My life experience tells me that, despite some evidence to the contrary, there is hope for the human condition. There have been two incidents in my recent history that have reinforced the faith I have in my fellow man (or woman, as was actually the case.)

On one occasion I went to a meeting at a hotel I was familiar with, but the area around it had changed considerably. I parked in a big garage in back of the hotel and went merrily along to attend my meeting.

A few hours later, I went to retrieve my car. When I presented myself to the garage attendant, he informed me that the validation from the hotel was not good in this garage. Okay, so I goofed. Then he told me the parking fee was $35. I gulped and snarled and reluctantly reached in my wallet for a credit card, only to be told, “We don’t accept credit cards.” Is that possible?

Next I went back to my wallet to find I only had $18. Now I was really in a pickle. Annoyed with the garage for not taking credit cards and more mad at myself for parking in the wrong garage—as well as not have any cash with me—I was pretty ticked.

With some amount of disgust I went off to an ATM machine only to discover I didn’t have a pin number for this credit card. My wife is always changing credit cards to take advantage of mileage promotions.

Now what? There was not a bank nearby that I did business with and a nearby bank just shrugged me off. After hearing my tale of woe, a kind security guard suggested I go to the market a block away, buy some stuff and get cash back.

Great idea. I trudged off the market, scooped up a bunch of groceries and got in line to check out. The cashier tallied up my purchases and asked for the pin number on my credit card. Here we were, back where I started.

I told the cashier I didn’t have a pin number so I couldn’t buy the groceries. As I stood there feeling like a total fool and trying to think what I could do, the store manager came over to show the cashier how to reverse the sale. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I asked to speak to the manager.

I explained to her that I was a frequent shopper at one of their other stores (I really was) and I was in this desperate situation to get cash for the parking garage. Maria, the store manager, listened sympathetically and told me to follow her. She went to the phone on her desk and called the bank on my credit card. After a long conversation she handed me the phone and said, “They’ll give you a pin number”.

Terrific I thought. Finally a break. I got on the phone and the bank lady said, “We’ll be happy to give you a pin number. You’ll get it in the mail”, she said, “in five to seven business days.” Back to the depths of despair.

Maria wasn’t discouraged. She said she could make another call. I don’t know who she called, but it didn’t work out any better. Depression mounted.

Then, from out of nowhere, came the surprise. Maria said, “I’ll personally loan you $50.” I could hardly believe or absorb what she said, nor adequately thank her. Finally I stammered that all I needed was $20.

She gave me the twenty, I got out of the garage and returned the next day with $25 and a note calling her my saint.

If you think that was terrific, wait until you hear the other story.

What do you think?

The conventions and trade shows organized by trade associations and professional societies are typically an important source of revenue for those organizations. With the economic recession and the downturn in
corporate travel, the need for associations to make a better case for the importance of their conventions and trade shows has never been more urgent. Thanks to new research from Tradeshow Week magazine, association executives have several additional data points to help them get that point across.

Tradeshow Week magazine surveyed a total of 323 executives and managers, which included a cross-section of respondents in a range of industry sectors. The survey found that 96 percent of CEOs and other senior executives said they are attending their industry’s most important events this year despite—or perhaps because of—current business conditions. A series of questions on the value of events received highly positive responses, including:

• A significant 89 percent of the survey respondents said they are going to the most important events in their industry.
• Eighty-seven percent agreed that conventions and tradeshows are essential for comparing products and meeting suppliers in person.
• Fifty-four percent said that smaller crowds at events this year have enabled them to be more efficient when at the show.
• Fifty percent of attendees said that missing key events may negatively impact their future personal or organizational performance.

Although travel budgets are under scrutiny in nearly every industry, 59 percent of the respondents to the Tradeshow Week survey believe their travel budgets will rebound within a year after seeing an economic or sales turnaround, and 42 percent say their travel budgets will rebound even quicker—within six months—of a turnaround in the economy.

Even with tighter exhibitor budgets, 84 percent of the respondents say they will participate in more or the same number of conventions and trade shows over the next two years. A whopping 88 percent of respondents said that conventions and trade shows will continue to be a critical part of their product sourcing and buying process over the next five years.

According to Tradeshow Week, the findings indicate that in a challenging economy it is even more important to keep up-to-date with industry trends, see new products and services, and maintain and build relationships—all areas in which association conventions and trade shows provide significant value and efficiency. In short, attending conventions and tradeshows during a recession keeps executives informed and competitive.

A detailed report on the findings of this survey along with a 40-slide PowerPoint file that your association can use to help support your convention and trade show marketing efforts is available from Tradeshow Week for $149. For more information or to order, contact Michael Hughes at (480) 483-4461.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company