Gift Shows
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
That is a difficult question to answer. You may want to investigate how many other companies will be there with chocolates. This can sometimes affect order taking. You should be able to obtain a list of vendors from the show administration. I've done shows were I've written enough orders to cover costs and make a profit as well as shows were there were just a lot of people picking up information for ordering later (collect business cards from everyone if possible and/or have a guest book for people to sign so you have contact info). As for how much product to take... I'd plan your displays (keep it clean and simple) and that would not be touched. As for how much to take with you for 5 days if you plan to sample... you can only expect to capture a certain percentage of the audience that is there for some reason or another. I've heard various numbers in the past (like maybe 1-2% which seems low but that is still significant if the show is as big as they say). One thing to think about is to not just put plates of samples out but to only offer them if someone asks or seems seriously interested in ordering. You can easily go broke handing out samples of chocolates as people will come back multiple times and people who aren't even interested in ordering will want a treat while they are walking the floor of the show. Another idea would be to have a set number of samples per day and when you are out there are no more. If you run out you can tell people to return the next day. Part of the process of deciding how many samples to take with you will be to determine how much cost you are willing to bear. Also, make sure you have order sheets as well as some literature for people to take with them. Most buyers tend to get overwhelmed by information at these shows and often sort through literature and place orders later. I hope this information helps and I wish you the best of luck. Let us know how it goes if you decide to do the show. Andrea