THE TRICKS FOR NO TRADE SHOWS
Strange times. Unusual times. Unprecedented times. The craziest time of our lives. There are many ways you could describe 2020 and the impact it has had on the world. It has forever changed us all and the way we do business.
THE TRICKS FOR
NO TRADE SHOWS
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WHAT ARE WE TO DO WITHOUT TRADE SHOWS?
Trade shows are a prime example of this. It’s no surprise that the events industry has been hit incredibly hard this year. In fact, since February, the roughly 31,000 trade shows that typically occur in the US every year, have been postponed or canceled. Yikes.
now what?
Don’t throw in the towel, though. Just because in-person trade shows may take a while to get back to normal (or even happen), it doesn’t mean you have to totally change up your normal approach.
We all know that months before trade shows begin, you’re already prepping. Making appointments, creating marketing collateral, and organizing travel. Although the face-to-face interactions of trade shows are not taking place right now, that doesn’t mean you can’t get some valuable time in front of current and potential clients.
Just like you would before a “normal” trade show, you should still be using your social, email, etc. to promote new products. High-quality renderings or detailed exploded views of products that haven’t quite hit the market yet can still be used to introduce products or show off enhancements.
Your year-round “booth”
It’s also vital to make sure your digital presence is up to date. After all, that may be the only “presence” you have at the moment.
“Unlike an event that draws a specific crowd, the online space could have your content and message in front of anyone. You want to make sure you are attracting the right potential buyers, not just anyone with an internet connection.” – HubSpot
You also need to make sure you are giving that audience the right experience. Is your product imagery high-quality and accurate? Do you have short videos showing features and benefits? Are your customers able to get a 360 view of your product to know exactly what it looks like without seeing it in person?
As you frantically search for your next strategy or switch gears at a faster pace than ever, don’t leave things like your website in the dust. It means more to your audience now than ever before.
A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE
“Customers not only value product, but also value the fact that you are subject matter experts in your industry. Customers want more product information. They do not want to wait for once a year or less industry trade shows and conferences.”
How about giving your audience a virtual booth? To consider that approach, let’s talk about what “traditional” trade shows typically give us. In-person events like this usually provide us the opportunity to:
- Demo products
- Hand out collateral
- Grow brand awareness
- Catch up with existing clients
- Easily schedule meetings with potential clients
Those can still happen! All of the content you would normally put on display, whether it be on large screens or print handouts, can still be distributed to your audiences. For example, you can still provide interactive experiences online that can help your audience truly envision how your product can benefit them.
Putting content like that on something like a gated landing page will have so many benefits for you and your audience. You can even give them access to your calendar to easily schedule appointments.
You can also still provide informative videos and brochures that show your audiences what you’ve been working on. After all, they still really want that!
THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
Even as in-person events start back up again, they will surely never be the same. Now that digital options are more common and available, we’ll be sure to see all businesses adapt. The benefits are just too great to not move toward a more digital-based strategy going forward.
“The world has gone from digital transformation to digital imperative.” – Brandon Ward
Let’s talk
digital.