International industry tradeshow season is now open. How well have you prepared to showcase your business and network with culturally diverse potential business partners? We've prepared 14 tips to help you culturally prepare, so you get the most out of them and reap future dividends for your business.

1. 
Cultural Consulting
Report
InterMondo Cultural Consulting
April 2018
Author: Anna Ridgway, Director
InterMondo
International
Trade Shows
Web, Phone & Email
Email: anna@intermondo.com.au
Web: https://intermondo.com.au/
Phone: +61 (0)435 038 152
Social
f: facebook.com/intermondoconsulting
l: linkedin.com/company/intermondo-cultural-consulting
t: twitter.com/AnnaERidgway
14 Tips to help
you prepare
for the ultimate
cross-cultural
business event
InterMondo

2. -
When it comes to global trade,
industry trade expos are a powerful
opportunity to ‘cold call’ potential
business partners, check out the
latest technologies and find what
your industry peers are doing. Under
one roof, in just a couple of days,
you meet a huge array of culturally
diverse visitors. Conversations
can lead to valuable business
partnerships, especially if you aim to
expand your business internationally.
International tradeshows are
significant cross-cultural events.
Unfortunately, many businesses
don't understand what this means
in practical terms when preparing
for tradeshows as exhibitors or
visitors. As a result, they are poorly
prepared and the experience may fail
expectations.
It’s international tradeshow season! Your company has registered to
exhibit and now you're busy preparing for your first or next tradeshow.
But how well have you prepared for showcasing your business and
networking with culturally diverse potential business partners?
“Failure to engage with people is a huge
issue at international tradeshows.
Don’t be one of those exhibitors who don't
interact with visitors.
Industry expos require you to engage”
Introduction

Do your background research on
the country and city where you’re
exhibiting.1.
Before your company commits to participating in a tradeshow, you should already
have done cultural research on the country and city where you're exhibiting, as part of
your broader market research. These are fundamentals of understanding your target
market and helps you prepare for professional dialogue and social interaction in any
activity relating to your target market. You also need to be very clear about why you are
participating and what you expect to get out of it over time.
Are you trying to sell a product to a brand new market and come away with sales on day
one? Or are you exhibiting as part of a long-term strategy to break into a new market or
deepen your engagement with that market? If it's the latter, you will be going back again
and again, deepening your presence in the country.
Your goals and those of your executive leadership should be aligned, manged and
reviewed over time. Even if you're a global business and long-term tradeshow exhibitor,
you should continue to review what you expect to get out of exhibiting.
If you haven't done this background
research and reviewing, or if you
have expectations of quick sales, it's
an early signal that your business is
strategically unprepared. You may
need to rethink your commitment to
the tradeshow. Instead of exhibiting,
it may be better value to change your
focus and register as participants, for
industry intelligence, cross-cultural
communication experience and
business networking. Starting with
an international event in your own
country/city, rather than overseas,
can also be better value.
Instead of exhibiting, it may be better value to change your
focus and register at an industry tradeshow as a visitor, for
industry intelligence, business networking and important
cross-cultural communication experience.
03©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows02 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows

3. A big bowl of sweets on your table is a friendly enticement to visitors. Any extra
giveaways you include should be the daily-use kind that remind visitors of your
business.
But generally, giveaways are more for consumer-focused expos, rather than industry
expos. Having giveaways also depends on country cost and cultural preferences.
‘Freebies’ may be cheaper for a Chinese or Taiwanese business budget
than an Australian budget.
In South Korea and Japan, the emphasis is greater on providing information.
South East Asia-based businesses may focus on either or both. Tailor your giveaways
to these factors and your budget. Remember: visitors are there to find out what you
have to offer, so don’t over-focus on sweets and other giveaways while neglecting the
fundamentals.
Get the ‘giveaways’ right and don’t
neglect the important planning.
2.
Differentiate your booth from other
booths.
3.
You may experience the ‘ghetto effect’ of being surrounded by businesses with the
same or similar products if you’re sponsored by your government and part of a country
‘pavilion’, or if the expo is segmented by industry.
When you register to exhibit, try to secure a booth surrounded by businesses unlike
yours. Use your company’s ‘point of difference’ as a basis to make your booth stand out.
When exhibiting offshore, make small
cultural adjustments to your booth
presentation.4.
This demonstrates that you understand, are interested in and can adapt to your target
market. It can be as basic as showing your country flag and the flag of the host country,
and translating your brochures (see Tip #12).
Learn and use some phrases from the language of the host country, to generate good will
and conversations.
Also observe the booths of other overseas exhibitors who are attracting lots of visitors.
You might pick up ideas about how you can adjust the way you communicate in different
cultural environments.
With the Australian flag and Australian safety standards logos displayed prominently on their posters, this company is
flagging that it's engaged with its target market. The exhibitor is doubly disengaged with visitors, looking at his mobile
phone and semi 'barricaded' behind a display counter. But as this photo was taken, the company manager was visiting
other exhibits and networking with visitors!
05©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows04 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows

4. Adapt your marketing to the cultures
of your visitors’/hosting country.5.
Use your valuable expo time to ENGAGE
with people.
6. This fabulous scale model, displayed at the Melbourne All Energy Expo, showcases a 'typical' battery-powered
community in China, rather than a vision of how it might translate to an Australian context - from domestic buildings
to a mini nuclear powers station downtown (Australia has no nuclear power operations).
It doesn't say much about the company's understanding of the Australian market. There is also little evidence of
exhibitors engaging with visitors or information to take away.
Things that exhibitors give out to people are very different around the world. For
instance, in Japan or any countries where English is a second or third language, have
your brochures translated into Japanese so people can go away and think about them,
then email you later. In Singapore, more pictures and simplified English works well.
Face-to-face time is essential for building business relationships – especially across
cultures, where trust takes longer to develop. This is where expos provide amazing
value - where you get to see the latest technologies, see what industry peers and leaders
internationally are doing and meet potential international partners face to face in one
location.
Sadly, many exhibitors waste these opportunities. You can see them on their mobile
phones, talking amongst themselves, avoiding eye contact, eating at their booth,
displaying awkward body language with visitors. There could be a number of reasons.
Self-promotion may be culturally offensive to them, so they might be uncomfortable
with the promotional aspect of tradeshow networking. They may be way out of their
comfort zone. 'Cold call' conversation at an industry expo may go against their cultural
habits of building business relations. Some may be secretly anxious about losing face
talking to strangers in their second/third language.
But this reflects badly on their business. Don’t be one of them. Industry expos require
you to engage.
Allow for ‘non-business’ dialogue with
people.
7.
You are there to do business and to gain exposure for your business.
But a friendly conversation can also lead to a business partnership. Doing your
cultural homework and spending a little time in the country will give you plenty to
chat about (See Tip #1).
07©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows06 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | International Trade Shows

5. Take time before/after the expo to
absorb the local culture and meet
contacts socially.8.
This is an important time to familiarise yourself with the cultural environment of your
target market. You’re much more likely to forge relationships with local businesses if
you invest some of your time doing this than if you have a ‘fly in-fly out’ mentality.
Dos and Don'ts guide from the 2017 Waste Expo Australia. This guidance was buried in the middle of the handbook
and probably overlooked by most exhibitors. Many tradeshow handbooks have generic pointers like these but they
don't aid understanding of why certain cultural behaviours are acceptable ('be enthusiastic about your product) or
unacceptable ( don't 'bundle together'). Understanding is the first step towards adjusting cultural behaviours in an
international industry tradeshow setting.
Don’t judge people too quickly by
how they communicate with you.9.
What’s annoying in your culture could be standard business communication
elsewhere. Your cultural assumptions could lose you a potential business
partnership!
Perhaps you feel confronted by someone’s talking style or body language. You
might interpret someone’s lack of small talk as a lack of interest. Or maybe you
think their booth setup sends a negative message about the company. Do some
research on communication styles across cultures and ask people with cultural
insight. This will pay you dividends later on.
Use Expo business matching
features to book face-to-face time
with people.10.
This value-add is a popular approach in regions like the Asia Pacific where people
may not feel comfortable about having a conversation at the booth.
In Australia, on the other hand, talking at the booth is accepted and expected
cultural practice.
If you choose to do business matching, make sure you set aside some time to work
through the directory. It’s worth the effort!
9©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 20188 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 2018

6. People have all kinds of reasons for visiting industry expos, but there are definite cultural
trends. For instance, visitors to a Malaysia expo may generally be more interested in
finding out trends in technology.
Singapore, a technologically advanced ‘smart city’, may have a greater focus on what
industry peers are doing and what you can get out of it. Be prepared for different kinds
of dialogue.
Global companies may experience challenges such as complacency fatigue.
They can also make the same mistakes as tradeshow newcomers: not engaging
with visitors (including up-and-coming rivals), barricading behind props and
counters and making it difficult for visitors to access information (the pamphlets
are behind the counter and behind the exhibitor).
Some booths at industry expos are covered with information. These tend to be from
cultures where people are more comfortable with information-rich, dense material.
People also take seriously details about your purchasing power and your rank in
the organisation. Booths with basic information in one language indicate a cultural
expectation that you talk with the exhibitors then investigate their company website
afterwards.
For an international expo, a good approach is to give people pointers: tips in several
languages, 1 to 2-page pamphlets, easy information downloads and your banner at
the back of your booth with big, bold letters. That covers various cultural preferences
and helps build people’s comfort and trust around engaging with your business –
whether they want to talk at the booth or not.
If you want to exhibit in a country where divisions of hierarchy are deeply rooted in
cultural attitudes and behaviours in business and general social practice, having a
government behind you is a powerful endorsement.
At the same time, government funding or sponsorship can be limiting for businesses
(see Tip #3). Government sponsorship varies across countries. Singapore expos
tend to be fully government sponsored. Expos in Malaysia and Japan allow for
independent registration. Australian government sponsorship in European, USA and
Singapore expos has a good reputation, so if you’re funded to exhibit by an Australian
government, that reflects well on your business.
Be prepared for different reasons
people visit expos, and tailor your
information and conversations to these.11. Tailor your information so it’s
culturally accessible to visitors.12.
Weigh up the pros and cons of
government sponsorship.13.
11©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 201810 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 2018

7. Don’t follow common bad practice of adding people to your database, sending the
monthly newsletter and otherwise neglecting your leads. This is poor strategic planning
and relationship management.
After the expo, follow up with a formal email, adjusting your style for cultural differences.
Let them know you are willing to answer questions. Follow this up over time using a
structured relationship management strategy. There are many guides on how to turn
passive leads into active leads.
Follow up.
14.
Did this post raise questions for you about strategies that would help you prepare
and communicate more effectively at international tradeshows, if you are an
Australian business or seeking to build partnerships with Australian businesses?
Send your questions to Anna Ridgway, Director InterMondo Cultural Consulting:
We are a boutique business helping organisations improve how they communicate
and manage their business relationships when operating across cultures and with
culturally diverse teams.

Web, Phone & Email
Email: anna@intermondo.com.au
Web: https://intermondo.com.au/
Phone: +61 (0)435 038 152
Social
f: facebook.com/intermondoconsulting
l: linkedin.com/company/intermondo-cultural-consulting
t: twitter.com/AnnaERidgway
About InterMondo:
What tips or take-outs can you share from your experiences exhibiting at
international tradeshows and expos? We’d love to hear from you!
A special 'thank you' to James Mack from M2M One for sharing his international
tradeshow insights. James is an Internet of Things specialist with extensive
tradeshow exhibiting experience across the APAC region.
Conclusion
13©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 201812 ©InterMondo Cultural Consulting | Unaware & Unprepared - Report 2018

8. Thank you.
Cultural Consulting
InterMondo