Are Trade Shows Worth It? How to Decide and Succeed

Trade shows are exhibitions where companies showcase and demonstrate their products and services to potential customers in a face-to-face manner.

They have been a key marketing channel for decades, allowing businesses to generate leads, launch new products, find new distributors, and expand to new markets. Trade shows bring together a large number of industry professionals, key decision makers, and potential partners under one roof – an unparalleled opportunity for meaningful business interactions and relationship building. For attendees, trade shows offer a chance to discover new products and innovations before they hit the mainstream market.

For many businesses, participating in a trade show represents a significant investment, both in terms of time and financial resources. So the question many business owners often ask is, “Are trade shows worth it?” In this article, we will explore why are trade shows important and share actionable tips to drive real ROI.

Key Benefits of Trade Shows

Trade shows remain an indispensable part of the marketing mix for many B2B and B2C companies. They offer numerous benefits that can help businesses grow, but to truly maximize the return on investment (ROI), it’s essential to recognize what these benefits are and how to leverage them.

Reason 1: Direct Sales Opportunities

The direct interactions at trade shows allows access to highly qualified, ready-to-buy attendees – a level of engagement impossible to replicate through digital channels. For instance, at the industry-leading Las Vegas Licensing Expo, over 90% of attendees are key decision makers with substantial purchasing power.

Additionally, 64% of exhibitors successfully closed sales and built strong business relationships during or immediately after the trade show itself according to research. The reason – over 75% of trade show attendees represent a strong customer profile, having already evaluated their business needs prior to visiting the show. They are keenly exploring solutions on the exhibition floor making the sales cycle much faster than cold outreach.

With booth staff directly showcasing how your offerings address attendee needs through targeted pamphlets and live demos, the odds for conversion are extremely high. Contrast this to digital marketing where you may struggle for months before finding relevant decision makers to nurture. Trade shows enable you to directly tap into these qualified prospects at scale over 3-4 prime business days – an invaluable sales channel to activate new business growth.

Reason 2: Launch and Demo New Products

Launching new products at trade shows generates tremendous pre-release buzz as you directly put innovations in front of engaged industry audiences. Live demonstrations allow attendees to see, touch and experience new products. Exhibitors can use this opportunity to gain instant feedback and refine product-market fit based on reactions and suggestions. Trade shows also enable capturing beta sign-ups to validate demand prior to mass production.

Moreover, new offerings launched at shows enjoy longer recall as attendees directly relate tangible product experiences they had with your brand. The emotions generated by hands-on exploration are simply harder to ignore and shake off than digital promotions. There is no better platform than trade shows enabling businesses to test and prime the market for adopting the latest innovations.

Reason 3: Cost-Effective Lead Generation

Generating qualified leads is always a challenge, but trade shows provide a cost-effective way to reach a large number of potential clients in one setting. Exhibitors can collect contact details and helpful marketing intelligence on every visitor willing to engage at their booth through lead capture tools. Such pre-profiled, warmed-up leads have significantly higher sales conversion potential compared to cold calls or emails. Industry studies show the average cost to generate a promising, sales-ready lead on the trade show floor is 20-50% lesser than other channels for most exhibitors.

Reason 4: Enhancing Brand Exposure

At a trade show, the visibility of your brand goes beyond traditional advertising. With a well-designed booth, interactive elements, and engaging staff, your brand exposure skyrockets. Attendees who may not have been familiar with your company before the event will now associate your brand with the positive experience they had at your booth. Photos, videos, and social media posts from the event, when shared strategically, help to prolong brand visibility and generate continued interest long after the trade show ends. In fact, many companies see a surge in online engagement and inquiries in the weeks following their trade show participation, as the buzz created during the event continues to build momentum.

Reason 5: Expanding into New Regions and Markets

Trade shows often attract a global audience, which is perfect for businesses looking to expand into new regions. Exhibiting at international trade shows can provide valuable insights into how your products are perceived in different markets, what potential buyers in those regions prioritize, and what adjustments might be needed to tailor your offerings to a global audience. Many companies have successfully entered new countries after initial exposure at overseas trade shows. It’s a great way to test market reception without the high costs of launching in a new region outright.

Reason 6: Gaining a Competitive Edge

Trade shows provide invaluable first-hand intelligence into competitor offerings, presentations and positioning that is otherwise not possible from product brochures or websites.

By closely evaluating peer booths in the same pavilion, exhibitors can identify the strengths and weaknesses of competing products. This allows spotting of gaps where your company can possibly differentiate further through features, pricing or solutions.

Watching competitor presentations offers cues on areas of messaging resonance to fine tune your own presentations. A well-designed booth, combined with impactful marketing materials and engaging product demos, can make a company stand out in a crowded venue.

Additionally, Expert booth staff can also collect brochures and marketing literature from peer stalls for detailed competitive analysis post-event to shape future market strategies.

Reason 7: Valuable Market Research Opportunities

Far more valuable than brochures or surveys, trade shows provide primary consumer and market insights through face to face interaction with attendees.

Booth staff can ask probing questions as visitors check out products to uncover the exact pain points they want addressed or features they desire in upcoming releases. These qualitative, contextual inputs directly from the end-user profile shape product refinement efforts or new offerings aligned to market needs.

Additionally, feedback gathered from visitors across exhibitor stalls and presentations arms companies with a pulse on the top of the latest trends, shifts in customer requirements and areas of innovation by competitors.

Conclusion

Trade shows help achieve multiple marketing objectives simultaneously – making personalized sales pitches, launching innovative offerings, researching markets and enhancing brand awareness amidst industry leaders and target buyers. They continue to be an irreplaceable lead generation channel for B2B and B2C companies. When businesses approach trade shows with the right mindset, strategic planning, and a focus on maximizing their investment, the results can be substantial—ranging from immediate sales to long-term growth opportunities.

FAQ

How to Choose the Right Trade Shows for Your Business?

Avoid niche trade shows with low visitor turnout or unrelated industries. Analyze industry trends to identify 2-3 popular trade events where your buyers will be present. Align show location, timing and participant profile to offerings and target market. Onsite surveys reveal that 60% of attendees are key purchasing decision-makers in their organizations. Prior attendees, vendor recommendations and expert advice also help select profitable shows.

How Much Does Exhibiting at a Trade Show Cost?

While costs vary greatly, the average exhibit space fees range from $2500 – $5000 for a standard 10 X 10 booth. Additional expenses for booth design, travel, product shipment and accommodations can add $8000-$12000 or more. Large booths for big brands can cost over $100,000 as well.

What is the Average ROI from Exhibiting at a Trade Show?

Industry surveys reveal that 80% of exhibitors find trade shows to deliver good or excellent ROI. About 10% of exhibitors fail to break-even. Factors like relevant show selection, attendee engagement efforts and post-event lead follow-up determine individual company ROI. Top exhibitors often realize 5X to 10X returns from participating in strategically chosen shows.

How to Maximize Your Trade Show ROI?

With robust pre-event promotion, an interactive booth, lead engagement efforts and persistent post-show nurturing, trade shows can deliver up to 5X – 10X ROI compared to costs.

Make Your Booth Stand Out With Aplus Expo

As an established trade show booth contractor with over a decade of experience, Aplus Expo has delivered end-to-end custom booth solutions for over 500 clients across diverse industries and global events. Our full-service offerings span from booth design and installation to logistics and onsite management covering aspect – be it transformable layouts, crisp branding backdrops, lead-generating technologies or visitor engagement activities. With extensive fabrication capabilities in-house and a network of reliable venue partners worldwide, Aplus Expo handholds clients through each phase – right from planning to on-ground execution and post-show analysis – to deliver an unparalleled trade show participation experience that accelerates business goals. Get in touch with our experts to explore how we can elevate your next show presence.