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Integrating trade shows into your marketing strategy: a waste of time and money?

What goes into exhibiting at a trade show? To have the ideal booth – one that represents your company’s image in an attractive, appropriate, and enticing manner, all the while reinforcing your marketing message – requires a tremendous dedication of resources. Hundreds of staff hours are required, beginning at the planning stage, through actually exhibiting at the show, all the way to post-show analysis and lead follow-up. Graphics, displays, show space, and lodging for your booth staff can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is not at all unusual for a large firm to spend a half million dollars to exhibit at a major show. Yet if upper management is not actively and completely engaged in the success of the show, all of those resources are being wasted. You are throwing money away. If you are not willing to completely embrace trade shows as an integral part of your corporate marketing strategy, you are better off using your trade show budget to redecorate your office or treat employees to a really nice holiday party.

Why is management hesitant to embrace trade show marketing?

A generation ago, trade shows used to be very much about “old boy networking”. You would run into industry peers, and socialize over a few drinks at the hospitality suite. The emphasis then, as now, was on relationship building – but the old technique of relationship building involved a lot of partying. So when times get tight and budgets need trimming, senior management look to the marketing expenses, especially at trade shows to make the cut. They recall their own days of fun and frolicking, and justly deem them a waste of time and money. The problem is, trade shows do not work that way any more. The current generation of leaders grew up as trade shows transitioned into more effective marketing tools, coming of age just as exhibiting technology and techniques came into bloom. Yet a critical knowledge gap exists, leaving management uncertain about the function of trade shows and the vital role they play as an integral part of a company’s marketing message.

What role do trade shows play in the marketplace?

Last year, over 125 million customers attended trade shows and conventions. These attendees, many of whom were major decision makers or influencers for their corporations, came to the show with an agenda. They had challenges to solve and were looking for something new. They were looking for the chance to interact with your company directly. The trade show is the last vestige of face-to-face marketing. The “old boy” network has evolved into a highly effective, dynamic way to connect with your customer. Business is built on relationships. You cannot have a relationship with a web site, a direct mail piece, a flyer or an innovative hologram-printed calendar the marketing department is so fond of. But you can have a relationship with someone you meet at a trade show. And when it comes time to make a business decision, studies have shown time and time again that decision makers will turn to those people in companies whom they have a relationship with.

What does this have to do with me?

When top management gets involved with the trade show, your sales and marketing staff view the show with an altogether different perspective. Simply by your participation, you validate the importance of the show as a marketing tool. Additionally, by fully understanding the nature and importance of the show, management is far more likely to allocate sufficient budget to ensure adequate training and support for booth staff. The most important aspect of a show is not your design or graphics, but rather your people out on the floor, acting as company ambassadors, building and solidifying relationships with your customers and prospects. You can directly influence the performance of these ambassadors with your involvement. Never underestimate the value your presence and participation has on these front line employees. By offering the chance to work closely with upper management, you are giving your staff a powerful incentive to shine at what they do best: enthusiastically representing your products and services to the buying public. This excitement translates directly to more attendees stopping to visit your booth, talk with your staff, and subsequent sales.

What’s the bottom line?

The single most important factor in determining a trade show’s success or failure is management participation. Only when the decision makers fully understand the trade show process, objectives, and challenges will an exhibit team function to its full potential. At that point, your exhibit will not only generate a positive return on investment, but lay the foundation for a series of new, profitable business relationships.Or you could buy new carpet for the conference room. It will not help your balance sheet much, but it is a lot less work. It is really up to you.

Susan A. Friedmann CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies, working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training