Trade shows are organised events where companies set up stands to show off their wares and to attendees. They are very popular around the world from the UK to Germany and from the US to China. Most of the time a tradeshow is targeted towards a specific niche where only companies and businesses from related industries attend. This benefits the attendees as they can compare and contrast businesses that all revolve around something they are interested in and can choose what company or service is best for them. That is how it benefits the attendees but how does it benefit the brands that are exhibiting at the event? Well below are 5 benefits that businesses gain from being present at events like this.
Talk directly with prospects
A huge amount of advertising doesn’t allow the customer to actually talk or interact in anyway. They expect the viewer to just absorb their marketing message and then want them to be interested in purchasing the product. That’s why this marketing avenue stands out as clients actively come over to you to have a full conversation about what you provide. It allows you to talk about what they need and make a personalised advert that match their requirements and can make them more likely to purchase as they can visualise how it fits in their life.
Get information off clients for future use
Another great benefit is that you can get information out of them. This can take many different forms but the most directly beneficial is that you can get contact details like emails and phone numbers so you can reach out to them in the future to try and get a sale! Lots of companies do this by running a competition that people can enter by giving those details. This isn’t the only information you can get though. You can run surveys on people who inquire, whether that be about the product you sell, the service you provide or happy they are with the event. You can then use the information you gain to improve your brand or improve your next trade show outing.
Advertisement for now and the future
Trade shows create a lasting impression on the attendee, leading them to think about your brand at the event when they think about something they need or want that you talked about at the event. Getting to speak face-to-face with someone from a business to get a full understanding of them does make a very deep impression in their memory and creates a positive outlook in their mind. You can make this effect even more prominent by using promotional merchandise. Whenever they see the product they will instantly think back to the show and your conversation while also walking your logo and branding around for others to see as well, which increases your brand recognition. For example, if you give out promotional sports bottles to the people who come to your stand, every time they come take a drink or bring it to the gym they will see your branding and be reminded of the experience of seeing you.
Reach people interested in your industry
A major quality that draws companies to exhibit at these events is the audience you reach. This is because you can be sure that almost everyone you talk to will have an interest in what you supply, assuming you have attended an appropriate trade show. People wouldn’t attend if they were not interested at least somewhat in that industry so you shouldn’t worry that your advertising is reaching the wrong people. Another great thing about the audience that you reach is that they will have buying authority. They are going because they want to get something new or want to find something that is best for them so you can be sure that they are in the buying frame of mind. This in turn makes it easy to sell to them.
Gives an idea of what your competitors are doing
Not every benefit is tied to the customers you will meet but also to your competitors. While you will be competing for the attention and interest of prospects you can use the opportunity to do a little bit of recognisance. Discover what they do differently to you, whether that be their products, service or how they run the stand, and you can use that data to try and improve your business strategies. If it works for them you should be able to incorporate some of it into your own tactics.