Trade shows and the marketing Ferris wheel
While speaking with a customer of one of our clients recently, we asked how they had first heard about them. His answer was immediate: he saw their stand at IBC some years ago, had a chat, googled them and the rest is history! The first key point to this story is that trade shows facilitate that age-old sales technique of face-to-face communication. I know, right, how original! And yet this is still, we’d argue, one of the most effective ways to make a sale, dealing with people in the flesh and simply talking.
Trade shows undoubtedly have a huge value in our industry, though of course they vary in their effectiveness, and it can be argued that there are too many of them currently. But this story above makes a second key point: once this person had chatted on-stand, they still wanted more information. This, of course, required plenty of high-quality material about the company to be available online.
From many conversations we’ve had recently, the question is how to maximise the value of exhibiting while also being able to effectively communicate the rest of the year. We understand both the manpower and financial challenges that this brings, particularly in an industry where many are under pressure.
We believe the build-up to a show is crucial from a communications standpoint. From catalogue entries, to show previews for magazines, social media use, competition entries, your website suitably reflecting your attendance, perhaps a pre-show simple video…we could go on, but these all need to be discussed and explored. And for IBC 2019 that time is now.
Then there’s the rest of the year to consider. While you’re not at a trade show and not speaking directly to existing and potential customers, it’s your comms strategy that does the talking for you. Is your website working from design and content perspectives? How are you using LinkedIn and Twitter? What about press releases? Are they written as well as they have to be to gain attention? Is all your material accurately reflecting what you do and have achieved?
We fully understand these pressures and create bespoke packages accordingly, using our comprehensive PR, marketing and creative services. We know that our current clients will be ready! Want to join our family? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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