Do you spend time thinking about things? Do you consider what you are going to eat days from now? Do you think about people and how they affect your life? Do you turn off the TV or the laptop or smart phone and just think about things?
We are so information driven from the outside that we seldom use that wisdom the good Lord gave us to actually consider things until they are upon us. Then we react to the sales person that is in front of us, or to the ad that pops up on our phone or laptop and often make decisions that may or may not be the right one.
An example:
When you walk through a trade show and see an exhibit about lets say ‘wheel stops.’ You manage a bunch of facilities that use them and you may even look at them. But when you move on, do you really think about wheel stops until one of your managers mentions needing to replace them in suchensuch a location? And then can you remember what you saw at the trade show?
Did you sit down and consider ‘wheel stops’? Did you every week or so think about the different features and benefits of something so mundane? Was there any reason to clutter your minds with the inconsequential? Until your needed it?
When you visit an exhibition like PIE this spring and you are exposed to hundreds of items like wheel stops that at some point you will need, have you considered all those exhibits when you turn off your smart phone and just think?
I doubt it.
If you went with a list of items to research, and wheel stops weren’t on it, then its doubtful they crossed your mind when you returned home. How can the wheel stop manufacturer ensure that you do think about them from time to time until you need them
Does that exhibitor want you to go on a search and end up buying them through a catalogue. Is that how you find the best – what if the manufacturer makes parking reservation systems, or sells spitter tickets, or LPR, or accounting software or or auto stackers, or apps to pay by cell? You aren’t considering any of these today, but you might tomorrow.
Surely you don’t take time out of your day to consider all the things you might need in the future.
The question then how does an exhibitor get the most bang for his exhibition buck. Most of the people who attend trade shows aren’t interested in what he or she is selling. Hundreds walk by and perhaps give them a glance, or maybe stop for a quick chat and that’s it. You have forgotten that item before you reach the end of the next aisle.
They might consider an ongoing marketing program to stretch their trade show dollar. There are so many things that can remind you of what you saw. An odd email, perhaps an ad that comes up when you are looking for a Christmas present at Amazon, a banner that appears when you are getting your parking fix on Parking Today”s web site, or an ad, even a small one, that you notice each month.
The exhibitor who does this reminds you to think about the product you saw in passing so when you need it, you know where to go to find it. To find the specific one you saw and would have forgotten so many months ago.
JVH
