Why do startups and small companies need to attend trade shows?

Many people who are running a one man, show business or even a small business believe that performing at trade shows is out of their league for financial reasons, as larger companies have bigger marketing departments with bigger budgets than a trade show. Booth is not cheap, because they have no vision on how to design, transport and assemble booth, how a trade show works, etc. Everything else is unreal, except for the budgetary considerations of actually renting the space on the trade show floor.  In this article, I will show you why trade shows are so important. I am writing this from my own experience, as someone who has worked on designing trade show booths, actually setting up trade show displays, working on the trade show floor as an exhibitor and as a visitor. Here are some reasons why it's important to attend and exhibit at trade shows, whether you're starting your business or running a small company: 1. Gain Competitive Intelligence As an Entrepreneur Running a Small Company In the US, it is very hard to achieve competitive intelligence, it is the knowledge of how you compare to your competitors, how they operate, that makes them more successful than you or less successful than you. Don't forget to pay attention to the less successful scenarios as well, as you'll also want to keep a list of all the mistakes others make, so you can avoid them.  At a trade show, the easiest possible thing you can do is gather hands-on competitive intelligence. It really doesn't get any more practical than this, because your competition is at the tip of your finger. On the surface, they all seem extremely confident through the glut of their sales pitches and their marketing gimmicks, but they're in a very vulnerable position, because they're giving their all and *even* their competition. Concerned, believe it or not... you are! Take advantage of this incredible situation. The best thing to do is to walk the trade show at the very beginning - that is, before everyone gets to know everyone among the exhibitors - and ask questions, as many questions as possible. Here are some of the things you can get from a simple walk around the exhibition hall: - A four-pound summary of your market that you can review from the comfort of your couch, in which most likely A sack contains (literally) literature on suppliers and distributors in your very targeted and unique area, the trade press. - New market concepts. - You can add yourself to mailing lists, take part in market surveys and earn complimentary subscriptions to a handful of journals. - More coffee mugs, promotional mints, candy, pens, laminated business cards and free golf balls than you'll ever need. 2 know what your competition thinks of your product or service. Again, this is something to be done at the start of a trade show and works best in large exhibition halls. Introduce yourself and anyone else interested in the product or service offered by your competitors.  This is a perfect time for you to use your flirting techniques. Be creative, remember you have nothing to lose, you are in control and the ball is in your court. Get a complete review of your competitors' product range. You can then ask what they think of your company's products and services. Since they don't know who you really are, they will tell you what they really think. It's actually quite enlightening to hear what your competition actually says about you to prospects, remember that you are acting as one of their prospects. It is competitive research because of its gritty and trade show floor is the best place for it. Studies show that companies are more eager to open up and talk about their competition at a trade show than any other environment (of course you can just call, but you won't get the same effect). At this point, if you're still reading this, you're probably wondering why, in the name of everything rational, I'm talking about spying on your competition, rather than the obvious reasons trade shows exist. Who is promoting a product or service? Well, analysts and trade show gurus say these shows are really all about checking out the competition. 3 Meet Your Buyers Showcase your product or service to people who are highly qualified as buyers. Why? Well, because these are people who have gone through the trouble of attending shows and are genuinely interested in the type of business you have. You also meet with current and potential customers and get real feedback and get a feel for how your product or service is perceived, how it is actually performing and what you can do to improve it, "i.e" more attractive and more useful customers for you. 4 Meet the Press Meet people from the trade press in your industry. They always attend those events,  and you'll probably never get a better chance to talk face-to-face with the top editorial staff. You have a great opportunity to connect with distributors, wholesalers, brokers and others in your distribution channel. 5 Sell You can sell your product or service right there, on the spot. Just make sure you have everything you need to do this. Plan ahead and allow for a serious business opportunity. Most of the people who come to your booth will be tire-kickers. They'll take a handful of pistachios, check your promotional pens (or USB memory drives loaded with your marketing multimedia presentations - signs, signs), cherry-pick your printed materials, and move on to the next booth. But every once in a while, you'll get a live bag. Know how and where you will talk to this person for a long time. Will it be in the back of the booth, a nearby conference room, a table in the concession area, a later meeting in your company's suite? Guys, trust me on this one, a wishful "we'll get back to you" attitude will lose the sale. You have to be prepared, if they see that you are not ready to close the transaction on the spot (even though in this day and age, trade show floors continue to move away from on-the-spot order writing). They will leave. 6 Generate Leads This is really the meat of attending a trade show - building a follow-up mailing list. This is what attending trade shows can potentially (and should) bring you back on the major investments you make. Whether you just collect business cards, write names on a piece of paper or use more modern trade show techniques such as scanning people's tags, you should build your mailing list and actually follow it up as soon as the show ends. While your marketing effort is still fresh in people's minds. It really makes a good second impression if you follow up promptly, whether by just a call or by sending additional literature and information.