Advent Blog

Tradeshows are not just about the give­aways. Shopping for trin­kets to give poten­tial cus­tomers is often an over­whelm­ing expe­ri­ence, but there is more to increas­ing your return-on-investment from tradeshows than just odds and ends for peo­ple to throw away.

For a typ­i­cal buyer from a mid-sized firm who is attend­ing a tradeshow, the pens, note­books, and mouse-pads given out at the event often dis­tract from his main focus: to find qual­ity sup­pli­ers. What mat­ters to him isn’t the best gift he receives (pens get jammed in a cup on the desk and mouse-pads thrown in a sup­ply closet) but the time he has to inter­act face to face with poten­tial sup­pli­ers, which makes all the difference.

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), face-to-face inter­ac­tion has sig­nif­i­cant value when attempt­ing to guar­an­tee ROI from a tradeshow. In a recent study pub­lished in November, the CEIR shows that 76% of atten­dees rate face-to-face inter­ac­tion with poten­tial ven­dors and sup­pli­ers as very or extremely impor­tant in per­form­ing their job. Buyers want to see that the staff sent to man the booth is edu­cated and knowl­edge­able about the prod­uct. Buyers want to know if you can tell them some excep­tional uses for a prod­uct, or some com­mon ones they come across yet. How much do you know, and how do you con­vey that to the buyer.

Another huge fac­tor in con­vinc­ing buy­ers of your company’s worth is how you inte­grate  all of the ele­ments of your tradeshow “per­for­mance”.  How are you inte­grat­ing adver­tis­ing, spon­sor­ships, and hos­pi­tal­ity func­tions into the exhi­bi­tion mar­ket­ing mix? How do those fit with your pre-show pro­mo­tion, at-show hos­pi­tal­ity, and staff train­ing? Is your staff friendly? Do buy­ers stop at your booth because you bought them cof­fee this morn­ing? What are you doing to stand out and how are you show­ing that every move you make is part of a con­certed effort to prove your worth to the buyer? All good ques­tions to ask your­self when you are putting together your tradeshow presence.