You work for a retail or hospitality group and have been tasked with finding a software solution. We’ll go straight to the point. Unless you want to pay 40% more on software licensing fees for the worst of the lot, avoid tradeshow software like the plague and try before you buy. Here is why.
What is tradeshow software?
On time, in full, at every site
You have seen it in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas and wherever retail tradeshows are held. Tradeshow software is software you see at retail and hospitality tradeshows. It’s hard to miss. Smiley people are on the booth, and they all wear the same branded tee-shirt. They give away pens too!
Unfortunately, you can’t really see this software, or touch it. You go to the vendor’s website and don’t see pricing either. Sure, there is a pricing page, but it says, “Contact us”. At this point, you still don’t know what it does or how much it costs but you do have a pen.
You can’t use this software and can’t vet it until you contact the vendor. What it lacks in substance and details, tradeshow software makes up in promises. This software is the single best thing since sliced bread, ROI are 4,000% and it will change life as you know it. Sounds familiar?
The Experts' choice
Why do some software vendors sell almost exclusively at tradeshows?
Some software companies haven’t in fact invested in “productizing” their offering. They have a codebase, sure, but to make that codebase work for you, they need to perform “integration” which means lengthy and costly consulting hours. Why can Salesforce.com and Google Apps offer web-configurable products and yet some software vendors insist on billing for consulting work to do the same?
Hiding details is also an effective way of hiding quirks and shortcomings. Perhaps it’s hard to configure, use, or severely limited. After all, making promises and delivering value statements is a lot safer than incurring the scrutiny of users trying and vetting your product, in the field.
Another reason some vendors do it is because, frankly, fooling buyers can get the sale. This is how it works. Pick a trade show and purchase a big booth. Hand out goodies. Meet tons of well-intentioned people and make a lot of promises. Don’t show much. Next thing you know, you’re selling software to well intentioned retail and hospitality pros who never looked elsewhere.
avoid tradeshow software like the plague
Judging a vendor by the size of its booth at a retail trade show is perhaps the worst “metric” you can use. Here is why.
While there is nothing wrong with trade shows per se, a trade show is hardly indicative of what a technology vendor, particularly a software vendor, is capable of. Bits and bytes and “tradeshow booth” go together like ketchup and peanut butter.
If your technology vendor can’t demonstrate they are nimble and quick-to-market, skip them.
If you can’t see and try a product in a matter of hours, move on.
If integration costs real money, it means the offering isn’t productized; keep looking.
If your technology vendor could do these things any other way, they would.
Buying from the tradeshow-ware vendor could mean you are buying the worst of the software lot, buyer beware.
Tradeshow software is almost always materially more expensive too. It costs a lot of money to exhibit at a tradeshow, vendors who do this must charge more. Want to save 40% on your software licensing costs? Skip tradeshow software.
What to do instead
When buying software for your retail and hospitality business, talk to your peers and do some unbiased research with your favorite search engine. You will find products like Bindy, a best of breed software for retail communication and operations. Start a free trial and move your business forward strategically and cost effectively.
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Couldn’t agree with you more about the value of being able to try a product before you buy. The unfortunate reality of a lot of retail software vendors is that at the end of the day, they’re a salesperson and not necessarily an experienced retailer. That’s why I have a lot of respect for software providers […] they offer a free demo alongside their software experts so that you have the opportunity to try the software before committing.