Standing Back Up - Part 1

In January 2020, everyone was talking about how we would handle full employment across the United States economy.  Labor roles were tight and finding qualified people was becoming increasingly difficult.  The trade show industry felt this as much as anyone.  At Momentum, we were as solid as we had ever been, but growth was driving us to consider these issues on a daily basis.

I’ve lived through three significant downturns in the US economy:  the 1987 Stock Market Crash, the 1990’s Dotcom Bubble, and the Housing Crisis in 2008.  These events combined have nothing on the 2020 pandemic, now bleeding into 2021.  Standing back up is going to be our challenge.  There will be numerous trials facing our industry that will span across so many areas.  Each company will have to work on corporate monetary policies, medical approaches, structural changes, employee compensations, travel protocols, etc.  The list is virtually endless.  I feel we’ll return to the show floor as a collective group of almost start-ups.  Returning to “normal” will look like nothing we remember. 

History can be our friend as we use the tools that pulled us out of previous economic downturns to move us forward out of this one.  Unlike the 1990’s Dotcom Bubble, or the 2008 Housing Crisis, no one did anything wrong to cause our industry to struggle with the pandemic.  The way we’ll reassure our customers is going to be a mix of what we’ve done in the past to prepare for this new chapter, and how we adapt to meet the demands they bring to us.

In this new year of 2021, the customer will once again need to become the center of our focus.  Trust will return as a central theme of our business relationships.  As I speak to the collective group of almost start-ups, I’ve tried not to shine too much light on the “gorilla in the room.”  Although the pandemic is truly the villain in this story, building partnerships has always been the secret sauce in this industry, and I’d argue all industries.  Volume sometimes brings on complacency with regards to defining what really makes our businesses tick.  We’ve had a lot of time to reflect on what needs to be done to stand up again.

The majority of us are going to need to lean on relationships with partners in ways we’ve never done before out of necessity.  Carefully choosing the right business relationships starts with the decision being made within your own companies.  We have to all learn to be better partners.  The interdependency of the companies that support the trade show industry differs from so many other industries impacted by the pandemic.  The need to stand up together is absolutely essential.  

To read the complete Blog, Standing Back Up, click here.

In my previous Blog post, Time to Market, I spoke on the challenges we face moving forward and the need to develop strategic partnerships.

Rick Bellerjeau is the General Manager at Momentum Management and works closely with all our clients to strengthen our partnership relationships.  rbellerjeau@momentummgt.com