Many wholesale vendors go to retail trade shows in San Francisco, Atlanta, New York and elsewhere with the hope that it will result in at least one HUGE order – preferably with a retailer that has many stores. Instead, it is more common to get small mom and pop stores who can’t afford (or don't want to pay) even minimum requirements. Let’s face it - trade shows are grueling, expensive, and, increasingly, produce little orders and profit.
For those of you seeking helpful advice about the effectiveness of gift shows, specifically the San Francisco International Gift Fair (SFIGF), I hope you find the following “rules” and “lessons learned” helpful as a first time exhibitor – especially because such advice will not be found on the GLM (George Little Management) website:
• Credibility: As a first time vendor, you have no credibility. It is said that you need to exhibit at least three times before seeing significant sales.
• New exhibitors: Make sure all of your contact info gets into the directory – including name of person at the show, emails, phone numbers, website, and items represented.
• Mailers: Mailers don’t seem to produce any customers. Don’t buy the lists.
• Sales: Trade fairs are best for exposure, branding, and networking – but not really for any big sales. It is said that you need to exhibit at least three times before seeing significant sales.
• Attendance: Attendance is down for trade shows, especially for the SF show. Rumor has it that one has better outcomes at the NY Trade Show or the Las Vegas Trade Show. Attendance has declined tremendously over the past few years because of more innovative marketing strategies and the internet.
• Buyer Profile: There are many really small business owners that come to trade shows, they tend to buy very small dollar amounts and they are not prepared to buy even minimum wholesale orders.
• Importers: For vendors who import, it is best to have inventory on hand. It is best not to have “custom” orders produced – that way you can have flexibility with minimum requirements.
• Booth display:
- Location: Center booth= more buyers. Get buyers before they spend their trade show budget!
- Look: A well-merchandised and well-stocked display is key! Make use of your display space. You can use all sorts of material in your booth for your wall display (shower curtains, curtains, tablecloths, etc). A creative and easy way to hang the fabric is with shower hooks! Also, make sure your booth is INTERESTING and draws people into “your world”.
- Label, price and tag products
• Traffic Flow: San Francisco has many divisions, including Cash and Carry and Village Arts that compete with the Handmade division. The Cash and Carry and Village Arts tend to be busier than the lonely vendors in other divisions with buyers given steep discounts paid right then and there for one, two, three items at a time. Surely, this impacts other divisions and some even expect you to negotiate on price and quantity. Be firm and don’t give in. Is it any wonder sales are declining when it is becoming more like a flea market experience?!
• Perks for Buyers: The SF International Gift Fair management (George Little Management - GLM) failed to PROMOTE the fair adequately and didn't even have an expected buyer’s dinner in July 2007. Indeed, another contributing factor to slow traffic.
• Packing Up and Lightening the Load: Instead of shipping your products home, some vendors just sell their merchandise just before closing. Some buyers, however, ask if you have cash and carry items before closing time (!) – don’t do it. This decreases the value of goods at the trade show if people think they can get products at a discount before just before closing time.
I hope this has been helpful for you. I wish I was able to read something like this before investing in the trade show. Before the July 2007 SF International Gift Fair, I tried to investigate any testimonies/feedback from prior exhibitors of the SF International Gift Fair but could not find anything on any search engine, including Google. Zippo. Nada. It was only after I paid the fee that I heard of the miserable experience of others.
The fact is that attendance is down and trade shows seem to be dying – such is demonstrated by exhibit hall consolidations and lack of repeat vendors year after year. There are many more lookers than buyers. Over and over again I heard experienced exhibitors sigh and say, “this is my last time” and “this is one of the slowest trade shows” they attended.
Be intelligent about trends and about trade fairs. Perhaps they are the right venue for you, especially if you have a strong existing client base. However, if you are introducing your business and products, think again. There are more innovative ways to market your products than spending a mint on a trade show that produces little results.
