Trade shows are not only a great venue for displaying and promoting your products, they can also help you run your company.
Let’s say you’re in the electronics business, and you know the two biggest electronics shows are the Consumer Electronics Shows in June in Chicago and In January in Las Vegas. You pencil those in.
Now, you might as well exhibit at COMDEX the computer show, since there’s so much crossover between the electronics and computer industries.
You own trade association, The Car Alarm Trade Association, has two shows, one in the spring and one in the fall around Labor Day. Pencil those in.
Now, you’re beginning to develop a calendar of shows that can have you and The Gang on the road at least once a month. That might be enough, or because of the newness of your product or particular circumstances in the industry, you might find it advantageous to schedule your own regional trade shows, where you or your marketing department go into an area, hold seminars, meet with distributors and retailers, and entertain the media.
Plan Around Trade Shows
These can be used to promote your appearances at these other trade shows, develop sales promotions, presentations and the like. You may even find that your newer material can be tested on guaranteed friendly crowds at smaller trade shows, the same way you’d open a play in a small town to test market it.
Now, you can bring whatever you learn at these trade shows to product development and release. Is a competitor planning to release the same kind of product, and if so, can you get the jump on them?
Naturally, your introduction of new products will likely be the big splash you’ll be making at whatever shows you attend, so you’ll want to plan your production schedule around the introduction of the product at a particular show. That means you’ll need to anticipate where the industry is headed 18-24 months out, so you can plan the ramp up of marketing activities that will climax with the product’s release.
