As I slowly got caught up from Cygnus Aviation Expo this year, I took a minute to really take a look back at the show overall. The natural thought process at a show is to gauge its success by how many people attended the event. But is that really the only criteria we should be looking at?
This year I gauged my success by the amount of contacts that I made — some new, some current and some old. I think that coming to a trade show or a networking event isn’t just about gaining new contacts or sales leads, but about reconnecting with our current clients and colleagues within the industry.
In conversations with exhibitors and attendees on the show floor, many say that their favorite aspect of the show every year is to have the ability to sit and converse with each other in one location. A trade show brings the ability to have meaningful conversations with individuals in the industry.
Many say that what it all comes down to is the ability to network with people in the ground support industry — making relationships, building relationships, and keeping relationships.
So I would like to ask some questions to exhibitors. How much would it cost you to see everyone on an individual basis that you were able to see this year at Cygnus Aviation Expo? How valuable is it to have all of them in one location? Did you find value in those meetings? I think these are valid questions.
Having the show every year is really a way to celebrate the industry and have one common place where people can meet and come together as a community (whether it is networking at the ITW Golf Invitational, celebrating the winners of the Ground Support Leaders of the Year awards, attending a session to learn more about a specific topic, or even hoping that your name is drawn as the winner of an F-150). Overall, I would give the show two thumbs-up and look forward to seeing everyone in Vegas next year.
