• Login
    • Join
  • Subscribe Free
    • Magazine
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Exclusives
    • Labels & Packaging
    • Markets
    • Technology
    • Equipment
    • Supplies
    • Buyers' Guide
    • Events
    • Jobs
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Exclusives
  • Labels & Packaging
  • Markets
  • Technology
  • Equipment
  • Supplies
  • Buyers' Guide
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Current / Back Issues
    Features
    Editorial
    Columns
    Digital Edition
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    Top Features
    Dscoop Post-Show Coverage

    Slitter-Rewinders

    Craft Beer Labels

    Pharmaceutical Labels

    Luminer Converting Group: Narrow Web Profile
    Breaking News
    Converter News
    European Label News
    Industry News
    Industry People
    M&A News
    New Products
    Expert's Opinion
    Live From Shows
    Top News
    Specialty announces move to new facility

    Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw

    Nazdar celebrates 100th anniversary with refreshed brand identity

    Kingfisher Labels adds 10th Edale press

    Dantex Group receives accreditation for Pico digital presses
    Blog
    Video Bites
    Beauty & Personal Care Labels
    Beer Labels
    Beverage Labels
    Flexible Packaging
    Folding Carton
    Food Labels
    Glue-Applied
    In-Mold
    Industrial Labels
    Medical Labels
    Pharmaceutical Labels
    Pressure Sensitive
    Prime Labels
    Promotional Labels
    Security Labels
    Shrink
    Smart Labels
    Specialty Labels
    Spirits Labels
    Wine Labels

    World’s first tequila in a cardboard bottle

    In-Mold Decorating Association announces 2022 IMDA Awards Competition

    Five approaches for more sustainable beauty packaging

    Essentra Packaging invests in Landa Nanographic press

    In 2040 a fifth of all food packaging could still be landfilled or incinerated
    Africa
    Asia
    Australia
    China
    Europe
    India
    Latin America
    Middle East
    North America

    Specialty announces move to new facility

    Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw

    Kingfisher Labels adds 10th Edale press

    Dantex Group receives accreditation for Pico digital presses

    Heidelberg USA launches new Print Media Performance & Training Center
    Flexography
    Digital Printing
    Prepress
    Finishing
    Sustainability

    Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw

    Kingfisher Labels adds 10th Edale press

    Dantex Group receives accreditation for Pico digital presses

    World’s first tequila in a cardboard bottle

    EyeC unveils revamped website
    Digital Printers & Presses
    Flexo Presses
    Label Converting Equipment
    Label Finishing Equipment
    Prepress Equipment

    Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw

    Kingfisher Labels adds 10th Edale press

    Dantex Group receives accreditation for Pico digital presses

    EyeC unveils revamped website

    Essentra Packaging invests in Landa Nanographic press
    Dies And Tooling
    Flexo Supplies
    Ink & Coatings
    Prepress Supplies
    Pressrooom Supplies
    Substrates

    Nazdar celebrates 100th anniversary with refreshed brand identity

    Avery Dennison announces Global Supplier Award winners

    In 2040 a fifth of all food packaging could still be landfilled or incinerated

    Nazdar to manufacture VFP electronic ink for US Market

    Asda implements latest ColorCert ScoreCard Server
    All Companies
    Categories
    Company Profiles
    Label Converters
    Trade Associations
    Add New Company
    International Buyers Guide Companies
    Delta ModTech

    HP, Inc.

    Epson America, Inc.

    NarrowWebExchange.com, LLC

    KTI
    Industry Events
    Webinars
    Live from Show Events
    • Magazine
      • Current & Past Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Buyers' Guide
      • All Companies
      • Categories
      • Company Profiles
      • Label Converters
      • Trade Associations
      • Add Your Company
    • Labels & Packaging
      • Beauty & Personal Care Labels
      • Beer Labels
      • Beverage Labels
      • Flexible Packaging
      • Folding Carton
      • Food Labels
      • Glue-Applied
      • In-Mold
      • Industrial Labels
      • Medical Labels
      • Pharmaceuticals Labels
      • Pressure Sensitive
      • Prime Labels
      • Promotional Labels
      • Security Labels
      • Shrink
      • Smart Labels
      • Speciality Labels
      • Spirits Labels
      • Wine Tables
    • Markets
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • China
      • Europe
      • India
      • Latin America
      • Middle East
      • North America
    • Equipment
      • Digital Printers & Presses
      • Flexo Presses
      • Label Converting Equipment
      • Label Fishing Equipment
    • Supplies
      • Dies And Tooling
      • Flexo Supplies
      • Ink & Coatings
      • Prepress Supplies
      • Substrates
      • Pressrooom Supplies
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Experts Opinions
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Blog
    • Whitepapers
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live from Show Events
      • Webinars
    • Jobs
    • Resources
      • Supplier Gallery
      • Literature Showcase
      • Homepage Showcase
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Columns

    On the road again?

    ...

    Steve Katz09.10.21
    Developing strong relationships is an important part of doing business. People are more inclined to become and remain customers once a certain degree of familiarity and congeniality is reached between the two parties.

    Bonding with customers and suppliers is something that should be a priority as it’s a key component for closing deals. Price isn’t everything. But when pricing is the same or similar, and two companies are competing for one account with similar products and capabilities, it’s a no-brainer for the buyer to go with the salesperson who is also considered a friend.

    Successful sales professionals of course know all of this. It should come as no surprise to learn that in a recent Forbes Insights survey of more than 750 business professionals, eight out of 10 said they preferred face-to-face meetings over technology-enabled virtual meetings. Respondents said, “Face-to-face meetings build stronger, more meaningful business relationships while allowing better social opportunities to bond with clients and coworkers. It is also easier to read body language and facial expressions and interpret nonverbal communication signals.”

    In the label industry, the importance of in-person gatherings transcends handshakes and small talk. Converters need to see and feel equipment and materials before making crucial investment decisions. They need to compare and contrast the machinery that will drive their business into the future. In the end, though, the person demonstrating the machine or describing the substrate will indeed be a factor in a deal being closed.

    Business, like life, is all about human connection.

    The Covid-19 pandemic put a real wrinkle in the ability to establish, maintain and grow these human connections. The pause button was hit – hard, and it’s still hit for some – but for many, the time has come, as the legendary Willie Nelson sings, to “get on the road again.”

    “Return to a World Transformed”
    Before you start packing your bags and ransacking the office looking for your passport, business cards, and the creature comforts you schlep through airports and hotels, let’s stop for a moment and assess the situation. Things are not magically going to be just like they were – times have changed.

    As we emerge from the pandemic, Deloitte, said to be the world’s largest professional services firm, has published the findings of its extensive research on the state of business travel in a report titled “Return to a World Transformed.”

    The report says that, as of August 2021, conferences and trade shows remain mostly virtual, many offices are still closed, and companies are finding it hard to ask employees to take work trips.

    “These conditions are temporary though,” Deloitte says. “Conferences and other industry events have begun their comeback, in live and hybrid formats, which will accelerate in the fall of 2021. Some workers returned to offices in summer 2021, and more will do so this fall. The eventual scale and shape of these staples of corporate life are unclear, but they are returning, and an uptick in corporate travel will follow.”

    Acknowledging the success many companies experienced through a year of essential-only travel while leveraging virtual platforms like Zoom and Slack, business leaders realize the value of face-to-face interaction. And according to Deloitte, “Similar to the return to office-based work, road warriors fall on all points of a spectrum: from eager to return to airports, hotels and conference rooms, to convinced they can do their work effectively with significantly less travel.

    “The reality falls somewhere in between,” Deloitte reports. “Competition and growth imperatives will necessitate a resumption of business travel. But travel use cases have been re-evaluated based on their impact on the bottom line and the environment, as well as how well they can be replaced by now widely adopted tech platforms.”

    This fall, many companies plan to accelerate their return to offices. Travel managers have identified this shift, especially clients’ return to the office, as a top trigger for travel, Deloitte says. With regard to employees with children at home, resumption of in-person learning and traditional school-day hours will also make travel more convenient.

    Many conferences are scheduled to return to a live or hybrid format, but will take place with attendance well below 2019 levels, according to the report. However, about a third of Deloitte’s surveyed companies say travel spend will remain below 25% of 2019 levels and two-thirds below 50%. “Barriers to international travel could start reducing by this time, easing the quarantine burden of visiting countries in Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. But corporate travel will remain largely domestic, with international trips limited to essential and client-requested travel.”

    Labelexpo Europe in Brussels makes its much-anticipated return in 2022, though it will be in April and not the usual late September slot. Here’s what Deloitte says about what we can expect at that time: “Spring will bring more confidence and more competitive pressure to get in front of clients and prospects. A second season of live and hybrid industry conferences should enjoy better attendance than in fall 2021. Barriers to international travel should continue to come down, but cross-border trips will lag far behind domestic trips. Concerns about the risk and inconvenience of crossing borders will continue to drag down traffic on transatlantic routes, and Asia will remain difficult to visit. International industry events will bring back live formats but struggle to attract overseas attendees. Additionally, Covid-19 outbreaks that would cause little concern for domestic travelers could result in a higher rate of cancellations for international trips.”

    In other words, there are no guarantees and the situation will remain fluid. However, the good news (or bad, depending on if you actually want to travel), is that Q3 and Q4 of 2022 will bring us closer to what will be the “new normal,” which is certainly not “business as usual.”

    The Deloitte survey reveals,“Conferences will continue to evolve as organizers work to create formats that maximize return on in-person interaction while integrating technology to enable virtual participation. The majority of surveyed companies are optimistic that their travel spend will reach 2019 levels by this time – nine in 10 expect to be at or above 75%. Just over half of the respondents expect to return within three years to 2019 spend levels.”

    In the label industry, in-person events – especially exhibitions/trade shows – are very important, in large part for the opportunities they present to see running equipment, but also because of the networking aspect.

    According to Deloitte, “Companies rate exhibitions, and networking-heavy conferences, as very important to business success. Survey respondents rated missing out on conferences and trade shows during the pandemic as very impactful to their business, especially as those events provided networking opportunities.

    “But these forms of travel are unlikely to lead the corporate travel comeback. Close to 60% of respondents say they expect to spend less on attending trade shows and conferences in 2022 compared to 2019…lack of clarity around which events will be held in-person in 2022 may be partly to blame. But additionally, companies have decided virtual attendance can replace some in-person attendance.”

    A stabilized global health situation by the end of 2022, Deloitte says, will have business travel in the US beginning to settle into the “new normal.” Part of this new normal will be influenced by cost savings on travel – one of the few silver linings to the pandemic – and also what’s being seen as an increased interest in environmental sustainability.

    Deloitte concludes, “Controlled travel growth will also contribute to another goal that has grown in importance in corporate America: reducing carbon emissions. Bottom-line and environmental priorities will be supported by technology and behavior changes brought on by more than a year of virtual-only meetings and events. The embrace of tech platforms for meetings and collaboration will mitigate the need for certain trips, and these platforms will continue to evolve to better meet some of the needs that travel used to fill.”


    Steve Katz is former editor of Label & Narrow Web and is now a regular contributor. He is focused on helping companies in the label industry share their news and tell their stories. Follow him on twitter @LabelSteve.

    Related Content


      Trending
      • Specialty Announces Move To New Facility | Label and Narrow Web
      • Specialty announces move to new facility
      • The Progression Of Paper Mills | Label and Narrow Web
      • Avery Dennison Announces Global Supplier Award Winners | Label and Narrow Web
      • Brook + Whittle Acquires Diamond Flexible Packaging | Label and Narrow Web
      Breaking News
      • Specialty announces move to new facility
      • Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw
      • Nazdar celebrates 100th anniversary with refreshed brand identity
      • Kingfisher Labels adds 10th Edale press
      • Dantex Group receives accreditation for Pico digital presses
      View Breaking News >
      CURRENT ISSUE

      April 2022

      • Dscoop Post-Show Coverage
      • Slitter-Rewinders
      • Craft Beer Labels
      • Pharmaceutical Labels
      • Luminer Converting Group

      Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
      You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms And Conditions
      • Contact Us

      follow us

      Subscribe
      Nutraceuticals World

      Latest Breaking News From Nutraceuticals World

      GOED Creates Infographic Highlighting Omega-3 Health Claims Approved in Europe
      Kyowa Hakko Appoints Dr. Colin Hill to Immuse Scientific Advisory Board
      Expert Consensus Statement: Diet is Best Primary Intervention to Achieve Diabetes Remission
      Coatings World

      Latest Breaking News From Coatings World

      Teknos Receives EcoVadis Gold Medal for Sustainability Performance
      AkzoNobel and Partners Team Up to Hack Carbon Reduction Challenges
      Five PPG Facilities in Ohio Recognized for Sustainability, Health, Safety Practices
      Medical Product Outsourcing

      Latest Breaking News From Medical Product Outsourcing

      Iterative Scopes Expands its Senior Leadership Team
      Viz.ai Raises $100 Million in Series D Funding
      FDA Clears Arterys' AI Mapping and Quantification Tools
      Contract Pharma

      Latest Breaking News From Contract Pharma

      Piramal Pharma Solutions New API Plant in Canada Now Online
      MG America Appoints Claudio Radossi as President
      Catalent Invests $175M to Expand Mfg. Capabilities at Winchester, KY
      Beauty Packaging

      Latest Breaking News From Beauty Packaging

      Authentic Beauty Concept Launches Second-Generation ‘Refill Bar’
      HASK Beauty Enters Exclusive Partnership with Amazon
      Garance Doré Launches Made in France Skincare Line
      Happi

      Latest Breaking News From Happi

      SPF Setting Spray, Lip Contour and Knotless Braids Are Hot Trends: Spate
      Nutrafol Launches Collagen Infusion
      ÄZ Craft Luxury Haircare Products Support All Hairstyles
      Ink World

      Latest Breaking News From Ink World

      Nazdar Celebrates 100 Years with a New Look
      hubergroup Chemicals Exhibits at Paint India for First Time
      Award for Sustainability: Evonik Receives Platinum Rating Again
      Label & Narrow Web

      Latest Breaking News From Label & Narrow Web

      Specialty announces move to new facility
      Mark Andy hosts dealer's open house in Warsaw
      Nazdar celebrates 100th anniversary with refreshed brand identity
      Nonwovens Industry

      Latest Breaking News From Nonwovens Industry

      3M to Expand in Nebraska
      Nicely Offers Nonwoven Slitters, Winders
      'Right' Hygiene Conference to be Held in June
      Orthopedic Design & Technology

      Latest Breaking News From Orthopedic Design & Technology

      FDA Clears Anika Therapeutics' X-Twist Knotless Fixation System
      Paragon 28 Rolls Out TenoTac 2.0 Hammertoe and Soft Tissue Repair
      Cionic Expands Scientific Advisory Board
      Printed Electronics Now

      Latest Breaking News From Printed Electronics Now

      Evonik Launches New Processing Aids for PV Wafer Cutting
      NREL Creates Highest Efficiency 1-Sun Solar Cell
      eMagin Wins People’s Choice Award at Display Week 2022

      Copyright © 2022 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

      AD BLOCKER DETECTED

      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


      FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login