Boot Dusseldorf 2019

[Powersalt]

Just a quick update . Having returned from the show after my first visit I thought some may be interested to learn what its like.
Dusseldorf was great for a night out, nice city with plenty of places to stay and enjoy good food and good company. So many hotels full of uk exhibition staff and show visitors.

Easy but a bit costly to get to in my case because I left the flight until 4 days before I was going but had a nice little propeller job Flybe plane out of city airport, which was so stress free as a small airport I don't know why I have not used it before.

The show ground is huge but for us a lot of the halls were of no interest so we homed in on about 5 halls. Plenty of space between stands, plenty of space whilst walking around and good places to eat either fast food or waitress service without being ripped off. It was snowing on our day so the outside stalls were a bit of a no no.

Sailing boat stands were ok to get around and walk on and off with ease but we found in the motor boat hall there was an insistence to provide the stands front desk with e mails and contact details prior to even talking boats, then they would try to find your area dealer to show you round. It was infuriating as it all took time and sometimes you can walk on a boat and within a few minutes know its not of interest but you cant when the salesman is trying to tell you how well its made when you are taping the headlining that jumps up and down or you are looking at small plastic clips trying to hold a large locker door closed . At one point on the Absolute stand which was of particular interest to me they said they could not locate the uk dealer so would I like to come back later!!! seriously???

The usual good stands of Sunseeker and Princess plus quite a nice show from Galeon Yachts who appear to be an up and coming manufacturer

Lots of companies I have not heard of before and new models to see and a general air of innovation in the designs so all in all a great 2 days out

 

[CLB]

Just a quick update . Having returned from the show after my first visit I thought some may be interested to learn what its like.
Dusseldorf was great for a night out, nice city with plenty of places to stay and enjoy good food and good company. So many hotels full of uk exhibition staff and show visitors.

Easy but a bit costly to get to in my case because I left the flight until 4 days before I was going but had a nice little propeller job Flybe plane out of city airport, which was so stress free as a small airport I don't know why I have not used it before.

The show ground is huge but for us a lot of the halls were of no interest so we homed in on about 5 halls. Plenty of space between stands, plenty of space whilst walking around and good places to eat either fast food or waitress service without being ripped off. It was snowing on our day so the outside stalls were a bit of a no no.

Sailing boat stands were ok to get around and walk on and off with ease but we found in the motor boat hall there was an insistence to provide the stands front desk with e mails and contact details prior to even talking boats, then they would try to find your area dealer to show you round. It was infuriating as it all took time and sometimes you can walk on a boat and within a few minutes know its not of interest but you cant when the salesman is trying to tell you how well its made when you are taping the headlining that jumps up and down or you are looking at small plastic clips trying to hold a large locker door closed . At one point on the Absolute stand which was of particular interest to me they said they could not locate the uk dealer so would I like to come back later!!! seriously???

The usual good stands of Sunseeker and Princess plus quite a nice show from Galeon Yachts who appear to be an up and coming manufacturer

Lots of companies I have not heard of before and new models to see and a general air of innovation in the designs so all in all a great 2 days out

I agree. I found the insistence of registering rather tiresome. I even had to register to get on the Jeanneau stand for gods sake! And people moan that at Southampton, the two or three big players employ these tactics. Other than that, and the halls full of stuff of no interest, it was a decent couple of days. Not convinced it's worth the time, effort and cost to visit every year, but worth seeing once, or every few years. I very much doubt I'll go next year.

 

[Switch]

In defence of those companies insistent on registering visitors to their stand. If you’re paying tens or possible hundreds of thousands of pounds to exhibit I think they’re entitled to know who is visiting their stand and where they are from. They are business’s and ROI is the name of the game. Getting new leads for their sales force to follow up after the show is one of the pre-requisites of any trade show, that goes for any business. You can bet that Fairline, Princess and Sunseeker analysed their London show stats to make the decision not to exhibit their further. I’m not saying stand footfall is the only measurable of course but they play a part in their overall post show analysis. Many larger businesses are run by accountants and statistics are vital I’m afraid.
That said, asking someone to come back because the relevant salesperson is not acceptable.

 

[CLB]

In defence of those companies insistent on registering visitors to their stand. If you’re paying tens or possible hundreds of thousands of pounds to exhibit I think they’re entitled to know who is visiting their stand and where they are from. They are business’s and ROI is the name of the game. Getting new leads for their sales force to follow up after the show is one of the pre-requisites of any trade show, that goes for any business. You can bet that Fairline, Princess and Sunseeker analysed their London show stats to make the decision not to exhibit their further. I’m not saying stand footfall is the only measurable of course but they play a part in their overall post show analysis. Many larger businesses are run by accountants and statistics are vital I’m afraid.
That said, asking someone to come back because the relevant salesperson is not acceptable.

I don't agree. Its a public show, rather than a trade show. The public don't have to sign in to enter a shop on the high street. I certainly gave some stands a miss cos I couldn't be bothered to sign in having seen the queue. I paid to look at boats and see these tactics as a barrier to that. If it was free entry, I might just be able to accept it. I can also accept that the likes of Sunseeker et al have to stop hoards of gawpers clambering for a look over their latest multi million pound yacht, and accept that entry to this sort of boat does need to be controlled, but to get on a Jeanneau?

 

[TonyR123]

am hoping to go there next year when hopefully the fairline squadron 64 is out, so can compare with (hopefully to be released) princess f65 (only have v65 and s65 currently so surely they bring out a flybridge), sunseeker manhatten 66 and anything else that may have arrived by then that I have not thought of.

absolute aren't that popular in the UK (could be wrong), but at least I know the dealer in Majorca!

 

[jrudge]

Agree. In my view they should do as other exhibitions do and give you a name badge ( ie your ticket). They just scan it and get all the data.

I didn't look at many boats for this very reason.

On many stands once you are on you can also access hospitality, and really they should just make that part for this they want to entertain.

 

[Switch]

I don't agree. Its a public show, rather than a trade show. The public don't have to sign in to enter a shop on the high street. I certainly gave some stands a miss cos I couldn't be bothered to sign in having seen the queue. I paid to look at boats and see these tactics as a barrier to that. If it was free entry, I might just be able to accept it. I can also accept that the likes of Sunseeker et al have to stop hoards of gawpers clambering for a look over their latest multi million pound yacht, and accept that entry to this sort of boat does need to be controlled, but to get on a Jeanneau?

Have you been to a car show recently? some manufacturers (not all) do the same thing. To the boat manufacturers its a trade show, just because its your hobby and you don't want to be inconvenienced dosen't change that. If you are that adverse to queing (and lets face face it most boat shows get rammed at times) you could have made appointments prior to the show to in order to beat the crowds. Most manufacturers run appointment schemes -these are the people they will really want to see rather than tyre kickers (I consider myself a tyre kicker by the way) so no offence meant.

 

[Bouba]

I think it works to the detriment of the manufacturer. Just the combined wealth of the small group of forumites who made it to the show must be close to a squillion quid. I still harbor a grudge against Galeon while the ladies on the Absolute stand are so nice I get a warm woolly feeling when I look at an Absolute. Mind you, that bloke from Princess did save my life....

 

[Portofino]

Have you been to a car show recently? some manufacturers (not all) do the same thing. To the boat manufacturers its a trade show, just because its your hobby and you don't want to be inconvenienced dosen't change that. If you are that adverse to queing (and lets face face it most boat shows get rammed at times) you could have made appointments prior to the show to in order to beat the crowds. Most manufacturers run appointment schemes -these are the people they will really want to see rather than tyre kickers (I consider myself a tyre kicker by the way) so no offence meant.

Yup that’s what happens if you are serious.
Also I’ve found theFerretti group tend to keep your data if you agree to be on one of there brands ( about 6 diverse brands ) mailing lists .
I don,t know if that happeneds forour big three left ?
This means you just mention your name and the girl finds you on the laptop etc .

Ferretti via an Italian Roma dealer I made contact for parts , placed me on a data base whereby I get an annual invite to a Cannes pre show in Monaco the WE before Cannes .
But and it’s a very big but it’s a free for all test drive of the range .
Smaller stuff one to one ,larger stuff say a Pershing 108 in small groups of 4/5 couples , everybody get a turn @ the helm .
Full hostpitality all day based in the Yacht club .

They usually put a music show at night Elton John and last year Simon le Bon aka Duran Duran , - customers

Very clever .
1- very focused target audience of existing owners at the preview to blow your hospitality budget .
2- actual wet show with test drives .
3 - frees up time @ Cannes so the staff can deal with new prospects and conquest sales , rarther than suck up to existing owners on a day out visiting due to loyalty.

For example I don,t bother them on the Itama stand @ Cannes , which suits me as I can use my time more productivity.

Ferrari @ car shows use the same data base method .You mention your name say at the Geneva show and they know what cars you have had , current chassis No and which dealer services them .
Nothing to fill in , “ please come this way Mr [ insert name ] , just like Ferretti @ Cannes .

There’s on or two obscure IT yachts ( sail boats ) I have previously reg,d and crucially not deleted the e- newsletters , who also still have my data and I don,t need to fill anything in , just ask the girl to look me up .

 

[scubaman]

Had flights booked for tomorrow morning to fly over for the weekend with a mate, but doctor said no. Slowly recovering from Influenza A but not quite 5/5 yet, so better to stay on the couch than risk a nasty sequela. Big disappointment all the same...

 

[Switch]

Had flights booked for tomorrow morning to fly over for the weekend with a mate, but doctor said no. Slowly recovering from Influenza A but not quite 5/5 yet, so better to stay on the couch than risk a nasty sequela. Big disappointment all the same...

What a shame, hope you feel better soon. Bummer!!

 

[scubaman]

What a shame, hope you feel better soon. Bummer!!

Cheers, S :encouragement:

 

[Piers]

Went there in 2003. Came back with a Fleming 55....

 

[rafiki_]

Went there in 2003. Came back with a Fleming 55....

Fair old bit of hand luggage Piers?

 

[Piers]

Fair old bit of hand luggage Piers?

Created a stir at check in when I tried to take it as hand luggage....

 

[rafiki_]

Created a stir at check in when I tried to take it as hand luggage....

:encouragement:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

In defence of those companies insistent on registering visitors to their stand. If you’re paying tens or possible hundreds of thousands of pounds to exhibit I think they’re entitled to know who is visiting their stand and where they are from. .

I disagree and I say this as an exhibitor at more tedious exhibitions than I can remember. Exhibiting your products at such shows should serve 3 purposes. First and most obviously purpose no1 is to have pre-arranged visits from potential buyers and hopefully turn those into sales. Purpose no2 is to meet potential buyers who have not made pre-arranged appointments to visit your stand but could be turned into potential sales and purpose no3 is to allow people to inspect your products who are not immediate potential buyers but could be in the future. The trouble with the gatekeeper system is that it really only suits purpose no1, could seriously piss off people who fall under purpose no2 and does not meet purpose no3 in any way

If all exhibitors do at exhibitions is to operate a gatekeeper system in order just to meet pre-arranged hot prospects and sign orders on the stand just for publicity, then what is the point of spending all that money to exhibit your products? You might as well take those few people to another form of hospitality which would cost you a whole lot less than an exhibition. I always admired the way that Sunseeker managed their stand at LIBS in stark contrast to others. They allowed everybody on to their stand and everybody on to their boats and they seemed to understand that exhibitions are as much about creating future customers as it is about serving existing ones

So I did enjoy BOOT this year but I didnt go onto a number of stands because I just could not be arsed to go through the gatekeeper system every time which means I didnt get to see boats that I might want to buy in the future and the exhibitor did not get to meet me and the likelihood of me buying one of their boats in the future is lower as a result

 

[BartW]

imo,
all this "data collecting " is a result of modern management techniques, (marketing & sales)
but implemented up to a unpleasant level,

new managers pushing people to collect as much data as possible,
but ignoring or not taking in to account the consequences, nor the negative impact in real live situations,

are you also fed-up with the number of "customer satisfaction survey's" you get now a day's ?
from the place where you book your flight tickets,
from your car rent booking,
from your hotel booking
from your restaurant booking,
from your online order forxx
etc etc,

last week I dropped my e-mail adress on the feretti website to get a brochure from one of their yachts,
(the brochure was crap, just the same info / flashy pictures as on their website)
and since then I've got 4 ! phoncalls from sales people
I was just curious about some techical specs ...
which they send me in a mail after asking

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

are you also fed-up with the number of "customer satisfaction survey's" you get now a day's ?

Yes and I ignore them all except when I want to be rude about them

 

[CLB]

Yes and I ignore them all except when I want to be rude about them

That is surely the biggest problem with these. Most people will only bother when they have something to complain about, ergo, they probably make the company appear to be doing worse than they are.