Isn’t Account Management better when your contract is INCLUSIVE?
It often surprises me the exhaustive list of add-on expenses that exhibitors pile onto their custom rental exhibit designs. It can be somewhat frustrating for trade show coordinators to sift through three or four bids to figure out how the TOTAL costs match up. More importantly, an account manager is more valuable when you can stop living in fear of up-charges. Regardless, I always know how my competition is pricing their design when I get a phone call like the following:
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Jane: So tell me, I have your price, and you’ve broken down what the reusable graphics portion costs, and we’ve talked about the service estimates - I think I understand how your not-to-exceed estimates hash out.
What are my additional costs - project management fees, graphic layout charges, whatever other fees you have that I should expect - how much are those additional costs likely to run?
Dick: Oh… The “additional” costs. How much does the total on our contract say? That’s how much we’re asking to charge you.
Jane: Are you sure?
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I’ve had that conversation a number of times, and it’s always a reassuring conversation to have. Reassuring for me - because it’s a clear advantage that Catalyst holds above some of their competitors - and reassuring for trade show coordinators. Coordinators know that they can work closely with their account manager, and that the account manager is ultimately responsible for making sure they’re a happy exhibitor - it’s customer service, not a source of billing revenue or fee incurring.
A fee oriented exhibit house will find very clever ways to nickle and dime dollar you. A company that includes everything in one price wants you to be happy, and they want to get things right the first time. Every problem their account manager solves costs them money, and thus their internal focus is on quality workmanship, clear lines of communication, and engineering things that will work as planned.
Which would you prefer? The ole’ “Five & Dollar” store, or the “One-Stop-Shopping Maximized-Marketing-Impact Emporium?”