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Trade shows, exhibitions and other events can be an excellent way to showcase your products and services. They give you the opportunity to increase awareness of your business, launch new products and services, network with industry members, explore partnership opportunities, see what competitors are offering, generate new business leads, attract and convert customers.

What is a Trade Show?

A trade show is a platform where businesses (exhibitors), professionals and business representatives (visitors) come together under one roof to exchange knowledge and make connections with other like-minded professionals.

Exhibitors book a stand and use this space to connect and engage with visitors to the event. Ideally, the event is used to generate leads, network, promote products and services, and hopefully close a few sales in an organic setting that’s tailored to them and their audience.

How can you benefit from exhibiting at a Trade Show?

There are many reasons why you would choose to exhibit at a trade show, which include:

Make sales – the golden ticket to trade show success, hitting a quota or making direct sales is the ultimate definition of winning.

Capture leads – without leads salespeople have nobody to convert, so generating enough leads for your marketing funnel is a must.

Analysing the competition – what technology are they using, what marketing angle are they taking? It’s good to know what the competition is up to.

Engage with existing customers –existing customers are more likely to invest in new products and services, so you can keep building relations and offering them more benefits.

Introduce new products/ services – new and old customers could benefit from your new product.

Account-based marketing – go into a trade show with an idea of who you’d like to speak with, so you can create a strategy that’s more likely to convert them.

Gather feedback – feedback is how you improve services and sales and marketing; you could receive advice that revolutionises how you do things.

Spot trends – spotting trends is vital if you want to stay relevant or avoid something that’s a flash in the pan.

What should you look at when selecting a trade show?

The best success can be gained from participating at an event that has a well-established history. These events usually draw the best reward. The event organiser should have proven methods in place to market the event to the right audience. They will have a database they have accrued over many years of business. The venue should be easily accessed by road or public transport and have plenty of parking. A venue with excellent nearby facilities, hotels, restaurants, entertainment, can also be a bonus if the event is held over more than one day.

Can You Make Money at a Trade Show?

Keeping costs down is a benefit when deciding which trade show to exhibit at. Smaller shows tend to be cheaper, so choosing an event that is aimed at your target audience is the key to a successful outcome from exhibiting. Here are some ways you can get a healthy ROI from a trade show, including:

Only buy the space you need – the area you buy takes up a significant amount of your budget, so overdoing it can waste money, which is going to eat into your sales.

Get an enticing exhibition stand – you can have a tiny space and still attract people if your stand is attractive, making your area presentable promotes credibility.

Organisation is key – there’s a temptation to blindly hand out literature and marketing collateral, putting it at the back of your space makes reps think about engaging first, which is more likely to generate a lead or a sale.

Use tech where it’s useful – the whole purpose of a trade show is to generate business through face-toface marketing, so don’t dehumanise the event by using too much technology.

Pick the right team – there’s no point in attending an event if you pick the wrong staff. Ideally, it would benefit you if you had people who understand and empathise with customer challenges, but also know when to close deals.

Work the aisles – do not limit yourself to the boundary of your stand, you can reach out to passers-by and engage in the aisle.

Tell people you’re exhibiting –use as many marketing techniques as you can to create a build-up to the event and get people excited. Utilise all marketing opportunities the event itself offer, these are generally targeted directly at your required audience.

What Do You Need for a Trade Show?

The last thing you want to do is under prepare. Get the following ticked off before you get to your event:

Event space – the first thing you need is event space, you’ll have a shock if you turn up and there’s nowhere for you to pitch!

Stand with supporting collateral – your stand and marketing collateral are what attract people to your stand.

Travel plans – train, bus, plane, car? It would help if you had robust plans in place before you depart.

Accommodation – if you’re planning on staying over, which you may want to as events are long, tiring days, reserve in advance as hotels may get booked up prior to the event.

Marketing collateral – brochures, leaflets, business cards; get all the material you need and ensure you get plenty. You don’t want to run out.

Staff – ask your staff well before the event to ensure they are available to attend, cancelling holidays will not be seen as favourable to you! Remember your staff are the face of the business at the event, get them prepared.

Could You See Success at a Trade Show?

Trade shows aren’t an antiquated form of marketing and sales – they’re proven to generate targeted, high-quality leads and sales. Not every business can benefit from attending trade shows, but they’re certainly worth exploring. Just like trade shows give you the opportunity to better connect with prospective customers, exhibiting at a trade show also allows you to meet existing customers face-to-face.

While most of today’s business is conducted over email or phone, face-to-face meetings are undeniably a fantastic way to do business.

The Wall Street Journal agrees. Citing a study by Oxford Economics, the well-known financial publication reports that face-to-face meetings are the most effective way to strengthen relationships with both prospective customers and current customers.

Trade shows help bring all the different aspects of an industry together –consumers, distributors, suppliers and manufacturers, all in one place. With such a broad audience together in one place, businesses are able to schedule meetings, negotiate orders and other opportunities and collaborate on other projects. Trade shows allow businesses to facilitate discussions with their suppliers and even with other businesses, as well as move projects to another level if the opportunity arises.