Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/526047
T he trucking industry is awash in trade shows. Nearly every event on the calendar features some level of vendor-to-customer booth interaction. Each meeting has its own speakers and seminar schedules, but when it comes to the show fl oor, the blueprint is nearly always the same. Big room, lots of suppli- ers and lots of customers. That consistency functions as a double-edged sword. Consistency breeds familiarity, yes, but also can breed complacency. And at a trade show, complacency doesn't benefi t anyone. Getting the most out of a trade show requires more than just showing up and hanging around until happy hour. For both exhibitors and attendees, the equation is the same. A successful trade show requires creating and executing a plan. Assembling a game plan is the fi rst step to maximizing a trade show experi- ence for exhibitors and attendees. For the former, it is an absolute necessity. There are dozens of trade shows currently operating in the commercial trucking market, and each event is fi lled with a different type of customer. While distributors may only attend the aftermarket events, suppliers are present at all of them. Planning for that many different cus- tomer groups requires a lot of prepara- tion for suppliers. Each customer group enters a trade show with different interests, ques- tions and expectations. Vendors must acknowledge that, and build their booths and marketing materials to capture the various customer groups. Scott Donnelly, director of sales at Dorman HD Solutions, says collabora- tion is the key to Dorman's trade show strategy. According to Donnelly, Dorman's sales and marketing departments hold meetings where they discuss upcoming shows, the attendee (customer) base and their product needs. Donnelly says the sales team provides expertise on each customer sector, and the marketing team assembles exhibits for each event around that information. "You want to tailor your message to each show," he says. That's similar to Meritor's strategy, says Marty Hetherington, manager, 14 Cover Story T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | J u n e 2 0 1 5 By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com