In today’s marketing world, there have never been more options as to how you communicate with potential clients and try to generate new business opportunities. The world is now almost completely online. 82%* of adults in Great Britain used the internet daily in 2016 with 70%* accessing the internet through mobile devices. Even 6-year-olds find FaceTime, Skype and other video calling services almost second nature; the future of traditional marketing activities such as face-to-face exhibitions must surely be dying?
A recent survey carried out by Business Leader Magazine during the second half of 2016 looked to find out whether UK business owners felt exhibitions were still a relevant marketing activity.
The survey questioned 16,000 marketing professionals and business directors. The headline results were as follows:
- almost 85% stated they attend up to 10 shows per year
- 75% said that they were considering exhibiting at more shows in 2017
- 42% said that they spend most of their marketing budget on attending shows
- 8% said that they spend over £75k on exhibition stands every year
So, why do these results seem to contradict so directly the current trend for online interaction?
It seems that despite all the advancements of technology, there will simply never be any substitute for seeing a product in the flesh. You can raise awareness and create interest through emails, websites, video demos, conference calls and even 3D printing or augmented reality, but you can’t feel the quality of a product that way. When you are able to hold and touch a product, as you are at an exhibition, the quality speaks for itself without any smoke and mirror effects that can be delivered online. If your product really is as good as you say it is, then the best thing you can possibly do is take it to an exhibition. Let the audience see with their own eyes and the product can sell itself. Exhibitions ensure that seeing really is believing.
Exhibitions aren’t just about showing off product. A huge number of service companies also get great return from attending exhibitions. Whatever a product may deliver and regardless of the promises that are made about it, the single biggest motivator for people looking to choose a new supplier remains the trust in that company and the people you’re working with to deliver for you. The most direct and easiest way to build trust with a potential client is by dealing with them in person. Exhibitions remain the only marketing solution where potential clients physically come to see your company, come onto your stand space and give you the opportunity to show them how your product or service and staff can add real value to their company.
