The Importance of Fitness Trade Shows
Trade Secrets: The Importance of Fitness Trade Shows
In this age of the internet, when virtually any business transaction can be handled from your own personal computer, the trade show seems like a quaint and clunky relic. Why would you trek off with staff in gear in tow, erect the grownup equivalent of a lemonade stand, and spend hours on your feet in a theater lobby, smiling, schmoozing, shaking hands, and selling until you are ready to drop? Why, in short, should you bother with a trade show at all? For most businesses the answer is clear: Because you have to.
While the exhibition industry prematurely predicted its own demise earlier this decade because of the Web, something curious happened: The rise of the virtual office served only to reaffirm the importance of the human touch in doing business. In many industries, the trade show has become a must-seize marketing opportunity. It’s a time to meet prospective customers, get valuable feedback on your product or service, and close sales.
According to Tradeshow Week’s 1999 Data Book, 86% of show attendees called the shots or influenced buying, 85% had not been called by a salesperson before the show, and 75% left the show with at least one purchase.
Despite the outlay of time and money, a trade show is still a very economical way to build your business. While a small business can easily plunk down upwards of $500 - $1,000 for exhibition costs, it’s one way to gain a leg up on your industry’s Goliath’s. And unlike the social vacuum of the Web, you can see immediately what customers think of your product.
Once you have decided you’re going to exhibit, you need to inform your prospective customers. Allocate part of your budget for pre-show advertising, direct mailers, and personal phone calls to make sure that those prospects write you into their agendas. Direct mail motivates 53% of previous show attendees and 29% of new-comers to visit your booth, according to industry data.
On the show floor it is important that your staff is well trained to demonstrate your product - and sell it. Trade show attendees who leave dissatisfied complain that salespeople did not meet their needs, weren’t available to help them, or seemed untrustworthy, industry surveys show. Have approachable, knowledgeable people behind your booth with your company logo on their shirt and provide them with a name tag.
Getting attention on a crowded show floor isn’t easy for a newcomer. However, you can create a respectable-looking booth inexpensively without being tacky: Buy good quality, three-sided skirts for your tables and portable banner stands for signage, make flyers on your computer to set plastic literature racks. Provide lots of small giveaways and raffles to gain qualified leads, and hand out your business card and a small gift with your logo and phone number on it.
For most exhibitors, the really hard work begins once the show is over. That’s when you will have to follow up on all of your sales leads - preferably as soon as possible, so your company is still fresh in their minds. You should also analyze what you learned from the show experience and adjust what you are doing accordingly. Experts suggest you commit at least a third of your trade-show budget to follow-up. And if you think you can skip the whole affair because all your deals are done elsewhere, think again. Trade shows become a gossipy society unto themselves, where your competitors might float rumors in your absence that your company is ready to bite the dust. In some sectors trade shows are the preferred venue for doing business.
For exhibiting and/or sponsoring our fitness events in the Spring and Fall contact us and commit early to ensure that your company is involved from the start of pre-show promotion.
