I've got the trade-show blues

Sad to say, many trade shows have suffered along with the electronics industry in the recent recession. Recently, the Wescon (Anaheim, CA; www.wescon.com) show organizers had to cancel half their paid tutorials, and the exhibit space at Wescon dropped sharply. One technical conference drew only 15 people. Old-timers may remember when Wescon took place in San Francisco and required two large show floors to house all the exhibits. You couldn't move in San Francisco without seeing a Wescon badge, and technical sessions drew hundreds of participants.

The recession and easy accessibility of information on Web sites provide simplistic reasons for the drop in popularity of trade shows. Truthfully, their popularity has waned for years.

As companies economized, they cut travel funds and time for engineers, technicians, and managers to visit trade shows. Upper managers felt it was more important to spend time in the office than looking at products. As a result, exhibitors were talking with fewer key people, so they either reduced their show presence or stopped going to shows altogether.

Exhibitors share some of the blame, too. They feel the same budget and time pressures, and consequently stop sending key people to staff their booths. So, visitors end up talking with a sales rep or a distributor, not with a fellow engineer from the vendor company. Reps and distributors do play a role, but most can't get into technical discussions the way engineers can.

The shows' sponsors share responsibility for the smaller shows, too. Many organizations that sponsor shows either restrict or prohibit business transactions from taking place on the exhibit floor. Trade-show organizers also dictate rules and regulations about what vendors can display and how they can display their products.

Managers need to understand that trade shows still have value. With the cost of a sales call approaching $300, you're likely to see more product demonstrations at a show than during a year of visiting with reps or salespeople. Vendors need to work closely with show organizers to ensure they can use their booth space effectively, and vendors need to make knowledgeable technical people available for booth visitors. Vendors also must better promote their show presence to help draw a larger audience.

If trade-show participants need guidance on how to produce a show that appeals to a broader group, they can use Electronica (Munich, Germany; www.electronica.de) as an example. This large international show expanded its exhibit space and hopes to draw a record-breaking crowd this November. All this in a year when business still stinks.

Contact Jon Titus at jontitus@tmworld.com