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It is not all about collecting a few items and putting them on display at the exhibition centre for five days and then reaping the rewards. Marketing gurus will tell you the products on display are just one dimension of the marketing strategies being put to use all in a bid to grow businesses.
It is also important for business to appreciate that the Trade Fair would leave them just the way they were unless they make the most of the opportunity through good market-ing and establishing rewarding networks that could sustain their business in the long term.
We commend all stakeholders who took part at this year’s Trade Fair and hope that their participation opened new doors for them. Also, for those whose business was a bit quiet, they should go back to their drawing boards and re-strategise for the next year’s fair or even explore other marketing strategies.
The five-day affair at the Trade Fair might not be enough to produce much in terms of tangible business hence the need for some serious leg work after such a fair so that follow-ups are made and contacts maintained, through constant calls.
This year’s theme for the ZITF was “Investing Locally, Reaping Globally” and it is our hope that it spoke to local firms on the importance of the local market. Businesses should establish themselves locally and make a name for themselves even in terms of quality on the domestic market for them to reap huge rewards on the international scene. International customers seek local endorsement of products before making a decision to buy them, or rather, taking a risk by introducing them to their own market. This is how important the local market is to industrialists whose vision is to grow and remain in business for a long time.
There is a tendency by some businesses to think that they will somehow land international contracts or clinch some export deals with products that would have been rejected locally. With the improvement in the local economy, what was good a few years ago due to limited incomes of the consumer may not be good enough next year and this calls for a radical shift in mindsets so that local firms emphasise quality. It is quite shocking that some of the firms at the Trade Fair failed to even invest some time into preparing their stands and hence lost out on potential business since their stands were not attractive.
The reasonably high number of exhibitors who came for the Trade Fair are testimony to the effectiveness of the fair and the cost effectiveness of the five-day exhibition.
Our challenge to local industry is that they should not be content with just being hosts but also go out to regional and international fairs and hunt for those business opportunities to complement their interactions with foreign businesses on the Internet. The future is online since the face to face interaction at an exhibition is further developed through the telephone and the Internet where a lot of trade information is exchanged everyday.
We challenge our businesses to embrace information and communication technologies that should act as a springboard into future business success while also urging the Trade Fair to tap into this growing area even through online fairs to link businesses across the globe.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu