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The recent KBB 2008 exhibition has got me thinking about the whole trade exhibition format for our industry. The exhibition scenario is full of grey areas, both for sink manufacturers and other KBB products suppliers - do they truly pay for themselves and do they offer value for money or deliver tangible business benefits?
You could pick up that vital key account but who's to say the same result couldn't have been achieved by traditional sales representation? On the other hand what about that elusive customer who didn't know about your company? Would you have missed them by not exhibiting? And what about your competitors' customers who pop onto your stand to take a look at your sinks and taps range and see something that their current supplier doesn't offer?
I have walked through numerous exhibitions, both as a supplier and as a customer, and still don't know if I'm wholly convinced of their value. Clearly exhibitions provide sink manufacturers with a platform to showcase new products and entertaining existing clients, but surely the main objective is to genuinely find new customers? And as the cost of a good-sized exhibition is not far off the cost of putting someone out on the road, what represents best value - four days in an exhibition hall or someone doing forty hours plus per week all year round?
Now we are faced with the additional problem of potential exhibition saturation looming on the horizon. Next year will see not only KBB and Expo in London but also Interbuild, which is starting to incorporate more kitchen and bathroom emphasis and could represent a strong arena for sinks and taps manufacturers to really achieve stand out. Is this an additional opportunity - or an added complication?
It all comes down to that most basic of commercial questions - is it worth it? My honest answer is "I don't know".
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