What I learned from the World’s Softest Robe and other observations of the decline of the U.S. banking tradeshow
No more Beach Boys singing on Miami Beach or B.B. King at the New Orleans House of Blues. Gone are the lavious corporate parties with glowing ice cubes in the cocktails and endless hospitality. Bad sign #1 – when vendors say, “What traffic I am getting is good…I just wish there was a lot more of it.” The U.S. banking tradeshow industry has been on a downward decline since 2001. I have only attended one show since, whereby vendors have been excited to be there. We are seeing fewer attendees (potential buyers), fewer exhibitors, increasingly modest sponsorships and smaller booths. More vendors are trading in their exhibitor applications for attendee badges. As a vendor, the return on your tradeshow investment is how well you use your time. Are you using every breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour and dinner for achieving your objectives? Are you walking the halls for potential partnerships and garnering industry intelligence? Can’t attend all the sessions? Get copies of presentations you ca...