There’s a wide variety of ways that you can market your business, both online and offline. And, although online marketing has become more popular, there are still many effective methods that are more “traditional”. One of these is exhibiting at trade shows, which can be ideal places to find new clients. You might look at them as being a lot of effort, perhaps for little result. But trade shows are excellent places to increase brand awareness, market directly to a new audience and gain new customers. If you’re not convinced, here are some incredible reasons to set up a booth at a trade show.
Talking Face-to-face
Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to speak to people face-to-face. Not everyone is receptive to marketing over the phone, or via email or other internet channels. For those who prefer to speak to a person directly, trade shows allow them to connect in a more organic fashion. You can have a more connected and involved conversation with a potential client standing in front of you than you can when you email a survey or speak to someone over the phone.
Brand Awareness
At a trade show, you can put yourself on an equal level with your competitors, whether they’re big or small. One of the best things about trade show marketing is that you can establish your brand or increase awareness of if with a focused audience made up of your target market. You sell yourselves not just to potential customers but to other businesses in your industry who will begin to recognize you as a competitor. As long as create a unique and attractive display to bring people in, you can get your name out there and show people who you are.
Scope Out Other Businesses
Trade shows are one of the best places to see what other companies in your industry are up to. You can see what they’re doing that works well and what isn’t working, taking note of how other businesses’ strategies compare to yours. As well as scoping out what they’re doing, it’s a great place to connect with them too. Working with other companies to promote each other is a useful way of increasing your marketing base, so you could find some valuable affiliates.
Make a Marketing List
When you’re talking to people at trade shows, it’s the perfect time to get them to sign up to a marketing list. There are many people you might not have reached with online mailing lists and other methods. So directly getting their contact details can be the best way to gain access to them. These events are one of the best times to gather data such as names, email address, phone numbers and more. There are lots of creative ways to do this, instead of just asking people to sign a list, such as running a competition or a giveaway.
If you weren’t sure about the benefits of trade shows, you should be convinced of them by now. Exhibiting at the next important show near you could have tremendous positive effects for your business.
