Afraid of a little competition?

Most recent comment from a new exhibitor….

“Why would I want to go to a show where all my competition is exhibiting? Shouldn’t I be going where they are not?”

There are so many answers and angles to this question. First, “shouldn’t I be going where they are not?” Doesn’t it make you wonder why they are not there? It is certainly possible that you are an industry genius seeing an opportunity where your competition does not. It is more likely that there is no opportunity there. The show may match your target market as far as industry is concerned but you need to look at who is attending the show very closely. If your product is a solution to a pharmaceutical company’s sales department; going to a scientific show is not going to be a great fit. At the same time, perhaps your target customer is there but they are not in the right frame of mind to be thinking about your product.

Example: Bio International. Perfect show for my company, Red Cedar. All the Biotech, BioPharma, Pharma, etc. C-Level execs will be at this show. These are the people I need to be in front of. Sounds like a no-brainer. But it’s the wrong show for me to have a big presence because these people are not looking to buy services. They are looking for VC money, fill some key exec slots, find a place to locate their company when they make it big or convince big pharma to buy them/invest in them/or license their ideas. I would simply be taking time away from their meeting with a potential investor rendering me, at best, annoying.

In summary, know your customer in terms of demographics and psychographics and make sure they are at the show you are considering exhibiting and they are in the mood to hear from you.

Now, “Why would I want to go where all my competition is?” Where should I begin??? According the the Center for Exhibition Industry Research reports that 77% of Exhibition attendees found at least one new supplier and 76% asked for a price quotation. If you are not there you don’t stand a chance of being that supplier or providing that quote.

If you are there with your competition you substantially move your sales cycle along much more quickly. A typical sales cycle involves meeting with the potential client several times and submitting a proposal. For your clients’ part they are looking at several of your competitors as well who are going through the same process. This cycle could take months of meetings until a decision is made. On the show floor your potential client can do all the research and compare and contrast apples to apples in the span of two or three days.

Our clients are not afraid of being in the same room as their competition. On the contrary–they love it. When someone comes into their booth looking for a solution to their problem they will even highlight on the show floor map who their competition is and encourage them to make sure they shop around. But; the booth staff is well versed on their product’s or service’s strengths and weaknesses over the competition. Because they are confident in the superiority of their product and service they hand them a tip sheet on what to look for in a vendor and send them off on their way to “go shopping”.

Let’s not dismiss the opportunity to do competitive intelligence at the show yourself. In those same two or three days you can find out what new products and services your competition is pushing and exactly how they are doing it.

Exhibiting puts you on a level playing field with your competition. If you and your staff are well prepared there is no reason to fear it but instead, embrace the opportunity.

If you like what you read here be sure to sign up for our RSS feed at the top right of this page. If you’d like to learn how we can help you stand out from your competition and increase your ROI, then be sure to give us a call or drop us an e-mail or if Twitter’s your thing you can reach us at @tracibrowne.