Do You Go to Trade Shows?

Everyone has their opinion about trade shows. One that I attend every year is the WEFTEC show. This is a trade show for the water and wastewater industry. There are valve manufacturers who show there as well, by the way. My feeling is this: The time and money that I expend in the attendance of this show is NOT a good payoff.

Let me expound on that statement. The manufacturers who show their products are the same every year. They are the "biggies" in the industry and they are going to get their share of the market whether they show or not. Then there are the "me toos" in the industry. They are trying to show that they have a product that is the same, as good, etc. as that of one of the "biggies." So for those people, the "biggies" and the "me toos", there may be some value for participation.

I am a manufacturer's representative. I sell pumps and sewage treatment equipment. I go to the show for several reasons. The first is purely personal. I like to see my colleagues in the industry and have a few drinks with them, tell war stories about the industry and basically have a reunion of industry personnel. I can do that probably simply by visiting their places of work. But here they are, all in one place. Makes it very convenient.

The next reason is a rather nebulous reason that may be a backhanded reason, perhaps. I go because if I don't show up, my competitors and some of my clients may get the feeling that I am in trouble financially and the competitors will prey on that conception and try to convince my clients and colleagues of that fact. This sounds like a far fatched notion, but it is a real concern to me and many of my industry colleagues.

To re-iterate, the show is not a good business investment from the standpoint of increasing sales, but it is from the standpoint of remaining a force in the industry. I guess one could say that there is some good, but the costs today are getting to the point where they will soon outweigh the benefits. Each has to make up his own mind as to the worth of the trip.

Oh, and by the way, I am going to Chicago for the show in October. Am I a conformist? You might say that.