Mark Twain once said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” As today’s businesses face off against an uncertain economy, Twain’s statement holds true, especially when it comes to trade shows, conventions and meetings.

But times are tough. With companies trimming spending to weather current economic conditions, trade show managers are reporting decreased trade show exhibitors and attendance, as the annual Tradeshow Week Exhibition Management Survey shows.

“Budgetary constraints have driven some companies to shorten the length of their meetings or conferences or provide less food and beverage service,” agrees Fran Puleo, community and public relations manager of Madison’s Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center. “Some companies are sending fewer people to these events or staying at less-expensive hotels.”

That being said, reports from Wisconsin trade show, convention and meeting venues are not chock full of gloom and doom. In fact, some venues saw increased attendance in 2009. The La Crosse Center, which hosts 30 conventions ranging from food shows to home and farm events to bridal fairs, is one such site, according to center director Art Fahey.

“Participation and attendance at the conventions we’ve had has been fairly consistent and solid,” he says. “It kind of lends itself to the fact that the folks coming know why they are there, which is to connect with a very targeted audience.”

He proclaims February’s Organic Farming Conference as one of the center’s major successes. This event drew 3,000 attendees over three days. “This is a category that’s growing versus declining,” Fahey says. “This show has had double-digit increases in the last two years.”

Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center, which hosts everything from educational conventions to environmental shows, provides similar accounts. According to Laura Cornell, Monona Terrace director of sales, the facility saw a 30-percent increase in trade show business in 2009 with an average revenue increase per event of more than 70 percent.

“We don’t have any particular category showing a decline in participation,” agrees Diane Morgenthaler, director of marketing for The Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We have seen some shows with slightly lighter attendance or shorter show durations but we continue to see strengths in healthcare and technology events.”

Cornell believes the troubled economy actually helps boost attendance, as residents stay closer to home and seek less expensive forms of entertainment. “These events give them something to do in their own backyards,” she says.

The personal touch

Clearly, business meetings continue to hold value for exhibitors and attendees no matter the state of the economy.
Jake Athey, marketing manager of Widen Enterprises, a Madison company that provides enterprise digital asset management (DAM) software solutions and helps companies leverage these assets at trade shows, says he’s not surprised. He says the main reasons for attending trade shows — introducing new products, networking with the company’s sales channels, and effectively promoting and selling products — still remain true.

“A down economy is the time to build relationships and make contacts,” adds Ted Ballweg, assistant center manager of sales and marketing at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center, which hosts 550 events a year. “It takes a lot of touches to build business relationships. The trade show/conference/meeting is a non-threatening way to have those first, second or third touches with potential buyers.”

Face-to-face meetings help build relationships that translate into future business, agrees Cornell. Business travelers surveyed by Oxford Economics estimate companies convert 40 percent of prospective customers to new customers in face-to-face meetings. And a recent survey of Fortune 1000 chief marketing officers found meetings and events provide the highest return on investment (ROI) of any marketing channel. In fact, the ROI of U.S. Business Travel study found for every dollar companies spend on business travel, they realize $12.50 in incremental value and $3.80 in profits.

With that kind of ROI, Ballweg stresses it’s more important to exhibit at trade shows during a tough economy than when times are good. Buyers seek better values and new reliable sources, giving a competitive edge to those companies more skilled at self-promotion. Buyers have also become more receptive to what vendors have to say, which may give companies an ‘in’ with prospects they’ve previously been unable to convert to actual business.

“Buyers are dealing with the same problems vendors are,” Ballweg says. “They need better value. They need to lower their costs. They need to do more with less. They are shopping and seeking solutions.”

Still not convinced? The Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus hopes to change business attitudes by promoting the positive impact of such events through a partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. “Meetings Mean Business for Wisconsin” kicks off this month and is intended to remind business leaders of the positive impact business meetings have on their bottom lines as well as the state economy. The campaign  includes letters from Gov. Doyle to top business leaders, personal phone calls from state convention and visitors bureaus, and ongoing presentations across the state.

Build a better mousetrap

The squeaky wheel may get the most grease but the glitziest, largest trade show booth may not draw the most visitors. Companies can trim costs when budgets are tight by scaling back on booth size or reducing prize giveaways, says Puleo, but vendors must continue to maintain an updated look and showcase the best products and services available to grab attendee attention.

Ballweg offers the following tips to get the best bang for your trade show buck:

(1) Re-evaluate the trade shows you attend. “Make sure you’re at the right shows,” he says. “Sometimes people will try to do too many shows and they might be better off picking the ones that are or could be a new niche for them.” For example, if your company’s client base has shrunk, maybe it’s time to seek out new clients and opportunities for talking business. “Maybe you work within the auto industry, and that industry isn’t doing well right now,” Ballweg explains. “Is there an application for your equipment in another industry? It pays to identify those opportunities and concentrate on them.”

(2) Plan ahead. Pre-show meetings should set realistic goals, strategize how you’ll meet them, point out areas to avoid, train staffers and assign responsibilities.

(3) Fine-tune your message. Go to the events with a message that resonates with people and makes them want to do business with you. “If 1,800 attendees come to a conference and you only spoke to 200, there is something wrong with what you did,” he says. Ballweg suggests it’s time to do away with knick-knacks and trinkets and get back to business. “Now more than ever, companies need to show how they can help potential customers with their business needs,” he says. “If you’re providing insights and solutions that people seek, they will make it a priority to stop by.”

(4) Send your best, most effective staffers and make sure they’re trained to work the show in order to maximize sales leads. “Sometimes people forget the most important thing in a booth is the people in it. We’ve all been to trade shows where people sit in their booths reading a newspaper,” Ballweg says. “Whatever potential business you had just walked by. You have to want to be there and know your purpose for attending.”

(5) Don’t forget the experts. “If you want to talk to engineers, you may want an engineer in your booth,” he says. Put a conference table in a quiet area of the booth, where that engineer can talk shop with attendees.

(6) Think about adding a deeper dimension. “People want more of a multi-media experience,” says Athey. “They want to be wowed with rich media and video and audio presentations.” Consider multi-media displays, eye-catching graphics and lighting techniques that heighten your booth’s visibility. That being said, Ballweg recommends adhering to the KISS principle — keep it simple, stupid — when adding technological touches. “You can do more Internet and multi-media stuff, but you don’t want to do it just to be cute,” he explains. “If it helps tell your story — quickly, then use it.”

(7) Finally, leverage the expertise of the trade show host. Trade show management can share what has worked at other events. For example, if a company says they hope to reach high-level decision makers, the host can help facilitate those discussions through strategic booth design, a show-floor luncheon or more.

Thinking it through and doing things right on the business event floor can shine a positive light on what your company has to offer. There’s still time to re-evaluate your trade show presence so that you can maximize the potential of the business meeting in 2010.

As Ballweg says, “The best time to stake out your territory is during a recession.”

By Ronnie Garrett

Ronnie Garrett owns and operates Garrett & Co. Studios, a Fort Atkinson company providing editorial, photography and graphic design services.

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