Industry exhibitions and trade shows are a great way to promote your business and its products and services, but they can also be a serious commitment in terms of time and money. Here’s a list of reasons why they can be worth the investment.
- Get in front of a targeted audience. Trade shows and exhibitions usually attract the key decision-makers from an entire industry. For example, Australian Manufacturing Week 2022 (AMW 2022), to be held in Melbourne next March, will bring together business owners, CEOs, general managers and more from across Australian manufacturing. And they’re there with an intention to buy. There are few better ways to reach your target market.
- Generate new leads. Having a stand at an exhibition like AMW2022 is a great way to meet and engage new prospects who are ready to give you their time and attention. They may not buy anything at the show itself, but by establishing relationships with these potential customers, you lay the ground for future sales.
- Enhance existing customer relationships. As well as new business, trade shows are a fantastic opportunity to catch up with your existing clients, find out about their ongoing needs, and talk about how you can help. It’s highly likely most of your customers would visit a major industry event like AMW. And if you’re not there, maybe they’ll go talk to your competitors instead.
- Sell, sell, sell. Of course at the end of the day, the goal for any business is to make sales. And while that’s not the only reason to exhibit at a show like AMW, it’s a pretty big one. Plus, while it’s great to have an eyecatching exhibit displaying your latest products, you’ll really get people’s attention if those products have a few ‘SOLD’ signs.
- Pit yourself against the competition. It goes without saying that if you don’t exhibit at a trade show, your competitors certainly will. The flipside is that by taking a stand, you set yourself alongside your rivals, and if you get it right… set yourself apart. There’s no better way to outshine the opposition.
- Educate the market. An exhibition stand is a great way to foster awareness of your latest products and services. If you’ve got a new product, there’s no better occasion for a launch event to roll it out. Exhibitions are also great opportunities to demonstrate technically complex products, so prospective buyers can see it up close and find out what it can do for them.
- Stay up to date. There are lots of intangible benefits to exhibiting at a show like AMW, such as the opportunity to get more of a sense of what’s going on in the industry right now. You might use it to investigate new distribution channels. You might gather intelligence on what your competitors are doing. You should get a strong sense of the mood of the market. And so on …
- Break into a new market. Any industry exhibition will usually be dominated by established players in that particular sector. AMW will feature all the big names in manufacturing, for example. But if you’re targeting new industry segments, trade shows are also a great way for you to announce yourself. With the right approach, you can really make your business one of the stars of the show.
- Show what you can do. It’s not just your products and services that are on show at an event like AMW; it’s your entire business. Potential customers often aren’t just looking to buy this thing or that thing – they’re looking for suppliers they can rely on. Having a stand is a platform for your team to demonstrate they have the expertise and the aptitudes customers are looking for.
- Be part of something bigger. The biggest trade shows are often more than just a big hall full of products for visitors to buy. AMW aims to be a week-long celebration of Australia’s manufacturing industry. By signing up to take part, you align your brand with that industry. It’s hard to put a value on something like that. But for the price of a stand, it could be a great deal.