Just when you think you have everything under control, something happens. This week, the WHO announced that people should restrict unnecessary trips to Toronto Canada because of the outbreak of the SARS virus and publishers who sell to libraries are in a quandary since American Library Association (ALA) Annual conference is scheduled for June 21-24 in this city.

ALA simply says they are "… taking the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto very seriously", but that statement was made on April 23rd and nothing has been communicated since then.

What to do?

Most of us make decisions on where to exhibit based on total exhibit cost and attendance of customers and potential customers. The annual ALA Conference has historically been well-attended and traditionally, a good place to exhibit, not only because decision-makers attend, but also because of the excellent conference program where publishers can pick up emerging needs in the market. So how can you make a good decision on whether or not to exhibit this year?

If you agree with the city of Toronto and believe that your chances of getting SARS is minuscule, the question you need to ask yourself is "how many librarians will show up?" A client of mine commented yesterday "Does anyone really think this situation is going to improve from now until June?" In reality, if attendance falls dramatically this year, there is really no reason to exhibit since the aisles will be empty of customers and prospects.

Another consideration is whether or not you want to put your employees at risk by sending them to "man" the booth, against the WHO recommendation. Granted, this recommendation is only for the next 3 weeks when they will "re-evaluate" the situation again. This would bring you to May 14th. So one of your options is simply to wait until the next evaluation and then make your decision.

Here are some things you should do now, if you are considering whether or not to cancel your ALA exhibit this year:

Get the Facts
Call the exhibit manager at ALA and find out what they know. How many exhibitors have already cancelled? What about registrations? When is ALA going to meet to make a final decision about going forward? How will they let you know of their plans? Is there a final go/no go date?

Survey Your Customers
Contact 5-10 customers who you know were planning on attending and find out what they are doing. If 50% of them have decided not to go, it might tell you something about the potential drop in overall attendance.

Survey Other Exhibitors
Pull out your last copy of the ALA Annual Directory of Exhibitors and call some of the companies and talk with the VP of Sales & Marketing. Find out what they are planning to do and their reasons for making their decision.

Decide as a Group
Meet with your marketing/sales team and find out what they are thinking. Are they worried about going to Toronto? How would they feel if you required them to go? Can you replace some of the people with other people who are less concerned? Determine the best decision to be made for you, your employees and the company.

Marketing in uncertain times requires great flexibility. Creative companies find alternative ways of doing business when traditional means are not available. If you were looking forward to making more contacts in Canada, but decided not to exhibit in June, then sit down with your sales and marketing team and brainstorm other ways to accomplish the same thing this year. Using other marketing channels such as teleconferencing, direct mail, and space advertising might bolster the business you expected to get from exhibiting.

So remember, the sign of a good marketer is having the motto "If this doesn't work, I'll test something else"!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This article was written by Carol Ann Waugh, President of Xcellent Marketing, a marketing and new business development firm specializing in the educational and library market. Xcellent Marketing offers a variety of marketing services to help publishers increase their revenues and profits from identifying new markets, providing critiques of web sites and marketing communications such as direct mail, catalogs, advertisements, etc. as well as developing effective traditional as well as Internet-based marketing plans. Carol can be reached at (303) 388-5215 or at cwaugh@xcellentmarketing.com.