Haven’t been to a trade show lately? Would like to attend one, but the budget at the home office got cut?
Well, cheer up, marketing maven, you likely have a treasure trove of trade shows right under your nose, or at least down the road. That’s because pretty much every major city has an exhibition centre of some sort and they’re most likely hosting a veritable buffet of trade fairs from which to choose.
How do you find about these? Consult the local tourism board or exhibition centre in your area or simply drive by the arena with the large billboard sign. In our town, the main road goes right by the exhibition centre that has a can’t miss sign welcoming….
“Women’s Expo 2013.” Me and 5,000 women under the same roof? Count me in. No matter what business you’re in, it couldn’t hurt to know what women are thinking (or more precisely what thepeople who market to women are thinking) as I’m assuming you market to women too.
Skip the Taxidermy
But that brings up an objection to what I’m proposing here. What has this got to do with my business? That depends. If you’re a marketer, pretty much every business has some likely relation to yours.
“Welcome, International Association of Taxidermy.” Well, there are exceptions. I’d probably give that one a pass.
But it is interesting to see how other industries approach typical trade show issues that your industry faces. How do they lay out the hall? What’s the arrangement of the trade stands? What do they do for entertainment/plenary session?
You might find yourself pleasantly surprised, because if you’ve been attending your industry’s trade show for some number of years, you’re likely a bit jaded by now. Been there, done that. But here, in your own town, there may be dozens of trade shows you can drop in on and learn something that may affect they way you approach trade shows in your industry. You may even come away with a different idea of what your industry is.
But don’t they restrict attendance at these shows?
That’s largely a myth. For openers, you might be a member of the media or at least a blogger and you may be able to talk your way in for free. Or you may be a customer of one of the companies exhibiting and if you tell them you’re a big fan of Hagstrom Guitars and just wanted to check out the latest, they’ll most likely let you in. Sometimes, they’ll have a fee at the door and if they do, you’ll try and talk your way past it, but if you can’t, it’s unlikely they’re going to turn down your money.
Once you’re in, you’ll find hundreds who know next to nothing about your town, and you’re the local expert.
