Even exhibitors who are already on the show floor and have invested tens of thousands of euros to be there sometimes wonder aloud: are trade shows still of this day and age? After all, if customers can google everything, why should they still get in their cars and spend half a day walking around a trade show floor?
It makes sense that these questions are asked, and probably rightly so. The world is not the same as it was 20 years ago, or even just 2 years ago.
But the conclusion that trade shows have been overtaken by time is not justified. Just when everyone is practically glued to a screen all day, participating in a trade fair offers unprecedented opportunities.
Because the moment the door to that hall opens, something happens that Google cannot match. No faceless 'leads' enter, but people. Real flesh-and-blood people whom you can look into the eyes, ask questions and whose gaze you can follow.
Need tips?With these phrases, your stand will fill up with just the right people
At a trade fair, you are not hidden behind a white screen. And neither is your customer. In every conversation you have in, on or next to your stand, you get the chance to hear what is going on with the person opposite you.
This is quite different from an anonymous request for offers from an info address. Those real conversations are worth GOLD.
The brochures you have in your stand may not add that much compared to the information on your site. But the conversations you have while standing in that stand do. For you as an exhibitor, but certainly also for the visitors to the fair.
In a conversation, you can show what always remains invisible on a screen. You show that you think along with your customers. That you know your stuff. That you are driven and love your profession. That you have the answers to the most important questions.
And you find out much more from a visitor in your stand than from a visitor on your website. Normally, you have to open a whole can of Google Analytics to find out who clicked on what, let alone ever find out why. Now you can just ask.
In conversation, you will find out what questions live in the market, what problems your potential customers need to solve and why that is so important.
That makes a trade fair anno 2017 a unique opportunity. You can make use of that opportunity, except if you make a fallacy and only go to the trade fair to exhibit your product. Getting in conversation with the right people should be your goal. And if you do that, it will be a very smart investment.
Download the tips that will fill up your stand with just the right people here!
