To be or not to be DMC Does and Don'ts at the Trade Show

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Tsoffer an excellent opportunity to promote both the destination and your company to meeting/incentive specialists and corporate end users too. Usually DMC’s participate at their National Board’s Booth. Ideally the theme of the booth should represent the strengths of the destination and equally expose all the participating suppliers.

I generalI belive that in trade shows, DMC’s should sell the destination and promote company, contrary to the sales trips where should first sell company and than promote the destination.

There are several good seminars and books of how to prepare a trade show so I will not go in any details other than adding some of my personal opinions.

Participation a trade show should not be considered as another “sales trip” or a “few days of fun.” Your participation should be well prepared in advance in collaboration with the tourist board and all other participants.

A theme of stand and promotion should be chosen.
A timing schedule should be established.
Working teams with pre-determined responsibilities should be created.
Promotional material and appropriate teasers should be used.
Mailing campaign should be done.
The buyers should be targeted.
A tasteful entertainment or booth attraction should be planned.
How the leads generated at the booth ill be distributed to the participants. This should be pre-determined.
The ethical rules and behaviour of the participants at the stand floorshould be agreed.
What follow-up, how, when, by whom, also planned in advance

Ideally all the above must be determined and agreed in common meetings of the responsible

Tourist Board and the show participants well before the show

From your part, let your clients or prospective clients know that you will be attending the trade show and advise them of your stand number. Trade shows permit you to see clients whom you cannot visit regularly. Prepare a nice and creative mailing to announce your show participation and also prepare some sample incentive “packages” to use as examples of what you can offer. You will never sell an incentive as a package, but it gives a good idea of inclusions and costs and it can be used for opening a conversation.

Keep always in mind that other destinations will be promoting at the show too. Probably with bigger means and resources. Facing the competition, I hear many exhibitors commenting: “what is the use of doing anything? We can never compete with such or such destination… Everybody will go to their evening party. Nobody will skip such or such party for coming to our event…”

Well I do not agree with such fatalistic presumptions that will bring no results. Such reasonings are only excuses for not doing anything or your part of work. If you will not try it you will never know if you could have been successful.

To my opinion it is better to do a modest attempt to attract attention than nothing at all. Doing nothing, for sure you will get no attention.

At the next issue: The critical days of the show.

© Tasso Pappas CITE
Tasso Pappas is President of the SITE Greek Chapter and served as President of SITE Intl. in 2000. This article is an extract from his book “To be or not to be a DMC” which he wrote in 1996 as his thesis for the certification CITE (Certified Incentive Travel Executive). More information about Tasso Pappas you can find at https://sites.google.com/site/tassopappasconsultancy/
Contact: tassopappas@otenet.gr