show budget to exhibit at some of the smaller, regional shows they have passed up in the past. They hope to take advantage of companies that are only attending local shows because they can’t afford to send their employees on overnight trips to the ‘big’ shows. Smart strategy? Again, time will tell.

I’ve been in the packaging industry now for over ten years. I’ve heard many different opinions about trade shows and seen many companies come and go. We came out of a great Pack Expo Chicago 2000, only to be devastated in 2001 when September 11 came the second day of the Pack Expo Las Vegas show. The after affects of the 9/11 tragedy were felt quite strongly in our industry. Overall trade show attendance went down. But what we saw was an increase in the quality of the leads. Companies were only sending their employees to the trade shows if they really had a need for equipment. The ‘tire kickers’ who were sent as a ‘bonus’ were no longer being sent to trade shows. We slowly, but surely recovered from 9/11 throughout the following years until the latest economic downturn. I’m sure we will recover from this as well. But, what changes will come about as a result of this challenge? I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts and predictions.

NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.