{"id":1542,"date":"2011-03-09T18:52:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/trade-show_030911\/"},"modified":"2011-03-09T18:52:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-09T18:52:00","slug":"trade-show_030911","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/trade-show_030911\/","title":{"rendered":"Goin\u2019 to the trade show, and I\u2019m gonna get us some bu-i-i-is-ness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/p>\n

Deals being done at a recent trade show<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If Sigmund Freud was alive today, you might just find him at a sourcing trade show avidly observing some unique quirks of human nature. <\/strong><\/p>\n

And when considering his conclusions, you’d likely find him deep in discussion with HfS contributor and part-time behavioral\u00a0psychologist\u00a0from SourcingChange<\/a>, Deb Kops.<\/p>\n

Over to you Debs, for your evaluation…<\/em><\/p>\n

Goin\u2019 to the trade show, and I\u2019m gonna get bu-i-i-is-ness<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All weekend a parody of the 60\u2019s song, \u201cGoing to the Chapel and I\u2019m going to get married,\u201d \u00a0was tripping through my head as a result of spending a few days at an industry meeting complete with the proverbial \u201cexhibit hall.\u201d \u00a0With so much time and resource spent in order to get the seller\u2019s name out. I can tell you what I took away\u2014dishwater coffee and a few logo\u2019d pens, rubber ducks and thumb drives. What did they get?<\/em><\/p>\n

Think of a trade show in any industry and the same elements come to mind\u2014booths\u00a0 chock a block with graphically glowing descriptors, a great array of giveaways, a tray of chocolate, the proverbial \u201cdrop in your business card and win a Kindle,\u201d bowl, and even in this day and age of online collateral, a few brochures declaiming leadership.<\/p>\n

As it\u2019s high season for expos, weeks, summits and what have you, it\u2019s clear that the outsourcing and shared services industry hasn\u2019t veered away from this recipe. With exhibitors keen to get prime booth real estate while sponsors happily take their money, it\u2019s a good time to ponder whether spending all that dosh really moves the dial on brand.<\/p>\n

Some of us trip through the hall only to register, while others religiously show up during breaks for muffins and popcorn. Some use the hall as a meeting point, while others traipse around each booth for the giveaways which go down so well with the kids we left at home. And perhaps even a few of us are sincerely interested in finding out more about Outsourcing-R-Us, or the advantages of locating a center in Trans-Mesopotamia or even the latest and greatest software that depreciates widgets automatically.\u00a0 But do exhibitors gain brand by setting up? And do we give them the attention they expect to get?<\/p>\n

Walk into any exhibit hall and you\u2019ll see a similar cast of characters:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Software vendors<\/em><\/strong>. These folks, generally mature guys, selling both platforms and apps to the sourcing industry, are always in their booths and seem to run in packs. Savvy enough to secure the 100 percent corners in the layout\u2014or the spot directly across from the bar, they conscientiously man their booths both during exhibit hours and sessions. You\u2019ll always see two or more together, proudly wearing their logo golf shirts or button-downs.\u00a0 A crowd is always around\u2014is it the sexy set up, the great giveaways or are the folks in attendance already clients who are stopping by?<\/p>\n

Niche \u00a0providers<\/em> <\/strong>whose delight at having the marketing money to show up for the first time at a conference is palpably written in their smiles. The shiny new booth is equipped with a backdrop that lists about every service they deliver from any location that any end-user could conceivably want to buy\u2014if they had the inclination to stand there and read the fine print on the list. For the young men who represent these firms, getting a pile of business cards and being able to talk about \u2018why they are different\u2019 seems to be the name of the game.<\/p>\n

Eco-developers<\/em> <\/strong>The lady from Latvia or the man from Mauritius, sitting in a small booth, often seems uncomfortable when you stop by to mention that your grandmother grew up on a farm outside Riga, or that you once enjoyed a great holiday on the beach. Unsure of his or her English, and not wanting to let on that s\/he did not fully understand, s\/he thrusts a brochure extolling the virtues of locating a delivery center in said region\/city.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Deborah<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deborah Kops, Contributing Analyst, HfS Research (Click for Bio)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Consultants<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>Exhibit booths can perform like Venus fly catchers for consultants. Every once in a while some guy who is looking for a sourcing advisor just happens to stroll by, making the effort to set up a booth totally worthwhile. And when there are no buyers in site, the booth will serve as a meeting place for team mates who rarely have the opportunity to see each other.<\/p>\n

Established providers<\/em> <\/strong>put up a booth for brand enforcement, generally manning it with the marketing \u201cgal\u201d or guy whose main job seems to be playing go-fer for the brass who show up on Day Two to deliver the plenary speech. Often the booth is unmanned, perhaps under the assumption that the name in lights speaks enough about brand.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m the last person to say that building brand is not important. Indicating that an organization is part of the sourcing industry by showing up is a good thing. Walking through an exhibit hall is a quick way to see the latest and greatest in apps, new providers, which countries want your business, and, as importantly, meet old friends. And even the coffee is drinkable when it\u2019s free. But do exhibitors get real business? You tell me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deals being done at a recent trade show If Sigmund Freud was alive today, you might just find him at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,50,81,93,832],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[19],"yoast_head":"\nGoin\u2019 to the trade show, and I\u2019m gonna get us some bu-i-i-is-ness - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/trade-show_030911\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Goin\u2019 to the trade show, and I\u2019m gonna get us some bu-i-i-is-ness - Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Deals being done at a recent trade show If Sigmund Freud was alive today, you might just find him at...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/trade-show_030911\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horses for Sources | No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-03-09T18:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/uglydollsattoyfair.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phil Fersht\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pfersht\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Fersht\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/trade-show_030911\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/trade-show_030911\/\",\"name\":\"Goin\u2019 to the trade show, and I\u2019m gonna get us some bu-i-i-is-ness - 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