Domotex still going strong

It’s still eight months to go till Domotex opens its doors for the 2014 exhibition and despite our personal view on the validity of exhibitions, it would appear that interest is high even this far out from the January event.

We’ve often questioned whether in a struggling economy businesses and individuals still place exhibitions high on their list of priorities. Deutsche Messe, the event organisers have said that “given the strong response to date, we’re feeling very optimistic about next January. The solid registration levels and the high proportion of exhibitors from outside Germany, testify to Domotex’s position as a key fixture in the marketing calendar of the international carpet and floor coverings industry.”

Domotex is probably the biggest event in our industries calendar and despite cut backs and budget management taking place across the globe, it would appear that Domotex is still drawing the crowds.

However we would like to ask a very simple question. Are companies exhibiting because they feel they should, or are they exhibiting because they genuinely believe exhibiting draws sales?

In our humble opinion, long standing exhibitions are successful because of the amount of exhibitors that feel they have to appear otherwise they would be conspicuous by their absence. Having a presence at a trade show as large as Domotex is seen by many companies as a “need to” rather than a “must have” project and we feel that this is the same for other trade shows.

The proof of whether a show is successful shouldn’t be gauged by the amount of exhibitors, it should be judged on the amount of visitors and the quality of the leads. And don’t think that it’s just exhibitors that are assessing the validity of exhibitions. Visitors  are going through the same financial assessment also. Can they afford time out of the office, can they afford the hotel costs, can they afford the travel fees?

This is just our observation, but one thing missing from Domotex’s statement is the actual numbers. Are they releasing this statement to generate much needed interest and therefore improved numbers, or are they genuinely delighted with the uptake so far?

Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.