Every day I speak with CEO’s, marketing directors and trade show coordinators, and lately there is a common tone to all our discussions that perhaps one word can sum up fairly well…”scared”. Many speak of “cuts” that have to be made if their business is to survive but, where to make those cuts is often the question? Typically, the initial thought is to cut marketing and advertising. However let us state for the record that cutting your marketing and advertising budget is the single biggest mistake a company can make…especially during a struggling economy. Interestingly when an economy struggles that is often the time most opportunities for business growth actually exist. Experts have cited many reasons for this, sometimes it is because competitors close their doors and their customer base re-enters the marketplace (survival of the fittest). Sometimes a weak economy drives prices down, which creates purchase incentives. And still many companies benefit due to the high rate of unemployment and they have the ‘cream of the crop’ to pick their next great talent from. Whatever the reason, opportunities do exist. The question one has to ask is how can we take advantage of gaining an industry stronghold while our competition is making cut backs in their marketing and advertising budget.

Recently a client informed me that she was instructed by upper management to cut back the number of trade show they exhibit at annually in an attempt to cut spending. She explained that she was to reduce the usual twelve shows she exhibited at per year down to the best three or four shows…wow, that’s drastic! I began to explain to her that they were about miss out on an incredible opportunity.

By significantly decreasing your company’s presence at trade shows you can actually send the wrong message to your audience, which may include (depending on your business and industry), customers, clients, competitors, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, sales reps, franchisees, dealers and even the media (press that usually covers any particular trade show). Be careful, your company’s absence might allow some of these audiences to obtain more face time with your competition, not to mention speculate as to why your firm was not exhibiting this year. We all know too well how quickly gossip spreads across a trade show floor, which is probably due to the concentration of professionals from a particular industry at a particular place and time. Now consider the potential opportunities if your competitors decided not to exhibit, but you did – most likely you would benefit from having more time to market and sell to your existing customers as well as convert your competitors customers to your products or services.

In discussion with my client, she shared that their existing booth was costly to ship and time consuming to set up due to the complexity of the booth and its size, so we discussed options. At Dynamic Display we work closely with our clients to provide cost effective solutions to their marketing and trade show exhibiting challenges. We were able to develop and design a new booth that was both dramatic and easier to set up, but even more importantly it was lighter and was able to be stored in 4 rather than 12 cartons, which drastically reduced shipping costs. The cost savings in freight and labor allowed our client to maintain their show schedule for 2009 and they experienced the benefits immediately.

After returning from their first show (which they almost cut from their line-up) my client informed me that two of their major competitors (as well as a few smaller ones) did not exhibit at the show. Because the competition at the show wasn’t as fierce their booth was packed with attendees for three days. In fact, they spent quality face-to-face time with some of their competitions’ clients which for years they had longed for that opportunity.

We have all heard the adage “when the going gets tough the tough get going”. At more than 40 years in business, Dynamic has weathered a few recessions before and we realize that opportunities do exist even when the horizon looks its bleakest. Now is the time to take action…to look for opportunities…to discuss with us ways we can help your business be more cost effective and less scared. Let’s work together to find strategic and creative solutions to help your business not just survive, but to thrive in this new competitive landscape. Don’t miss out on opportunities…make them!