I wanted to get some feedback from anyone who has exhibited at previous HostCons. Did you guys feel it was an effective business development tool? Did you go mainly for branding purposes (having a presence), or were you there to actually conduct transactions? Any comments or suggestions on exhibiting at HostCon would be appreciated. Thanks.

We had a lot of foot traffic at our booth, which in turn generated a lot of leads. Some of the leads turned into customers, but with our service offering we really did not have much competition. The price is pretty fair for the number of people that attend (I think just north of 1000).

Would we go again? Ahh, still on the fence.

A lot of business has been conducted on the HostingCon floors and if there's still questions or hesitations whilst at HC - business cards and contact details are always being exchanged and it's not really a good option for an average joe company with nothing different or unique to bring to the floor.

I found it helps getting to know people in the industry, sales not so hot but its expected since everyone attending is in the same hosting category of business.

I wanted to get some feedback from anyone who has exhibited at previous HostCons. Did you guys feel it was an effective business development tool? Did you go mainly for branding purposes (having a presence), or were you there to actually conduct transactions? Any comments or suggestions on exhibiting at HostCon would be appreciated. Thanks.

Where did this exhibition took place? I want to participate.

Where did this exhibition took place? I want to participate.

This years will be in san diego

what is the website so I can find out, wheres next after that?

what is the website so I can find out, wheres next after that?
Funnily enough, http://hostingcon.com :)

We had a lot of foot traffic at our booth, which in turn generated a lot of leads. Some of the leads turned into customers, but with our service offering we really did not have much competition. The price is pretty fair for the number of people that attend (I think just north of 1000).

Would we go again? Ahh, still on the fence.

Did you think it was worth it though? I'm sure a lot more people know your company now?

I'd say the companies that most benefit are of two types:

1. A company offering a product/service that people may not be aware of. For example, at one HostingCon I attended, I ran into a company offering a more efficient way of doing a certain type of online database backup, and I wasn't aware such a technology existed.

2. A company who is also presenting at the conference. Note that presenters can't do sales pitches (and I agree with this policy), but they can give informational talks on new techniques and technologies. One company had their CTO giving a very good talk about both the financial and technical aspects of a relatively new (at the time) type of hosting solution, and we ended up using them because it was clear from the CTO's talk that they were competent and understood the issues and technology.

If you're just offering the same thing as everyone else, and have no way to show your company's special competencies, then I'd say it's not worth it.

I suppose you could go this year just as an attendee, and then cruise the exhibit area to see if you see if it's worthwhile for future years.

As I mentioned in another thread, I've been to HostingCon quite a bit as an exhibitor (up until last year, I oversaw cPanel's trade show presence and events). The amount of value that you get out of exhibiting really depends on where you're at in the industry. In the case of my previous employer, there was already a large degree of brand recognition within the industry. That said, there wasn't a lot of action with regards to gaining new customers at HostingCon. The important aspect of it though is the face to face interactions that can't be duplicated on-line.

It's important to meet potential customers. It is extremely important to meet your existing customers. Letting your customers know that you're there, and real and not some faceless corporation is more valuable than just about anything. Getting to meet the people that pay you and ultimately put food on your table is probably the best thing you can do as it creates a bond between you as a service provider and the customer.

Is it worth it? The answer depends on what you wish to gain by attending :-)

It will also be my first time attending the event and am disappointed the sponsorship opportunities have already sold out. I assume it has a similar crowd to WHD and Parallels.

The network opportunities are really good for me developing my hosting offering, learning the types of services I should have, and what I need to do to stay ahead of the game. Lots of competitive analysis. =)

Eric provided a pretty solid summary. It is important not to expect a direct ROI from exhibiting. You might see ROI if you're merely attending, though.