Adding a human touch to any type of marketing method can do wonders for your business. As popularly believed, in-person interaction is the best way to create meaningful relationships with prospects. Maybe this is the reason why trade shows and industry events are so valuable to B2B marketers.
Every business owner wants to make it big in the industry. To achieve this, he strives to keep his business relevant, for which trade shows have always been an ideal platform.
You will be surprised to learn that many companies rely on industry trade shows to grow their customer base. It is a great and effective marketing method that helps you promote your brand or newly-launched products and services, face-to-face. It also helps you learn new ways of doing business, fetch potential investing partners, and establish relationships.
But how can a trade show boost the profitability of your business?
With so much money being spent on a trade show, it is natural to get a little skeptical about it. Unlike other marketing methods, a trade show demands heavy investment. Promotional banners, customized booths, bold signage, name badges, counter cards, brochures, and catalogs, are only some of the materials required for exhibiting at a trade show.
As this marketing method demands so much investment and preparation, people naturally wonder if it is even worth it. If you really want to exhibit at a trade show but are low on budget, you may go for booth rental services.
Here are 4 points that will tell you how a trade show can boost the profitability of your business.
Develop content strategy
Developing a stellar pre-show content strategy for a trade show is the key to maximizing your Return On Investment. If you think that it is enough to have an attractive booth, banners, and badges prepared, then please get back to reality. Unless your staff knows how to talk to people, pass on information, get them engaged, and generate excitement, you will get nowhere.
However, simply creating content is not enough. You have to get more targeted by creating it in such a manner that it illustrates the value of your event. It should be done crisply so that the attendees do not get bored and get your message before losing interest.
It should also highlight the value prospects will gain if they visit your booth.
- If you have access to the attendee list, reach out to anyone who you think will be a qualified fit for your brand. Give them a brief overview of your company and schedule 5-10 minutes of booth time with them. (People are less likely to skip a booth for which they receive an invite.)
- Promote your booth to the attendee by sharing your booth number and highlighting your product, contests, giveaways, and perks they will receive if they visit you.
- Prepare different types of content – ebooks, blog posts, infographics, etc to distribute them to a list of event registrants.
- Leverage social media by using hashtags to promote your event-themed content.
Generate media coverage
Usually, if the trade booth event is done on a large scale, the host company invites bloggers, news outlets, and industry leaders to provide press coverage. This provides attendees a chance of securing media coverage for their brand.
- As media outlets usually don’t care about your product or brand, give them newsworthy stories. If you are working on a new product line, you may unveil it to the media.
- Request demos and interviews from the attending media members by introducing your company and sharing your plans for the event.
- Ask the trade show event organizers for a list of reporters and participating media outlets. In case that’s not possible, refer to the previous year’s event’s media coverage.
Optimize your booth
You need to make your booth stand out to attract new prospects and visitors. For this, 20*20 trade show displays are the best option. But always remember that you have to convert the visitors into customers for which you need to offer them something of substance. Only then will you be able to boost your ROI.
- Create an eye-catchy design but do not get too flashy. Keep your products at the center so that the visitors leave with a clear idea of what you offer and why they need it.
- Schedule a post-show product demo session for the visitors to secure their contact information. For this, you will have to do a little more investment.
- Do not give out free stuff just to entice people to stop by your booth. Make sure you also get something in return like their contact information or appointment for the next event.
Post-show follow-up
If the visitors like your product or your brand, they will be looking forward to your follow-up session. So it is important to put just as much effort into your follow-up strategy.
- Follow-up promptly by reaching out to the attendees right away.
- Make sure your email features imagery and language similar to that of your booth design. You may also include pictures as a small reminder of your brand.
- Get personalized with your emails and offer options to the attendees so that they find something they’re interested in.
Conclusion
A tradeshow is equipped with display stands and sales personnel which allows a brand to get into deals with fellow industry leaders and build a reputation. It is an amazing way of letting people know what you do and how you do it. Maybe that’s why many managers believe that trade shows are a necessary evil that needs to be handled rather than exploited.
Not all trade show events will be worth your time, but you cannot miss out on all of them. Move around and build connections with different people. In today’s time, people have lost the human touch, so you should rebuild it by stepping outside the confines of remote selling efforts and obtaining valuable insights into the perks of exhibiting at trade show events.
