Trade Fairs

Are
Marketing or sales tools?

Tools of
Corporate or project marketing?
 CEE Outgoing situation

• Transformation completed
• Fewer new companies from abroad
• Local companies established
• Rearrange, streamline their operations
 Foreign interests

• Globalisation, concentration of capital

– not only for higher efficiency
• Rationalise production and marketing tools
• Now: buy markets, market positions and
customers.
They know something !
Sources of market information

• Trade associations, press, government

• But, most of all CUSTOMERS!!!
– both exhibitors and visitors
• Demand growing on more and quality
information on future
 What We Need
• Time – not only to sell but to develop contacts,
personal and trustful
• Suggest them only what they really need
• Go out and meet them – well before they are able
to express their wishes, demands
• Go out and suggest them changes
• Customer Relations Management
 Role of corporate marketing
• Not only general communication
• Market strategy, positioning, CI
• Maintenance of corporate growth
• Developing new technologies, media,projects
– Money making actions
• Social sensitivity, PR
– limited direct contact with project marketing and
sales?
Mutual Resources of Corporate
and Project Marketing

• Transfering, boosting values

– Corporate values new projects
– Good projects corporate values
• Not only financial
 Dilemma 1.

• Where to start a new show

– Where to get the information from
– How to overcome built-in resistance
– Value of market, customer relations
• From the existing project ?
 From existing projects?
Prerequisits

• To know what our partners want

• How to render best service?
• What content?
• Do they have the best opportunity to
develop and/or update the show?
• Are they motivated?
 Corporate marketing?
New projects department?

• Nursery of new trade shows?

• May have conflicting interests with
existing project team
• Excellent internal relations can help
• Motivation !
 Separated Sales & Marketing
Functions
•
Contro versy

• P r o f it
 Danger of contentment

• Not possible to repeat past year’s practice

• Brand strengthened
• Trust of customers preserved, but:
• Content of the show could not be the same
• We need to care, alter, modify and update the
show
• To tell them why and what advantage
 Dilemma 2.

• Time?
• For customers?
• Wrong question !!!
• Say they have to work more with less
results
 Opportunities

• Win full confidence of your customer

• Confidence only through real dialogue
• Listen to your customer
• Be the marketing advisor
• Advise them marketing solutions not only
exhibitions
• Educate them
• Recommend your own company other profit
making activities, services, media etc.
Thanks for attention

Károly Nagy
2001