Why I Still 'Do' Trade Shows

Tradeshows are different that they used to be. For one thing, many are smaller than they were ten or twenty years ago. Another thing I noticed is that they seem to be more ‘content focused’.

I participated at the WMTS in Edmonton last month, and earlier this month, I attended Automate in Detroit.

I went to the WMTS as a speaker, but also to help in an exhibitor’s booth, as well as an attendee to see, hear, learn and connect.

I attended Automate to support a client introducing a new robotic scanning technology that leverages AI for weld quality determination and assurance. I found both shows were days well spent, for a variety of reasons, and here’s why.

When manufacturers are in their offices and plants, they don’t allow themselves the mental bandwidth to think beyond the problems, challenges and obligations of the day. But when they are out of the plant for a full day, or perhaps two or three, they get to apply their attention and focus on the future, on what they might do next, on different ways not just of getting past current problems, but of solving and preventing them.

The halls are filled with exhibitors showing the newest machines, technologies and solutions, and the conference and speaker schedules are filled with experts informing and inspiring their audience on what to consider, how to do it, why its important, and when and where makes most sense. Those kinds of thoughts and investigations don’t typically happen by attending webinars or searching the internet.

Searching the internet at home, or when you get time, is a spontaneous pursuit and likely an indication that you are aware something different needs to be done, but you don’t really know where to start. Signing up for webinars is a follow up or perhaps an initial investigation into something you are interested in, but its typically only thirty or sixty minutes you carved out of your busy day, and it may not have even held your attention for the whole thing as there were a lot of other things on your mind at that moment as well.   

But attending an event outside of your building is different. You have dedicated your day (or two, or even three) to it. Even if you don’t have a specific objective in your mind, you do go with at least a general agenda, and that agenda is to think about the future, about possibilities, and about possible solutions to current challenges. All of these things are in the front of your mind on the days you choose to be out of the office and in the conference or trade show.

As an exhibitor, I think of it this way: the more the world goes virtual and on-line, the more I want to be in places where I can meet my potential (and existing) customers face to face.

Genuine connection and relationship is always how I’ve tried to differentiate myself from my competitors, and the attendees that come to these events still value that too, otherwise they wouldn’t be there.

If you’re exhibiting at a tradeshow, you need to be strategic in your planning and preparation. You shouldn’t just put up your booth and your banner and send your salespeople. Exhibiting at a tradeshow is an opportunity to sell and market your company internally, getting more people in your organization involved and connected to the market and the value their product brings. Good plans and strategies cover three areas: pre-event, in-event, and post-event. It is still a relatively expensive undertaking for many companies, and good planning in those three areas is required to bring you the best return on your investment.

If you are attending, check out the speakers and see if any exhibitors are doing presentations on any stages, or conference rooms, or in their booth.

At the recent WMTS, I ambled into a conference I wasn’t planning to, being put on by Wes Paterson (an Organizational Wellness Thought Leader), and gained some invaluable insights on “Psychological Capital”, and how a typical 1980’s manufacturing culture and attitude can be transformed into one that is more sustainable, more competitive, and more productive. I had to be in a different mind space to be receptive to that message, and to do that, I had to be out of my daily world.

At the Automate 2025 tradeshow, I got the chance to not only see exciting new technology first hand, but I also see the reaction to it, helping my client (the producer of the technology) zero in on the value proposition that aligns best with the needs of potential target customers, and messaging that most resonates with the decision makers and purchasing influencers. Seeing how people react to the product, hear the questions they ask and the problems they are there to solve, is the best way to know if your product and solution have true product-market fit.

These are the reasons I still choose to exhibit at, and attend, tradeshows. If you would like more information on how to get optimal returns on your tradeshow and conference efforts, contact me at paul@tpi-3.ca . Just having a polished booth with brochures, demos, and plenty of people staffing it is not enough; to get any kind of measurable results, you need a plan and your people have to be properly prepared.

Trade shows and conferences are expensive to do, but done right, they are still well worth the effort.