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Bob Gill, Group Editor
Thursday afternoon at Hannover Fair 2008 and your editor steps up to the reception desk at the booth of a well-known global sensor manufacturer.
“Is Mr S here?”
“No”
“Will he be here tomorrow?”
“No – he has gone back to the office, he won’t be coming back to the show again”
“Oh, ok then, can I have a press kit?”
“We don’t have any English ones, only German”
“Why don’t you have any English ones?”
“I have no idea, I am not from the press department. If you leave your name card we can send you one.”
With that, the conversation ended – no invitation to partake of the myriad wonders of the cavernous booth; no attempt to point to one or two highlights from this year’s offerings; not even a smile to soften the edges of her solemn visage.
Actually, for anyone used to automation shows in Asia, “booth” is rather a misnomer, since at least for the brand name companies at Hannover Fair, their huge exhibition spaces often come replete with bar and food counters, dancers, musicians, magicians, video screens, all of which would not be out of place in a downtown nightspot.
That is fine – even the most hardened technology junkie likes to be fed and entertained during a long day at an exhibition. But what is unfortunate is when the same effort is not expended on ensuring there are competent and enthusiastic individuals manning the booth. I am sure we probably all can recall less than satisfactory experiences at various events in Asia and worldwide …
The man sitting down in the corner engrossed in today’s newspaper – any visitors that dare enter are an annoyance; the couple evidently more keen to use their day out on booth duty to exchange company gossip than to discuss the intricacies of that new PLC; the girl who has been hired for her looks – only; the guy who launches headlong into his sales pitch.
Many companies still don’t see the booth visit as what it should be – a service encounter, hardly different to that in a retail store. This may be the first time visitors have ever experienced your brand “in the flesh”, and it’s good for everyone if they go away knowing more than they did before and feeling good about those few minutes invested with you.
As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and so why not make it a great one? Oh, and by the way, I still have not received that English press kit that she promised …
