Trade Show Displays: Fast, Cheap, or Good? Pick Any (ONLY) Two.
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” This quote is generally attributed to Benjamin Franklin, patriot, inventor, and founding father. Although he first said those words more than 200 years ago, they remain true today. Selecting a product or service with a primary focus on price is almost always a bad choice. People often end up paying more in the long run when price is their first focus.
Author John Ruskin made the following observation: “There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey. It’s unwise to pay too little.”
Another version of this same truth is the old adage, “You can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick any two.” This of course refers to the difficulty of creating a high quality product or service, and also doing it quickly AND inexpensively. It is easy to cut corners and sacrifice quality in the rush to get the job done. Or to use lower quality components or workers in order to drive cost down.
We reposted a great article published by The Brooks Group several years ago; as analyzed there, buyers ask for – but don’t really need – a low price. Rather, what they really need includes:
1) Help and guidance for complex purchases so they can understand trade-offs and make the best decision.
2) They also need to get what they were purchasing:
- The correct item
- The correct quantity
- Delivered in good condition
- Delivered on time
3) They need courteous, efficient support from the sales staff during the order process, and they need even better support when something goes wrong. (And everyone knows, ..it happens.)
These truths are easy to relate to the trade show display industry. Some distributors are company stores, owned or working for a single manufacturer, and primarily sell just one product line. Other firms act as independent distributors, and are able to pick and choose the best display stands and exhibit accessories to offer. When reviewing products to offer, independent distributors face the same choice as their clients – some products are high quality, and available quickly – but they tend to be more expensive than similar products that are lower quality, or that take longer to produce. Clients sometimes need high quality, they sometimes need immediate delivery, and they sometimes need a quick cheap solution for a single-use. Many distributors strive to offer products across the spectrum, so that clients have a choice – and the good ones train their staff to thoroughly know and explain the trade-offs, so that clients can choose wisely.
Our industry has a variety of distributors with different business models. Some firms have a showroom where clients can examine trade show displays in person. Firms may also offer graphic design services, storage and shipping services, repair services, and 24/7 connectivity – critical when you arrive on site at your weekend trade show and find that a display component is broken or missing. Other firms use what they term a “leaner” approach, with little or no physical overhead – no showroom, no repair center or storage capability – just a website store and “virtual” employees. Understandably, their costs of doing business are significantly lower, and they often boast of offering the “lowest price” and compete on that basis.
Caveat Emptor means “buyer beware” in Latin, and is a legal term warning buyers that they need to inspect what they are buying. When comparing products and services, buyers need to be sure to compare apples to apples. Is the product of identical quality? Do you also need them to design the graphic for you? Will it be delivered on time, in the right quantity? What kind of warranty support and/or repair services are available? How quick and responsive is the customer support after the sale? A prudent buyer needs to carefully evaluate the hidden cost of low prices and truly understand the tradeoff – for there certainly is a trade-off.
For more, check out how to plan for success or how to go international with your displays.