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

Many people who run one-man shows or even small businesses feel that exhibiting at a trade show is out of their league for financial reasons, as large companies have large marketing departments with large budgets. After all, the trade show booth is not affordable because they just don't have the vision of how to design the booth, how to transport and assemble it, how to organize the trade show, etc.

The budgetary considerations

Apart from the budgetary considerations of actually renting the space at the fair, everything else is false. In this article, I will show you why trade shows are so important. I write this from my own experience as someone who has worked in trade show booth design, actually set up trade show displays, and worked on trade show floors as an exhibitor and as a visitor. Here are some of the reasons why it is important to attend and exhibit at trade shows, even if you are just starting a business or running a small company.

Competitive Intelligence

Get Competitive Intelligence As an entrepreneur running a small company, it is very difficult to get competitive intelligence, that is, knowing how you compare to your competitors, how they do things, and what makes them more successful than you or less successful than you. It's not more practical because you have your competition at your fingertips. At first glance, they all seem extremely confident with their sales pitches and the flamboyance of their marketing gimmicks, but they're in a hugely vulnerable position because they're giving everything they've got, and they're also worried about *their* competition, who believe it or not... you you! Take advantage of this incredible position.
The best thing to do is to go through the fair at the very beginning - before everyone gets to know each of the exhibitors - and ask, ask lots and lots of questions. Here are some of the things you can get from a simple walk around the exhibition hall: - A four-pound synopsis of your market that you can review at your leisure, from the comfort of your sofa, which most likely contains a bag (literally) of supplier and distributor literature in your very targeted and unique field, trade press. – New market concepts. – You can also get added to mailing lists, participate in market surveys and get free subscriptions to several magazines. – More free coffee mugs, promotional coins, candy, pens, laminated business cards, and golf balls than you will ever need.

Competition

Find out what your competition thinks about your product or service. Again, this is something that needs to be done at the very beginning of the trade show and works best in larger exhibition halls. Introduce yourself as someone else interested in the product or service offered by you and your competitors.
Because they don't know who you are, they will tell you what they think. It is quite informative to hear what your competition is telling potential customers about you, remember you are acting as one of their potential customers. This is competitive research at its roughest, and the exhibition area 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 in any other setting (sure you can 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 all rationality I'm talking about spying on your competition instead of the obvious reasons why trade shows exist to promote a product or service? Analysts and trade show gurus say investigating the competition is what these shows are all about.

Meet your buyers

Meet your buyers and show your product or service to people who are highly qualified to be buyers. Why? Well, because these are people who have gone through the trouble of going to a show and are interested in your type of business. You will also meet existing and potential customers and get real feedback and a sense of how your product or service is perceived, how it works, and what you can do to make it better, more appealing, and useful to your customers.

Know the press

Get to know the press Get to know people from the professional press in your field. They always attend these events and you will probably never have a better opportunity to talk one-on-one with the top editors. You also have a great opportunity to connect with distributors, wholesalers, brokers, and others in your distribution channel.

Selling

Selling You can also sell your product or service right there on the spot. Just make sure you have everything you need to do it. Plan and count on opportunities for serious business. Most of the people who come to your booth will be tire kickers. They grab a handful of pistachios, check out your promotional pens (or USB sticks with your marketing multimedia presentations – hint, hint), pick out printed materials, and move on to the next booth. But once in a while, you bag a live one.
Know how and where you will talk to this person at length. Will it be a seat in the back of the booth, a nearby conference room, a table in the concession area, or a later meeting in your corporate suite? Folks, trust me a wishy-washy "we'll get back to you" will lose the sale. You have to be prepared that if they see that you are not ready to close the transaction right there on the spot (although these days the trend continues to move away from writing orders on the spot at trade shows), they will walk away.

Generation of potential customers

This is the basis of participating in the fair - creating a follow-up mailing list. This is what could (and should) potentially yield a return on the large investment you've made by attending the trade show. Whether you're just collecting business cards, writing names on a piece of paper, or using more modern trade show techniques like scanning people's tags, you need to build your mailing list and follow up immediately after the show ends, while your marketing efforts are still fresh in people's minds. It will make a good second impression if you respond immediately, whether by simply calling or sending additional literature and information.
Your handling of requests for additional information will show potential clients that you value their time and provide quality customer service.