Things are starting to get back to normal around here in Texas. Who would have thought starting in about March 2020 we would hardly be seeing customers in person anymore nor attending tradeshows. But now, tradeshows are back and people are out and about again, as things should be. During the last twelve months, we did Zoom calls, Microsoft teams, Skype, Facetime, you name it to still connect with our stakeholders. Before Covid, many companies…including ourselves wondered about the future of tradeshows. We were no different and quite honestly still think about what tradeshows will look like in the future. There is no denying with the addition of search engines like Google, the need to go out to a tradeshow to find a supplier is not like it use to be. Furthermore, I think some companies are tired of paying for the booth space, the set up cost, travel time, time away from work, and the amount of energy it takes to work a tradeshow. The list can go on and on if a trade show is worth it…however, nothing will ever take the place of face-to-face interaction. Moreover, in our industry, it only takes landing one solid relationship to make a tradeshow worth it. Finally and probably the most important is the education and experience it brings to our team to get out of the shop, meet new people and learn new things.
So are tradeshows worth it? I’m not sure. Will we go to as many as we did in the 90’s or 2000’s? Probably not.
Does TNC still see the value in getting out of the shop to meet new people and learn new things? Absolutely.
Hope to see you at the Design 2 Part show on June 9th and 10th in Grapevine, Tx.
-Dan Crownover
