How Effective are Trade Shows?

The short answer? Extremely! Over the last few years, the effectiveness of trade events has come under scrutiny, particularly with the rise of digital marketing efforts. While most companies understand the importance of a strong digital presence, developing SEO strategies, refining content, and creating compelling social media content, they underestimate the effectiveness of more traditional platforms. This raises the question: “How effective are trade shows, and should they have a place in marketing strategies today?”.

Despite the pivot towards digital, face-to-face activations provide valuable opportunities to connect with relevant budget-holders, build trust in the brand, and generate sales. In fact, the best strategies strike a balance between these valuable in-person methods and a strong digital presence.

The event stats speak for themselves. Businesses are increasingly recognising the worth of event marketing, with experiential marketing budgets experiencing a 23% rise in the first quarter of 2024!

So why do businesses continue to invest in trade shows? Here are some of the key benefits:

• Lead generation & access to new markets
• Meet prospects & customers face-to-face
• Brand awareness
• Meet with existing customers
• Network with industry peers
• Check out the competition

As trade shows are industry-specific, they bring businesses face-to-face with a large and relevant audience, 81% of which have buying authority within their organisation! 

This opportunity is not only valuable but also very rare, especially when compared to sales tactics like cold calling, where efforts can fall on deaf ears. This is also why trade shows are one of the most direct entry points to new markets. Even if budget-holders do not make purchases on the day, you can take their details and add them to your network for the future.

On the topic of lead generation, a study by the Dallas-based CEIR found that the cost of identifying a potential customer was $96 with an exhibition lead, as opposed to $443 without one. That means the cost of generating new leads at an exhibition came in at $347 less, even with the exhibition stand construction, storage, transportation, exhibit space, salesperson salary, travel, and entertainment.

Trade shows offer an incredible value proposition: meeting customers face-to-face. Digital meetups and events may be convenient, but they don’t foster the same trust, authenticity, and engagement as in-person events. The right team can help you stand out from the crowd, build credibility and win business!

Here are just a few of the advantages of face-to-face events:

• Explain and demonstrate products
• Learn more about the customer requirements
• Build personal relationships
• Make a memorable impression
• Foster trust

Trade shows unite key players from a particular industry, and exhibiting signals to the relevant people that you are a part of that! They’re not just about selling. Whether you’re launching in an industry for the very first time or you attend every year, trade shows are an amazing platform to make your presence known. It’s important to note that your return at a trade show is influenced by the quality of your exhibition stand and your event marketing strategy. Perfecting these ahead of time can help you make the most of your investment.

It is not just that exhibiting builds brand awareness; missing an event can actually harm brand perceptions. If your competitors are exhibiting at an event, you should be too.

Trade events offer the perfect platform to connect with existing customers. In fact, over 44% of exhibitors use trade shows to meet with existing clients. You already have the stand and staff in place, so you may as well use them to strengthen your relationships with clients! 

While you’re working in person, you’ll also have the opportunity to receive instant feedback on your existing products and services!

As trade shows unite key players from an industry, they are the best place to be for networking, building relationships and even sourcing parts of your own supply chain. It is always great to meet like-minded industry professionals, not only as you share common ground, but also because they may be able to teach you something new! On this note, exhibitions usually feature seminars, lectures and thought-leadership, which can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Though trade shows are renowned for their lead generation opportunities, they are also an amazing place to assess your competition. After all, where else can you find all of your competitors in one place?

Many companies choose to launch new products and showcase “first looks” at their latest services at trade shows. This presents a valuable opportunity for professionals to assess their competitive landscape.

 Here are some of the best ways to assess the effectiveness of your own events! 

• Cost per lead – The overall cost of attending a trade show divided by the number of leads gained.
• Return on Objective (ROO) – A performance metric that measures how well a specific project, event, or initiative has achieved its predefined goals and objectives. Objectives can be “soft”, less measurable goals, such as brand awareness, or something more quantifiable, such as gaining qualified leads. 
• Exhibit budget vs. actual cost – Comparing the exhibit budget with the actual cost helps identify spending deviations, control costs, and improve future budgeting for similar events.
• Post-show conversions to orders and sales – Assess the value of leads and conversions to sales post-show
• Return on Investment – Total sales value minus the cost of sales to give net return, then divide this by the cost of exhibiting, then times that figure by 100.

Whether it’s lead generation or brand awareness, trade shows offer an unmatched platform to connect with prospective clients, gain brand awareness, generate leads and even sales, and they’re certainly an effective part of any marketing strategy. However, your return on investment will undoubtedly be affected by the quality of the exhibition stand design, your strategy, and your follow-up post-show.  

Make sure to invest in a high-quality design for your next event to increase your traction during the event and boost memorability post-show. Eye-catching graphics, height, and moving elements can help create a point of difference. Implement a follow-up post-show to increase the value of your investment!

Feeling inspired? Get in touch with our expert design consultants! Email design@quadrant2design.com or call us on 01202 723 500 for a free, no-obligation design proposal!

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