7 Reasons Why All Companies Should Include Trade Shows in Their Budgets
Budgets for Marketing at Trade Shows
Budgets drive what the marketing department can do each year. This article is aimed at providing specialized information to any organization or firm that is considering making the valuable decision of attending trade shows. Attending a trade show and displaying your products and services can be a very lucrative and wise decision for your business. Below we’ve provided seven compelling reasons why companies should include trade shows in their annual budgets. Even the folks at Inc magazine have ideas on investing in trade shows.
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Networking
It’s all about who you know not what you know, that’s why trade shows can be one of the most effective platforms for networking and communicating with new people. It’s common that the best insights come from peers who share the same objectives and interests. Trade Shows are great or building relationships with vendors and customers, but also a great way to share ideas and build partnerships with other retailers and competitors.
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Staying on top of the latest industry trends
Each year retailers release the latest and greatest from their product line and more often than not, these retailers wait to showcase and demonstrate them at trade shows. Being aware of the newest innovative releases gives companies and individuals a more competitive insight when it comes to industry-specific trends. Knowledge of the advancements and evolution of your industry can give you a competitive advantage when it comes to making big business decisions and implementing marketing strategies.
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Establish and/or fortify your brand
Trade shows are unique because it allows for newer or smaller firms to have the same exposure to potential customers and leads as some of their larger competitors. Being exposed to more prospective customers can certainly generate leads, however, more importantly, it allows for a stronger brand and a better foot in the door to becoming an industry leader.
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Generate Leads
Nearly 81% of attendees at trade shows have the buying power. As a sales team, you know one of the hardest things about creating a sale is getting every step of the buying process engaged and getting the decision makers involved. Trade shows allow you to cut out that middleman and directly attract and identify the people who decide when firms and organizations buy. Additionally, the average trade show attendee spends about 8.3 hours of walking around and viewing exhibits during the entirety of the show. This allows for exhibitors to fully engage every potential lead that walks up to view their booth.
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You can bet your competitors will be there
Trade shows give you a large advantage when it comes to marketing because your potential clients have the opportunity to walk right up to you and communicate directly. Seeing competitor booths and how well they display their products is a great way to analyze how well you stack up to your competitors in the eyes of these potential clients. Just viewing a competitor’s booth gives you valuable insight on their product focuses and allows you to assess your own product and decide whether or not your competition is focusing on areas you should consider as well.
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Gain competitive Knowledge about the industry
Industry Specific trade shows are the best way to gather information and insight on your industry. From networking to seminars, or just communicating with industry peers, you can acquire precious information and data on just about anything from competitor’s strategies and products to helpful marketing tactics and promotions.
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Build on and improve relationships
Technology can only get us so far when it comes building and improving upon relationships. With email as well as other technology-based communication platforms it is becoming increasingly easy to put off face to face meetings and physical contact with customers and clients, but the reality is face to face communication is a more effective way to build relationships. By exhibiting at trade shows and talking with attendees you are putting yourself in a position to interact with them and be aware of their company’s long-term plans and buying processes.
Including trade shows in marketing budgets is a sure fire way to stay in front of buyers, and gain competitive intelligence. For more information on the value of trade shows, and how to improve your experience, reach out to the trade show experts at Team One Display Services
