Trade Shows are Like Open Houses
#ThoughtfulThursday – trade shows are like open houses for the #BtoB community – Yes or No?
We all know that we have to do some trade shows and conferences when marketing BtoB, but why? It seems like we put a lot of time and expense into them and seldom leave the event with a purchase order.
Think of trade shows as an open house when selling your home. Real estate agents will tell you that very rarely does the open house produce an offer, but they do them anyway. It is not because the agent has nothing better to do on a Saturday.
It is because they generate exposure. Both exposure that your house is for sale, as well as providing a way for the agent to meet new potential home buyers face-to-face. In a way, the person who tramples your carpet may be a buyer for another of the agent’s listings and vice versa.
Trade shows are similar, it is about exposure. You have a chance to make a personal connection with a potential buyer (or more likely purchasing influencer) and data mine the information they share when trying to win that TV, plane ticket or Iphone. With that info a good sales & marketing team can stay in touch, grow the relationship and gain the inside track to get in front of the proper decision maker at the time they are looking for your product or service.
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