Industrial Trade Shows

Many industries are beset by competition. New improvements and developments are announced on a daily or weekly basis. Each company wants its fair share of the market and more. Customers are a premium product and sales representatives fight to find good leads that will result in more sales. Trade shows are one way to explore the possibility of leads, and companies are attending them as often as possible. They create a booth to represent their company’s products and send their best people to sell them.

While trade shows are a great way to gain exposure within an industry, they are becoming more expensive every year. Gaining attention at these shows has become a nightmare for companies with small advertising budgets. Bigger and louder are becoming buzz words for trade shows. Booth sizes continue to grow, but the expenses never go down. Companies are paying more for staff such as promo girls. Unfortunately, this does not always translate into sales.

Large booths are not the only trick at trade shows. One marketing technique that has become popular lately is experiential marketing. This is a technique where potential customers are immersed in a sensational atmosphere while experiencing a product. They are given an opportunity to attend an event, win a prize or meet a famous person. This is also done at trade shows where customers can be completely immersed in a brand’s booth for a total experience. While it sounds good, companies must look at the number of promotional sales staff that is tied up in this intensive marketing for each customer. The company must decide if this type of marketing is too expensive to generate enough positive leads.

While it is never a good idea to skip a trade show, perhaps cutting back on size and staff might be a good idea. Engaging customers in online venues can be just as effective and far less expensive. This is especially true if the normal consumers for a product are younger and prefer to conduct their buying online. Attracting customers the old-fashioned way with shows may eventually become too expensive. Learning how to attract them online is the future of business marketing.