Vendors like face time with clients

When it comes to meeting with provider customers, Medtrade Spring delivers quality, not quantity, vendors say. With its smaller scale and compressed time frame, the show offers exhibitors the chance to spend valuable face time with their clients that they don't ordinarily get at the massive fall event.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of exhibiting at Medtrade Spring for Carson, Calif.-based Nova Ortho-Med and owner Sue Chen says she liked its relaxed environment right from the beginning.

“I drove up from Los Angeles with one other person to Future Show, which it was called then,” she recalled. “My booth consisted of a 10 x 10 space with a dot matrix banner. Now we've got a 20 x 20 space and have a dozen people on the floor.”

After two decades, Chen says what keeps her coming back is the access to customers.

“The most important part of our business has been connecting with customers,” she said. “Everyone says it, but it's a reality. They are more than just partners—they are our friends.”

The show's atmosphere is “relaxed, yet very decisive,” Chen said. “Four days of Medtrade gives people time to stew about things. But at one-and-a-half days, Medtrade Spring has a focus on prioritizing time and settling on the optimistic part of the picture.”

Ball Ground, Ga.-based Chart MVE BioMedical also exhibits at Medtrade Spring to get that personal connection with customers, says Taylor Erwin, trade show coordinator.

“We believe that as a manufacturer we should be a resource and ally to our customers,” Erwin said. “Meeting face-to-face is a must as we strive to know our customers and understand their hurdles.”

Chart has been addressing its customers' challenges in myriad ways, Erwin said, such as expanded financing options, HCPCS pricing tools, product expansion, “and a number of other valuable resources that empower providers to make the right decision for their business.”