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Exhibitions as a method of survival 
Economic situation has always been unpredictable. A year ago who could have said with any certainty that an economic crisis of epic proportions would engulf the world? But it is here, and we must do what we can to survive it both on an individual and on the corporate level. So how do companies cope with an economic crisis? What measures do they take to safeguard market share, to retain talent, and perhaps even use the situation to expand? To answer that question we must realise that the key to continued survival of any company is sales. A company can cut costs to an extent, but without sales sooner or later the money will run out and the company will close. Products or services must be sold to generate cash flow, which in turn pays salaries, keeps people working, and so on. The question than becomes: how does a company maintain sales in times of crisis? There are many strategies that companies employ to maintain sales, mainly revolving around changes in prices and conditions and innovations to the product line, but they are all dependant on reaching the target audience. What is the point of a price-cut to an existing product if the company did not inform the potential customers about it? Economic crisis is characterised by uncertainty, even more so in our part of the world. Nobody knows what will come tomorrow, next week, next month. As a result all consumer purchases that can be avoided are postponed, and necessary purchases are done in a way that saves the consumer the most money possible. In other words, consumer becomes very discerning, careful, and picky. In times of crisis consumer wants to “shop around” so he can get the best price possible. This tendency to shop around is evident on all levels of the economy, but it gets more pronounced as we move up the price ladder. People will pay attention to price differences in bread, for example, but still buy bread. Companies, on the other hand, will be extremely careful when considering buying capital goods that can cost millions of dollars. Generally speaking, the higher the capital investment/available funds ratio, the more companies will want to “shop around” to see all other offers before making their decisions. This brings us to the topic of trade fairs and exhibitions. A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, study activities of rivals and examine recent trends and opportunities. It is an event which attracts all serious consumers in a given field. It is heavily advertised, with mass media and specialized journals, and information on the big events reaches furthest corners of the country and beyond. In effect, by coming together in an exhibition, participants are able to generate a “critical mass” and together form a marketing event that is much more effective than direct advertising alone. This marketing event is important because in an environment with fewer consumers, companies must use every means necessary to reach, attract and retain customers. A potential customer will not respond to an individual offer, but he will visit once he learns that every company will be there, so he can examine all offers at once. By participating in an exhibition companies are showing themselves to the largest gathering of interested customers out there. To understand the crisis it is important to understand that a large part of it has to do with human mentality and nature. Alone, people panic, and stop economic activity: they stop buying, sales stop, etc. etc. When they are all brought together however, and they see that everyone from last year is still there, that people still intend to work, that there are still consumers, that life goes on, people feel reassured, and begin to work again. Exhibitions, among other things, provide a structured and orderly environment where buyers and sellers come together and engage in a dynamic process of trade. In such environment it is easier to work and finicky consumers are more reassured by a working atmosphere; uncertainty, a big part of any economic crisis, is reduced. But what of companies that do not take part, for whatever reasons? Experience dictates that consumer usually visits the relevant exhibition even if he has a stable relationship with a company already, just to see what other offers are available, and he makes the decision to buy at the exhibition, or shortly thereafter, after processing all the information. The interesting thing is the consumer makes the selection from only those companies that were present at the trade fair. The ones that have not participated are left out of the comparisons and are forgotten. In a way, exhibitions serve to separate the strong from the weak. Of course, companies must still do their bit to be successful at any exhibition. Participating is not enough, one must have an attractive offer, and use effective display and attraction techniques; organizers usually advise their participants on how to organize their stands so as to attract customers who might otherwise just walk by. Collecting business cards and working with a customer base afterwards is of vital importance as well. Done right, an exhibition can boost sales dramatically, even in times of crisis. Time and time again experience tells us that the basic principle of survival is clear: companies have to get their name out, get their offers out, reach as many people as they can with their message, and sales will pick up. Sitting alone and doing little or nothing is a recipe for failure. This is not the first time a crisis has hit us. From the perspective of the exhibition industry, we can say with certainty that business goes on no matter what, and companies that survive use exhibitions as very important tools in their arsenals. They are not the only tool, but one of the most important ones. So for companies looking for advice on how to cope with current difficult conditions, it is this: advertise yourself, participate in events, get your name and offers out, get together with your competitors, see what others are doing, adapt, and you will survive, and maybe even expand at the expense of those that have not. Vladyslav Kostyuk, Vice-President of the Primus Exhibitions Group (Canada).  Print
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