[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Are Tradeshows Just Throwing Marketing $$ Away? (Spoiler: Yes and No)”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6963″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tradeshows are a big expense, there’s no denying that. They’re that way for a reason: big costs often have the biggest rewards. But what about when you’re investing significantly in marketing on tradeshows and you aren’t seeing any reward? Then that big budget also comes with a lot of heavy criticism and feedback:
“Tradeshows are an old model, maybe we shouldn’t go”
“People overspend and don’t get anything out of it”
“We need to focus on social media”
Maybe some of that is true. But here is what is definitely true.
- Most people aren’t measuring or tracking ROI from a tradeshow.
- Most people aren’t planning with intent and strategizing.
- Most people aren’t prepared to execute day to day, minute to minute on the show floor.
And if you’re like most people, the money spent on tradeshows isn’t working for you the way it should be.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Understanding Your Impact”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Now, there might be a lot of reasons for this. It’s true that there’s a lot of B2B companies exhibiting at every show and they might have colossal budgets that feel hard to compete with. However, what makes a good tradeshow exhibit isn’t how much you spend, it’s your impact. Impact doesn’t just happen; it’s a product of good planning and unification.
For example, your sales and marketing teams have different strategies to achieve their goals. But how many of them are working together to put on a unified front in marketing at tradeshows? How many of them plan out their activities to launch a joint campaign while exhibiting? Working together is powerful and also under utilized and poorly managed on show day. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Good Planning & Unification”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All of this might be because your teams don’t really know what or how to implement a strategy. Or maybe it’s because the audience is wrong at the tradeshow and it feels like a lost cause. Are you exhibiting at the same tradeshows that you’ve been going to for years but not curating your list? Rethinking your location strategy doesn’t necessarily mean changing all the shows you visit, but it does mean getting specific with the reasons for going to a specific tradeshow. Being able to make goals that you can reasonably achieve and that you can track post show is vital. If the goals aren’t getting met, it’s time to rethink your involvement. Just because your top competitors are there, doesn’t mean you should be. Your competitors stop being competitors when you guys are all doing the same things, then you’re basically just the same company with a slightly different product. You need to find your niche.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Customer Focused”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You’re supposed to be there for your customer. That’s the goal. Customers pay money, you are a business that wants to make money, so being a customer centric exhibit should be a primary goal, and one of the biggest ways to do that is by the experience you deliver to your audience. You want customers to say, “I had a great experience with [name of your company]” not, “oh yeah I went to that tradeshow, didn’t see much.” That’s the biggest fear, right? So turn your biggest fear into your biggest focus.
Ultimately, we’re a *bit* biased, but in our humble opinion:
Tradeshows are still as prevalent as ever.
Conventions get busier every year, tradeshows are expanding into new cities, and the cities themselves are investing millions into new convention centers for future exhibiting. Maybe they’re not right for your business, and that’s okay. But you can’t make that decision unless you’ve measured the outcomes correctly, and done your homework. Only then will you know if investing in marketing on tradeshows is just throwing your budget away.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]