National Funeral Directors Association 13625 Bishop's Drive Brookfield, WI 53005 262-789-1880 nfda@nfda.org www.nfda.org

NFDA Supplier Dispatch - January 18, 2005

Fast Facts

The U.S. Funeral Home market is an $11.7 billion dollar industry made up of approximately 22,000 funeral homes. Significant growth is expected in the future as the death rate of baby boomers increases over the next 10-30 years.

“Management that does not learn to innovate will not last long…Business—and every other organization today—has to be designed for change as the norm and to create change rather than react to it,” Management Challenges for the 21st Century.

Quotable Quotes

“Virtual trade shows will replace real trade shows when virtual honeymoons replace the real thing. There are some situations in life you need to be present for.”

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

Q - What's the correlation between a booth's location in the hall and high traffic and overall exhibitor success?

A - There is NO correlation.

More than 90% of exhibitors request to be within the first 100 feet of the main entrance yet only a very small fraction of those can actually be accommodated. Exhibitors often see a direct correlation between proximity to the exhibit hall entrance and the success of their exhibit. Although this is a perception that many exhibitors have, the fact is, if being close to the entrance were the determining factor to success, only a handful of exhibitors would experience a successful show.

The truth is, many factors attribute to the success or failure of your exhibit--- pre- and at-show promotion, attention getting techniques, advertising, and staffing of your booth---all play a huge part in the equation. Having a booth 10 feet away form the entrance means little if your exhibit staff is not effective at trade shows. Many exhibitors miss this extremely critical component of trade show success----staffing your booth with the right people. Instead, they focus on location as the most important factor to success, and then staff their booth with ineffective people, almost as if staffing were an afterthought. The factors that attribute to your success are all under your control to offset the rare case of a truly bad location and each should be looked at carefully and with the right mix, you could be located under a stair well in the basement and should still be able to create a memorable exhibiting experience. However, here are some tips on making the most of the location you perceive as bad.

1. Check for last-minute cancellations with the desire to relocate to a location perceived as being better. Cancellations and no-shows are a reality and there are typically several booths available in the part of the hall closest to the entrance.
   
   
2. Don't shoot the show organizer! This is the person who can help you the most. Projecting anger and abuse on the show manager due to your booth location gets you nowhere…except maybe on their “bad” list. This could even hurt you with your location in subsequent years.
   
   
3. PROMOTE! Pre-show and at-show promotion are vitally important. It is show management's job to bring attendees to the exhibit floor but it is YOUR job to bring them to your booth. Trade shows are an investment from the start, and skimping on the necessities for trade show success will lower the overall return on your investment.
   
   
4. Keep a positive attitude. It may sound cliché, but attitudes can effect your interaction with attendees to your booth, whether you realize it or not. Also, having a bad attitude doesn't accomplish a thing and prevents you from creatively exploring methods to bring attendees to your booth.

In summary, it is show management's responsibility to bring attendees to the exhibit floor but it is the exhibitors' responsibility to attract them to their booth.

See you at the 2005 NFDA Convention and Expo, October 3-5
McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

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Copyright (c) 2004 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)