can engage with hundreds, if not thousands, of self-selected potential buyers that would take them months, if not years, to visit in the field. One area which we should emphasise at this point is that exhibitions are expensive, in time, money and emotion and they are not going to be the golden bullet which delivers 10,000 new customers the day after the show closes. To expect that would be unrealistic. This book is not intended to save you either time or money, in fact there are times we will encourage you to spend more. Exhibitions are expensive when you consider them in isolation and they take time, commitment and energy. Research from the USA suggests that companies are now investing up to 33% of their annual marketing budgets into trade shows (Levin, 2017) with respondents in a recent study stating that 47% of them plan to maintain budgets whilst 30% state that they are planning to increase theirs (Exhibitor, 2018). Budget will depend entirely on a number of variables but even if the average UK cost were £20,000 including all time, accommodation and travel expenses, stand fee, design and build etc. this looks expensive versus a couple of pounds to promote a Tweet or Facebook advert. However, the social media platforms cannot deliver the depth of relationships and the foundations of trust that can be built through an initial conversation with a visitor who has already declared an interest in your offer simply by attending the event.
Measuring return – yes you can!
Whilst it is possible to share data relating to the value of the industry in terms of spend, it is much more difficult to evaluate the value of business generated from investing in trade shows. As social media and digital have become increasingly popular, a growing number of tools, systems and agencies have popped up to offer analytics and metrics to justify spend based on the number of clicks which subsequently convert to a sale. Why then, is it so difficult to measure for trade shows? The main reason is the lack of follow up from exhibitors with over 87% of leads collected at a show never being contacted by the exhibiting company (Davis, 2018). On average, 64% of stand visits at trade shows are from delegates who are not an existing customer of the exhibiting company but are interested in their product or service. Over half of all visitors go on to purchase from an exhibiting company within a year of meeting them at a trade show or event (Display Wizard, 2018) and an average of 51% of trade show attendees request that a sales representative visit their company after a show (Matthes, 2018). To reflect on those stats for a moment, only 13% of leads are followed up after a show, yet those exhibitors are doing business with just over half of all the visitors, therefore it is not difficult to image what the real value of trade could be if only all exhibitors followed up on their opportunities (see Chapter 5, Evaluation). It is this lack of evaluation and an inability to determine a real return on investment that has seen trade shows lose popularity in recent years in favour of digital marketing tactics which are easier and more visible to measure.
(Endless, 2018)
Despite the lack of statistical evaluation on the return that trade shows deliver, there is a renewed interest in events, especially in light of the previous discussion regarding the need for deeper and more meaningful interactions with potential buyers. In a recent survey, over 91% of exhibitors stated that they believed trade shows and exhibitions would continue to be a critical element of their marketing strategy for the foreseeable future (Skyline, 2011). In addition to that, event organisers themselves are growing their own footprint with 88% of the US and European organisers stating they would be looking to add additional shows to their portfolios and expect visitor numbers to rise (UFI, 2018).
Therefore, would it be correct to assume that trade shows are the priority marketing tactic for organisations and brands should focus solely on investing in such events? Well, no, it’s not quite that simple. As anyone involved in marketing will appreciate, an effective strategy depends on executing a range of tactics based on customer or consumer insight. Investing in trade shows or exhibitions is not a marketing strategy in its own right, as much as exhibiting at a show ‘just because you always have’ is not a strategic marketing tactic. The most effective investment in a trade show or exhibition will be made when it is supported by a range of other well thought-through and directed marketing tactics which appeal directly to solving the customer problem. We will discuss in future chapters the critical need to identify a customer problem and understand how your product or service helps resolve that, but once that is defined, several different methods could and should be employed to help close a sale. A trade show is just part of the on-going dialogue with a customer or consumer that establishes rapport and builds trust.
Although we have discussed a growing sense of unease and suspicion towards social media, research showed that social networks are now the most influential forum for both on and off-line purchasing (40%), ahead of the brand’s own website or traditional media. Therefore, with a very broad audience and a relatively low cost of advertising it would be a brave organisation which chose to ignore the power of digital and social media altogether. In Chapter 3 we will talk about pre-show marketing in which we discuss how powerful social media and direct marketing can be in ensuring that the right visitors are coming to your stand when the show is open. This clearly demonstrates where on-line and off-line marketing techniques can work in parallel to achieve a stated objective. Even where pre-show marketing reaches more broadly than your specific target audience, it is still part of the conversation in building brand awareness and articulating how you meet a need.
We very often have clients who will ask ‘But why do I need to do a trade show when everyone just stares at a phone all day now?’ – which is a fair question! If nothing else, a trade show will give you the opportunity to spend a couple of days actually engaging with humans and sharpening up your inter-personal skills! Aside from that, social media and digital isn’t enough on its own for very many companies, in the same way that just broadcast media, or PR or trade shows on their own wouldn’t be enough. Powerful marketing comes from the ability to target and execute effective techniques that complement each other and build an on-going conversation with your customer. It isn’t a competition with marketing tactics battling each other for precedence (although we’ve sat in many budget planning sessions where it’s felt like that). Trade shows give you relevant content to talk about on social media and social media gives you a wide platform to talk frequently about what you’re doing at the show. It’s all about being part of the same conversation!
Today, people don’t trust companies. One of the things marketers want to do is to humanise their brand. What better way to do it than put a live person in front of them?
—Jackie Huba, dynamic keynote speaker, bestselling author and expert on customer loyalty and evangelism
Summary
Although it may seem that digital and social media is taking over the world, there’s a growing bank of evidence that would suggest as humans we’re starting to look for deeper and more meaningful experiences, especially from those organisations we are considering buying from. Trade shows become powerful as a tactic alongside social media and digital to help engage with those existing and potential customers at a deeper level.
In summarising why trade shows are even more relevant in the age of digital and social media it’s worth considering the following key points:
• Although there are over 3bn social media accounts globally, many are either fake or inactive with the remaining platforms generating significant noise and competition
• Increasingly the global
