2015 Denver Expo FEEDBACK

[MarleneeSteven]

Well, another year in the books for the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo. As always, and hopefully while its fresh in your mind, I'd love to solicit some feedback on everything about the show (vendors, hours, days, layout, extreme machines, workshops, silent auction, parking, swap meet, the Thunderstruck premiere, everything).

Please keep in mind that we want constructive feedback, both good and bad. I need to know the things that worked and the things that didn't. Also, remember, that a lot of the work is volunteer, so please don't personally attack anyone!

Ready? GO!


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[Rider1958]

1. Need rubber bands so folks could roll up the posters - no one had them available, people were having to fold their posters after getting an autograph
2. Need plastic bags - very few available - easier to buy more stuff and carry with a bag
3. More XXL size shirts need to be available, wanted to buy but not many in that popular size available. As an example of how popular that size is - at the Sturgis Bike Rally this year all XXL shirts sold out right away, plenty of all other sizes left over all week
4. Always seems like vendors are crammed in there - is there a shortage of space?
5. Seems there could be more emphasis on "specials" to get more folks signed up for Blue Ribbon Coalition, Colorado Snowmobile Association, etc - those kind of right-to-ride groups. Can't think of a better time to make that pitch...

Rant over - I had a great time there!

 

[wfieldin]

I think it was great, swapmeet had a lot of product, tons of sleds for sale. I know it is a lot of work for the guys that are selling to get all their goods down there, why is it just Saturday?

All the Vendors for the most part were great to talk with. I found everything that I was looking for without any problem.

Thanks for all your hard work, guess I'm lucky I'm not an XXL size. LOL

 

[capulin overdrive]

My only complaint is that it's too early in the fall, and I don't get to go!



Middle of fall harvest and sowing for me.

 

[MarleneeSteven]

The biggest reason for the swap being one day, is cost. CSA gets stuck with overnight security costs, and it ends up negating the revenue from the show for CSA (CSA gets to keep the revenue from selling swap meet, minus costs for swap meet, like fencing, security, etc).

There are a lot of people that have interest in extending the swap into Sunday, and it's not OFF the list, so keep the comments coming, we appreciate the feedback.

Thanks again!

 

[MarleneeSteven]

1. Need rubber bands so folks could roll up the posters - no one had them available, people were having to fold their posters after getting an autograph
2. Need plastic bags - very few available - easier to buy more stuff and carry with a bag
3. More XXL size shirts need to be available, wanted to buy but not many in that popular size available. As an example of how popular that size is - at the Sturgis Bike Rally this year all XXL shirts sold out right away, plenty of all other sizes left over all week
4. Always seems like vendors are crammed in there - is there a shortage of space?
5. Seems there could be more emphasis on "specials" to get more folks signed up for Blue Ribbon Coalition, Colorado Snowmobile Association, etc - those kind of right-to-ride groups. Can't think of a better time to make that pitch...

Rant over - I had a great time there!

Great feedback!!
1) yes!
2)Agreed!
3) we'll talk with vendors!
4) we have to manage space on the floor and parking. We have a ton of room to grow. This year, we had a TON of vendors book at the last minute, and we'd already contracted the square footage of expo space, so it was a squeeze for sure! We'll work on it. Thanks!
5) I'm interested in this! Pitch me some ideas!!

 

[IceAge Performance]

We would like to thank all the people that came out as well all the folks who put it together and make it happen.

We had a killer show! Talked to tons of people and sold a LOT of gear.

Denver is quickly becoming our favorite show, easy indoor trailer parking/access for vendors and nice clean spot to show off product. Hoping to be coming back with a bigger better booth next year!

 

[milehighassassin]

1. Need rubber bands so folks could roll up the posters - no one had them available, people were having to fold their posters after getting an autograph
2. Need plastic bags - very few available - easier to buy more stuff and carry with a bag
3. More XXL size shirts need to be available, wanted to buy but not many in that popular size available. As an example of how popular that size is - at the Sturgis Bike Rally this year all XXL shirts sold out right away, plenty of all other sizes left over all week
4. Always seems like vendors are crammed in there - is there a shortage of space?
5. Seems there could be more emphasis on "specials" to get more folks signed up for Blue Ribbon Coalition, Colorado Snowmobile Association, etc - those kind of right-to-ride groups. Can't think of a better time to make that pitch...

Rant over - I had a great time there!

Seems like all but #4 is a vendor/booth issue.


I thought the show was great. I went on Sunday so it wasn't as busy which is good. I heard from some of the vendors that the traffic seemed lighter. I actually heard some advertisements for this year's show. 104.3 the Fan had several ads and also some actual in show mentions, which was cool.


Not sure how practical this would be, but how about a snowmobile contest next year? Basically a car show type deal. Best wrap? Best sled/color combo? Obviously people would have to bring a sled but it would be cool to see people get creative.



Overall it was a good show, I think the warmer than normal October weather hurt, for people are still trying to get summer things into place, camping, yard work, etc.

 

[AndrettiDog]

There was a best mod sled contest, but there were two issues with it. One, they weren't all in the same place, so it didn't pull you in as much as that concept would. Also, a big sign or something to attract people to that "booth" would be cool. It's too bad there can't be a dyno contest. We could all bet on what sled would have the most HP! I'm sure CSA has gambling insurance.

 

[Butta]

We went on Saturday (10th straight year), and left when I ran out of money.....LOL Bought a lot of things I needed, and had some really good input on some avy gear and sled setup from the vendors. I love the ability to see and compare the different brands/models of accessories all in one place. Makes it a one-stop-shopping experience for me every year. Keep up the great work guys. I'll be back next year.

 

[MarleneeSteven]

There was a best mod sled contest, but there were two issues with it. One, they weren't all in the same place, so it didn't pull you in as much as that concept would. Also, a big sign or something to attract people to that "booth" would be cool. It's too bad there can't be a dyno contest. We could all bet on what sled would have the most HP! I'm sure CSA has gambling insurance.

We agree. A couple of things played with this. First and foremost, going into the week of the show, we had 2 people that had submitted 'best sled'. It was pretty hard to get applicants, even with the prize packs. #2, we had so many vendors book at the last minute, we were scrambling for space, so we kind of had to react on the fly.

I like the extreme machines booth we've done previously, and would go back to that, if we could get participation. I would also like to explore something else. Keep spooling ideas, if there's something you can think of that doesn't require motors running!

Loving all this feedback! Thanks a ton.

 

[Wowmom]

Great Show once again this year! Seems like there are more quality vendors each year, nice to try on gear to check fit and not have to hassle with returns if you order and it doesn't fit! HUGE swap meet, was great to see all the stuff and vintage sleds for sale.
Its difficult to hear the speaker in the portable room set right behind the show, ambient noise and lack of roof is a killer. Maybe Trails West would let you borrow a trailer for classes!
Thanks to all the volunteers for another great show!

 

[AndrettiDog]

We agree. A couple of things played with this. First and foremost, going into the week of the show, we had 2 people that had submitted 'best sled'. It was pretty hard to get applicants, even with the prize packs. #2, we had so many vendors book at the last minute, we were scrambling for space, so we kind of had to react on the fly.

I like the extreme machines booth we've done previously, and would go back to that, if we could get participation. I would also like to explore something else. Keep spooling ideas, if there's something you can think of that doesn't require motors running!

Loving all this feedback! Thanks a ton.

That makes perfect sense now. Maybe the sled show get's opened to stuff like "best wrap", "lightest sled", etc. They can all compete in many categories. Just thinking of ideas to get more people there. The more sleds in the building, the more "pop" the show gets. Great show, you and others really turned it around.

 

[SXViper]

This years show again was fantastic! We arrived shortly after 8am and didn't leave until they closed the place down!!!
It seemed like there were more vendors this year which is always a plus. The seminars were great yet again. We attended both the sled performance one as well as the suspension tuning. Both were very informative! I can't wait to see the videos from ones we didn't get to attend.
I'm not sure what to tell you to do to make it any better. As word continues to get out about how this show continually grows as will vendors participation. It really lacked snow bikes last year and this year it was absolutely covered. Cat doo and Polaris seemed well represented but not many Yamahas. The clothing vendors were great but I didn't see anything from hmk.
About the only thing I didn't really care for was the on site food. Over priced stadium food, but probably not much we can do about that.

You had mentioned above that the csa gets stuck with the cost for security and fencing materials. Are these materials something that could be donated and is security something volunteers could take care of?

Regarding the video premiere from the sounds of it, it again was a huge hit! Perhaps it has grown to the point where it may need to seek a larger venue?

Hope this helps.

 

[rusty_jigawahowski]

Hats off to you Steven, the show was great as usual. It's amazing how many of those people are volunteering time AND money to improve our show every year. we felt like we actually had a bigger crowd on saturday then we did last year! the swap meet worked out great for us, but one of our guys mentioned how it would be nice to have it in the parking lot directly in front of the building as opposed to on the side and in the back. have all of the vendors and trailers park for the weekend in the back, and consolidate the swap meet. another thing that we were throwing around with the guys from colorado boondockers was to have an additional event somewhere similar to the thunderstruck party on friday, but do it on saturday evening. i know that those guys would certainly be interested in hosting that and im sure that the turnout would be great. any input on something like a saturday evening event? again, awesome job and thanks for the time and effort you put in to making this happen!

 

[h2arctic]

Would like to see the snow show at the end of OCT or Early November.
We loose a lot of hunters since the snow show is usually opening weekend.
The closer we get to the first snow in the mountains the more people are excited and wanting to spend $$$$.
Loved the swap meet except for a construction in the area. Hope that does not happen next year.
Advertising was good on the radio.

Has CSA ever considered another swap meet in November - Like $10 pull in and set up for sleds and parts at a fair grounds with lots of room???

 

[ThSimpson]

Good Times!

Had a good time overall I think everything went great. Saw some neat stuff bought some stuff I think the swat me there's quite a few slides look like quite a few sold.

It really surprised me to see an ad in the local paper for the snow show. I mean Phillips County Colorado isn't exactly snowmobile Central. I guess that had something to do with the cat dealer over in Grant Nebraska, Who was one of the sponsors for the silent auction. I don't know that I saw anybody else from Phillips County at the show on Saturday.

It was a great show overall I really enjoyed it so does girlfriend.