Expos are perfect opportunities for you to get sales, do effective marketing, and widen your network. Joining as an exhibitor means you need to invest time and a lot of work, but the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Having a stand lets you showcase your products and capture the attention of passing attendees. It’s also your chance to get to talk to them, forge new relationships and maybe even sell on the spot.
Below we outline what expos can do for your business.
1. Turn prospects into purchasing customers.
If you choose the right expo for your business, then you will be in the same room with your hot leads. People attend the expos with intention: either they’re ready to buy then and there or they’re looking at options, with the intention of purchasing in the future.
In fact, those who already know of you and are already interested in your products may go to the expo with the sole intention of buying from you.
Other hot leads attending the expo may need only a bit of convincing, and they’re ready to buy. The expo is the perfect platform. You can speak with them face-to-face and give them a more in-depth look at your offerings.
2. Talk to your target market.
Expos allow you to engage directly with your target market, including those who have no intention of buying.
This is valuable in two ways: one, it’s a chance to help your market down through your sales funnel and two, you get to know your niche more and understand their needs. You get information that can help you ensure that your products and services are valuable and relevant to your chosen target market.
3. Widen your customer base.
At expos, you get to meet and interact with so many different people, even those who don’t initially know about your brand or products. It’s your chance to give your brand a bigger audience. Show people how you can help them solve their problems.
Through conversations with attendees, you can tell them how they can benefit with what you offer, effectively turning passersby into leads.
4. Engage with current customers and strengthen ties.
Customer loyalty is a valuable asset. You have to take care of your customers so that they become recurring sales. That’s less costly than acquiring new customers, especially with the ads and various marketing costs that you need to spend first before new customers make their first purchase.
Invite your customers to go to the expo and visit your booth. These conversations will also give you ideas on how to further improve your services.
5. Build your customer database and email list.
It is likely that people you speak with don’t end up buying right away. But if you do a good job of explaining how your products or services can help solve their problems, then they will most certainly be interested.
If they’re not ready to buy, that’s totally fine. But it’s also your chance to collect their contact information so that you can still give them a call in the future, in case they’re ready then.
You can also start building your email list. Ask people if they’d be interested in receiving your newsletter, where you’ll be announcing new products, promos and other updates. You’d be surprised at how many would sign up.
6. Increase brand awareness and recall.
Of course, sales aren’t the only benefit of going to expos. Expos are great avenues for effective face-to-face marketing and brand awareness campaigns.
Having a stand at an expo can help you build brand awareness and recall. Make sure your stand reflects who you are and what your branding is all about. Use your brand colours, fonts, and overall vibe. These elements will help your stand become consistent and have your brand stick in people’s minds. A striking yellow and black stand with diagonal stripes? That’s probably us. ?
Put in the hours in thinking about your stand design and marketing materials. Make sure your little booth stands out from the others.
7. Effective marketing through face-to-face engagements.
Sure, you’re active on social media and you’re running ads to increase brand awareness. But getting personal and actually having conversations with your market are still far more effective.
Encounters at an expo are more intimate and discussions are personalised according to their specific needs and problems. Face-to-face interactions are also more effective in building relationships—something valuable whatever your business is.
Also, you can take the chance to ask attendees to like or follow you on your social media accounts. If they like their conversation with you, they will likely connect with you online (they might even engage with your content more than those whom you’ve never met).
8. Perfect platform for new products, promos and campaigns.
Got a new product? Or maybe you have an end-of-season promo. Expos are great avenues to be aggressive about these events. Announce your new product and tell your customers they can see it first-hand at the event. This will drive them to the expo, and this crowd will pique the interest of other attendees. Expos can give you exposure to more people.
You can personally show people the cool features of your product, maybe even have them try it out themselves. This is another opportunity to deeply engage with your market, build relationships and get leads.
If you’re a digital marketing agency, you can give free 10-min consultations. They will appreciate this and they’ll better understand why they need you to do their digital marketing.
An expo is like a shopfront, where you can showcase your products and services and capture the attention of passing attendees.
9. Get industry news.
Joining an expo means you share the event with other industry players. You get to see the bigger picture. Outside your brand, what is happening in the industry? Are there new players? What products are popular?
This is valuable to you because you get a basic understanding of the threats and opportunities that are out there.
10. Widen your network.
It’s doesn’t have to be an ugly competition all the time. You can make friends with your “competitors” and learn from each other. You will also meet other exhibitors who are not exactly your competitors, people who might refer you to their own network and customers.
It’s always a good idea to know fellow entrepreneurs—it might be a fruitful collaboration waiting to happen.
