There’s no doubt that large OEM-hosted office technology dealer events, once the norm, experienced a setback during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, some manufacturers have returned to the big stage, while others have focused more on regional road shows. With the rise of regional gatherings, what does the future hold for large dealer meetings?
Konica Minolta’s Laura Blackmer, president of dealer sales, sees the value in both formats, but makes a strong case for the advantages of smaller, condensed regional events. “You get a broader spectrum of dealers,” Blackmer said. “You don’t just get the big dealers; you get anybody who’s local or even ‘local-ish.’ And you get them for the whole event.”
At some of the larger, longer events, some dealers arrive late, leave early, or focus on other activities instead of attending the breakout sessions where OEMs invest significant time and resources planning. Smaller events, Blackmer explained, provide more personal interactions with Konica Minolta executives. “You get more time from us than you would at a big meeting where we’re on stage and not necessarily available.”
Konica Minolta has found a sweet spot in road shows, such as its High Velocity series. While not necessarily cheaper when factoring in travel, time, and production, they’ve proven more effective. “We do three or four of these in a year . . . at nice hotels. We stage them well,” said Blackmer.
The structure of these regional events is intentionally concise. “What seems to be the timeframe that most people like is you come in for a cocktail dinner, have one full day, and then a half day,” she said. “It forces us to hone our messaging into chunks that can be easily digested in a day and a half.”
Ricoh Has Evolved, Too
Ricoh’s event philosophy has evolved significantly in recent years. “Coming out of COVID, we made a conscious decision not to jump back into big events,” said Jennifer Healy, vice president, channel and SMB marketing, Ricoh USA. “Instead, we focused on smaller, intimate regional gatherings that allowed us to get closer to the owners and their key leaders.”
A prime example was two years ago when Ricoh hosted three separate events for its 300+ dealers at three customer sites—Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, North Carolina; the University of Texas at Austin; and Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, and invited everyone, regardless of size. “The goal was to center everything around partnership,” explained Healy.
Dealer feedback plays a vital role in shaping each event, from content to logistics. “We respond,” Blackmer said. “We fixed that right away,” she recalled of an early event where dealers complained about the height of the stage and the AV system. “Next one, we had a beautiful stage and big giant screens.”
Healy emphasized that Ricoh constantly evaluates dealer feedback to refine its approach. “We look closely at what they tell us in post-event surveys,” she said. After its Dealer Partner Forum in Washington, D.C., in August 2024, it shortened the general session time for its next event in Los Angeles. “You have to adapt quickly if you want to stay relevant,” said Healy. “We are all partners, but partnership means listening.”
After the success of its post-COVID regional meetings, Ricoh brought everyone together for a major event in Denver in 2023, applying lessons learned from smaller events and a visit to its Denver-based Customer Experience Center, while having dealers share more success stories. “It was more focused, not the typical Vegas spectacle,” observed Healy. “Dealers told us they appreciated that—it helped eliminate distractions and kept everyone focused on the business.”
In late October, Ricoh’s national dealer conference in Nashville showcased a hybrid model, as Healy described. “It was not a dog-and-pony show,” she said. “We designed it to feel intimate, with high-impact content across two days. It’s what our partners told us they need—business efficiencies, growth strategies, and real conversations.”
The Office Technology Dealer Perspective
Dealer feedback is crucial to the OEMs when planning both regional and large-scale events. And based on comments The Cannata Report received from dealers about their preferred format, there is definitely a clear preference.
“We have come to love these regional meetings,” said Troy Olson, co-owner of Les Olson Company in Salt Lake City, who represents Sharp and Ricoh. “They’re closer to home, so you don’t have to travel as far. The second thing is they’re more intimate, so you get more face time with the leadership teams if that’s something you’re striving for.”
Olson emphasized that while the regional road shows provide value, there is still a place for larger dealer events. “Do I think there’s value in the big meetings? I do,” he said. “I probably went to my first dealer meeting at least 25 years ago. I’ve developed amazing relationships with not only our manufacturers but also dealers, which I find very valuable.”
At the same time, Olson acknowledged the value of regional meetings, particularly for newer relationships, such as Les Olson Company’s partnership with Ricoh, which is only six years old. “Their regional meeting? We found it great,” said Olson. “Very well done. The breakouts have been good for us as a newer Ricoh production dealer.”
Chip Miceli, president of Pulse Technology in Schaumburg, Illinois, shared a similar view, especially when it comes to getting meaningful takeaways from OEM events. “When they do the roadshows, I like those,” said Miceli. “They are more intimate.”
He admitted that while he attends the larger events, they can be hit or miss. “When they do the colossal ones, it’s like, okay, you’re spending too much time not finding what you really should get out of it. The roadshows are more effective for me.”
Miceli also sees value in events where he’s actively participating. “Sometimes Sharp likes to put me on a panel, and so I end up going automatically for that. I like it better when I’m involved. I enjoy sharing knowledge with the dealers.”
Chelsey Bode, president of Pearson-Kelly Technology in Springfield, Missouri, sees advantages in both formats, depending on the goal. “There are pros and cons to both,” she said. “The more regionalized events give you a little more face time and intimacy with executive leadership, but it’s usually a room full of competitors or a market I already have a good read on.”
Bode prefers the broader perspective offered by national gatherings. “I like the bigger, national events that let us see the landscape of what’s happening in different regions. In the Midwest, we’re often six to eight months behind trends. Seeing what’s ahead helps me stay relevant for what’s coming.”
She also noted that large meetings can sometimes feel repetitive. “Sometimes they get a little [like] ‘Groundhog Day,’” she said. “I’d rather do one big blowout every two or three years, so it’s not so redundant.”
Dawn Abbuhl, president of RBS in Albany, New York, agrees that both large and regional events serve a purpose, but they’re not interchangeable. “They’re not the same in any way for me,” she said. “The regional events are good for digging into a specific topic and having a little closer feel to it. I love that.”
Still, she highlighted the unique energy and scale of a national event. “The bigger events allow you to see dealers all over the country that you’re generally less likely to compete with. It’s exciting, and I get excited for new products and what’s coming next. There’s just a feeling of something brand new all over again, and I never get tired of them.”
That said, Abbuhl also appreciates the advantages of the smaller format. For example, she might have an opportunity to spend more time with the new president of Ricoh Northeast. “At the bigger event, I might not have been able to do that,” she said. “I think we need both. Maybe switch off every year.”
Still, the dealers might ultimately decide which format endures. As Ray Belanger, recently retired president of Bay Copy, in Rockland, Maine, said, “You develop some nice friendships. But the meetings? A lot of it ended up being the same thing. I’ve seen this movie before.”
Blackmer doesn’t rule out a return to large events. “Every year we struggle, ‘Do we do a big meeting this year, or three or four roadshows?’ But I wouldn’t be surprised if, one or two years from now, we say, ‘You know what, it’s time for a big meeting.’”
Bode hopes that day arrives. “Some of my best relationships have come from other markets, and those big events give us a good opportunity to network outside of our backyard,” she said. “I hope they don’t go away.”
Healy agrees—just not in the same old format. “We’re not going back to Vegas,” she said. “We’re focused, we’re strategic, and we’re listening. That’s what these events should be about—growing together.”
Editor’s note: Sharp’s reimagined national dealer meeting took place in early October in Orlando.
Too Many Events, Too Little Time
Troy Olson, co-owner of Les Olson Company in Salt Lake City, pointed out that the large number of events on a dealer’s calendar today—OEM events, vendor summits, user groups, and industry conferences—can make scheduling challenging. “You have to decide how much you can be away from your business,” he said. “We’re also diverse. We have the IT side, so now we’ve got [events for] ConnectWise, Intermedia Cloud Communications, and DocuWare. And HP alone has two, three, sometimes four meetings a year.”
Olson said his dealership has begun sending department leaders to certain events instead of trying to attend every event at the ownership level. “You just can’t be at every one of them all the time,” he said. “We try to cover most of them, but it just becomes overwhelming.”
Chelsey Bode, president of Pearson-Kelly Technology in Springfield, Missouri, also sees the challenge of over-committing. “I’m in BTA. I’m in CDA. It’s hard to juggle,” she said. “By the time you factor in flights, hotel rooms, and being out of the office, it becomes time-consuming. There are events I’ve stopped attending, or sending employees to, because they just don’t bring enough meat.”
As Pulse Technology in Schaumburg, Illinois, expands its product lines in office supplies, janitorial supplies, office furniture, and IT services, Chip Miceli, president, and his sons, who hold key positions in the dealership, are dividing those meetings among themselves, with Miceli attending most of them.
As for the wider industry calendar, Dawn Abbuhl, president of RBS in Albany, New York, is selective about which events to attend. “I used to do every single one and now my team is taking on more of it, which is good for them,” she said. “If the manufacturer did have a dealer meeting like they used to, I would go to that.”
And while she’s skipped some third-party events, Abbuhl stresses the importance of expertise. “It’s important for the products we carry that we want to be experts in,” she said. “If not me, somebody goes. And when somebody attends from our company, we always have initiatives for them to bring back something and present it at our next leadership meeting.”
