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Why Your Company Needs a Trade Show Marketing Strategy
1. Trade Shows Are a Great Place to Generate Free Publicity
Large trade shows are a great place to generate free publicity because hundreds of members of the press and industry analysts attend these events looking for new products and services to cover with news stories. Even companies with small trade show budgets can buy a 10×10 booth and get access to the list of press members and industry analysts that will be attending the trade show.
Front Page PR can work this press list and setup press interviews with the media in the company’s trade show booth, which is designed specifically to show off its latest and greatest products. Or we can setup interviews in the trade show’s media room, which is usually quieter and has Wi-Fi setup so that reporters can file their stories shortly after the interview concludes.
Most large trade shows will feature an online virtual press kit room on their trade show website that highlights all of the press releases that mention trade show exhibitors, events and products that are announced at the trade show.
These are all great ways to get extra exposure from a long list of international media outlets that are attending and seeking great stories to cover for their international media outlets.
2. Trade Shows Are a Great Way to Reach New Customers
The main purpose of trade show events are to showcase a wide variety of options for attendees and businesses to engage and interact with each other. With a well-designed trade show booth that draws attendees’ attention, a few promotional items, a contest opportunity with giveaways and sales collateral, you have a well-rounded booth experience that leaves an impression with a prospective customer for months. Consider having attendees enter a drawing by submitting a business card or completing an action on social media. These types of promotions serve dual purposes: increasing engagement and capturing potential contact information as well.
3. Trade Shows Provide Instant Access to Face-to-Face Meetings
When it comes to influencing a purchase decision, nothing can compete with a face-to-face interaction with a prospective customer. Trade shows provide opportunities to engage with current customers and attendees that might have an interest in becoming a future customer. It doesn’t matter whether you’re marketing a service or selling a new product, an in-person presentation and short Question and Answer conversation afterwards can help you to close the deal quickly versus a cold email sharing the latest sales promo. This makes pre-show planning key to trade show success.
4. Trade Shows Generate Hundreds of Daily Sales Leads
When it comes to trade show benefits, generating hundreds of sales leads per day is one of the biggest. Major trade shows have massive followings and attendance. For example, the Consumer Electronics Show in 2017 had over 184,000 attendees on the trade show exhibition floor from more than 150 countries. Each attendee of a trade show is a potential lead waiting to be captured. Having QR codes linked to social media accounts or lead generation pages, asking for contact information during a presentation and getting their business cards are all great ways to collect fresh leads and put them in your sales funnel.
5. Trade Shows Can Also Lead to Direct Sales of Products and Services at the Event
Most conventions and trade shows have a specific market or niche they focus on. By exhibiting at popular trade shows within your industry, the odds are very high that you’ll have exposure to the right target audience that is likely to have an interest in your product or services and will be ready to buy.
6. Trade Shows Offer Cost-Effective Networking and Advertising Opportunities
Designing a trade show booth, renting space on the trade show floor, traveling to the show and from the show, paying for lodging and meals can seem like a steep price tag for a single marketing event. If you’ve done the pre-show marketing work leading up to the show, the potential that a trade show offers your business can far exceed the investment.
7. Trade Shows Are Worth the Time and Effort
One of the best benefits of attending a trade show is the low cost barrier to get involved. From locally owned small businesses to multinational corporations, everyone has access to the same attendees at a trade show. It’s almost as simple as paying for your exhibit location space, designing your trade show display booth, promoting your business leading up to the trade show and interacting with the audience during the show. Even a relatively unknown business can generate large numbers of sales leads through trade shows.
Trade shows offer big benefits to businesses of any size. By combining exposure to a large number of potential leads with the ability to interact personally with customers, trade shows offer a better than average experience for both the business and attendee that other forms of marketing cannot achieve.
Please contact Front Page PR for a free 30-minute consultation!
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