We’re just a few weeks from the start of spring, which means warmer weather, longer days, and the arrival of prime trade show season.
With the worst of COVID-19 seemingly in our rearview mirror (at least for now), trade shows are poised to bounce back in a big way in 2022. But it’s safe to say that these major in-person events, so crucial for building long-lasting B2B relationships, aren’t going to look exactly the same as they did before the pandemic. At least not for a while.
Full recovery won’t be accomplished overnight. As with other in-person events, trade shows took a catastrophic hit during the first year of the pandemic. In 2019, the United States B2B trade show market was worth $15.58 billion; in 2020, that number fell to $5.6 billion. Projections indicate that the value will rise back to $14.5 billion in 2024—still not as high as pre-pandemic levels.
Over the past few years, companies have been forced to find new ways to connect with one-time trade show attendees. Virtual events became the new norm, and might be here to stay, at least in some capacity. While virtual shows may lack the personal touch of face-to-face gatherings, they can generate ample savings in time and money—and what business couldn’t use more of both?
Companies can also attract an unlimited number of attendants to a virtual event—certainly more than they can cram into a convention center.
It’s likely, then, that the future of trade shows will involve a mix of in-person and virtual presentations. A survey by Display Wizard, a British display and exhibitions company, revealed that 65 percent of businesses still consider in-person trade shows an invaluable part of their marketing strategy, but 35 percent of these respondents said these shows need to change to stay relevant.
Meanwhile, asked how COVID-19 had changed their trade show strategy for 2022, 31 percent said they were planning to exhibit at fewer trade shows, and nearly 10 percent said they were not going to exhibit at trade shows at all.
Here’s a rhetorical question for those companies that are reducing their trade show participation or eliminating it altogether: How do you plan on replacing the business relationships you’re losing without these in-person events?
And here’s another rhetorical question, this one for companies who are fully returning to traditional trade shows: How do you best communicate the importance of in-person attendance, now that people have gotten comfortable with virtual gatherings?
The answer to both questions is finding and reaching out to as many quality leads as possible, but that can be costly and time-consuming. That’s where having an experienced outbound partner can help.
Throughout our 20-plus years of lead generation and appointment setting, VSA has worked on multiple programs involving trade shows—both in person and virtual. We’re currently partnering with a client who is relying primarily on a specific event to generate leads, and we’ve worked with dozens of others in the past who have employed similar strategies.
Here are a few of the ways we can make sure your message is being properly communicated and reaching the right people, regardless of what trade show strategy you employ:
Before the event
Just because you’ve got a booth at a trade show doesn’t mean decision makers in your target market are going to make it over to your exhibition or demonstration. Obviously, there are a lot of booths to visit, and competition for attention can be fierce.
VSA can call trade show participants before the event and schedule date-time-specific meetings with your representatives, ensuring that a connection takes place. But even if we don’t schedule a meeting, we’ve introduced your company and its offering to the prospect, and that name recognition could come in handy during the event.
Every piece of information we provide to a prospect about your company in advance of the trade show increases your chances of meaningful engagement. Even something as simple as alerting a prospect to your booth number could potentially lead to a sustained conversation.
Advance communication with prospects also works for virtual events. We can remind prospects of scheduled webinars or relay any other information you wish to provide, ensuring that you stand out from the crowd before the event even begins.
After the event
Your rep just had dozens of fantastic conversations with potential buyers. But who’s to say these potential buyers didn’t have equally great conversations with reps from other companies?
VSA will follow up with your prospects in a timely manner after the show is over, keeping your company fresh in their mind and nurturing the relationship you’ve already begun. The follow-up appointments we set with prospects after you’ve already met with them are more likely to lead to sales.
We’ll also call prospects you didn’t connect with at the show, attempting to schedule an appointment but also gathering information that could prove useful for engaging with potential customers at future trade shows.
There’s no denying that the landscape surrounding trade shows has changed since the start of the pandemic. Even with COVID-related restrictions rapidly fading, many industries and companies are still weighing the best strategy for these types of events.
Is it worth attending in person? And if so, how many people do we send? How much time and resources should we commit to?
These are all valid questions. Figuring out the best approach isn’t easy.
But regardless of what strategy you employ, having a partner who can help your company stand out from the competition can go a long way toward making sure your approach is the right one.
If you’ve got an in-person or virtual event coming up, give us a call. We’d love to help you get the most you can out of it.