Business Branding Insights: Key Reasons to Exhibit at Industry Events

Industry events and trade shows are a great promotional opportunity and can also be a lot of fun. Many business owners would like to attend them, but fear that the extra time and expense required to do so wouldn’t end up paying off significantly for them. That, or perhaps they’re intimidated by the process of setting up a physical presence there and all of the preparation that requires. Whatever the case, many business owners end up looking longingly at trade shows and saying “one of these days” each and every time they roll around for the year.

If you haven’t been attending these events, it’s time to get started. They can lead to a dramatic improvement in both brand awareness and sales. The industry event is basically a concentration of both the most interested customers and the most relevant networking opportunities all packed under one roof. When you look at it that way, can you really afford not to have a presence at these events?

Need more convincing? Here are the specifics. If the process of setting up at a trade show still seems too daunting, a local exhibit design company (such as Steelhead Productions) can help to simplify the process at a very reasonable cost.

You Can Take Market Share From Your Larger Competitors

If you’re working in a niche that was already dominated by a large company (or several) before you even entered it, then you well know the frustrations of trying to capture some of the attention that they are monopolizing. While you likely won’t have as large or as fancy of a booth as they will at the trade show, you’ll be on the same floor as them with an opportunity to directly show how your product or service is superior. In the mind of the consumer, this presence also puts you on the same playing field as the larger company as an equally viable alternative. And you can siphon off attention that was going to the competitor’s new offerings, particularly if they have an underwhelming presence at that particular show. Finally, at smaller shows, the larger competing companies may not even bother to show up.

Added Unique Opportunities

If you maintain a booth, you’ll have face-to-face direct interaction with many different people, and that by itself is a big benefit. But the event also provides a number of opportunities that aren’t available elsewhere. For example, you can volunteer to be a keynote speaker. An interesting speech can position you as a thought leader among your peers, and it’s especially invaluable if it is covered by the media. Along the lines of media coverage, a face-to-face interview with a major media outlet is also usually a major sales booster. A good way to secure one is to have an interesting product demonstration, which also doubles as its own unique opportunity for potential customers to get hands-on with your merchandise. You’ll also have the attention of not just the people physically attending the show, but everyone who is following development through social media as well. To that end, you might consider a webinar for the benefit of those who are watching from afar.

Engage With A Concentrated, Interested and Motivated Customer Base

The industry event isn’t just about PR and brand awareness. Lots of actual sales happen there too. The brilliance of it is that you have an audience that is completely interested in your niche and receptive to your promotional materials. This isn’t like cold calling or direct mail, where you always run the risk of turning people off or generating negative word of mouth. If you’ve got a good product, you have an entire building full of potential direct sales just waiting to happen!

Scout The Competition

Have an employee or associate along who can wander the floor and pose as an interested customer. You can glean reams of invaluable information about the competition’s sales and marketing efforts. You can also gauge consumer interest in real-time simply by seeing which booths are consistently drawing the most traffic. Finally, you can watch the crowd to see what promotional give aways they think are cool, and which they are leaving in a trash bin or stuffing in a bag and forgetting about immediately.

A Quick And Massive Social Media Boost

Is your social media following lagging? Integrate social media with your booth and you’ll see an immediate and significant jump in your following. You’ll also have the opportunity to make invaluable connections with reporters and industry thought leaders.

Seeing these benefits doesn’t require attending every trade show in your market. In fact, you don’t even have to attend every major trade show; just several per year is enough to make a major difference. While it’s true that each show usually costs at least several thousand dollars to set up at when everything is calculated, the added profit that each can bring often greatly exceeds that number.

Brandon Whitehouse is a successful business man who publishes his business articles online every few months, when he has a spare moment. Look out for his work on general business and marketing sites.