Appealing to American Buyers
Look around your next industry trade show floor in the United States. Follow the crowds to see where the most people stop and pay attention. When you walk through the aisles do you view some great products that no one else is paying attention to … at all? American buyers have a distinct way of analyzing a product. Certainly, once past their declaration of need they must know pricing, availability, and payment terms.
Purchasing is a Multi-faceted Choice
However, today’s buying generation also wants to know about sustainability, the people making your products, and the working conditions and hours that your employees labor. One of the first reasons a show attendee may not stop at a booth space is the way the exhibit appears. Potential clients look at an exhibit as an extension of the business from which they are buying. A finished exhibit with shoddy workmanship, dirty flooring, wrinkled fabric hanging signs, chipped laminate, or burnt-out lights seems to be a sure sign of a company that just does not care.
Understanding the Safest Bid
Putting all of that into perspective relates to how Americans teach their children about purchasing. If you get three bids on a project, you must really analyze the top and the bottom. The top may have many additional costs shown as add-on fees that other companies charge less for or maybe give away. The bottom may promise the moon and the stars however they do not always cover their costs and must throw something together because they underbid. The safest bid is the one in the middle. The one that can show finished pictures of previous work and testimonials to go with the pictures. Buyers beware and never be fooled. Every one of us has a good idea of what a project should cost going in!
