Some look at trade shows as great opportunities or even necessary evils while others see them as unnecessary and a misdirection of marketing funds. It really all depends on your target audience and your companies marketing and sales strategy. For us, trade shows are both necessary and a tremendous opportunity for future business development and potential sales possibilities.
Vinpower Digital is a hybrid company where we function in two worlds; as a manufacturer developing products and components for other companies in the digital duplication field as well as a distributor of duplication accessories and peripherals like blank media. It is for this reason that trade shows are so important in our strategic marketing approach.
Recently we attended both the NAB trade show in Las Vegas, NV and Retail Vision in Boca Raton, FL over a course of two weeks. The NAB show is more consumer driven and focuses on all elements of broadcasting which duplication is a major element in this industry. So NAB is beneficial in creating greater awareness for consumers of our product range. Retail Vision is more focused on B2B business which allows us to interface directly with buyers and purchasing agents for various brick and mortar and web based retail sites. In order to achieve the best market penetration, it’s imperative that we work with as many partner sales channels as possible without cannibalizing our customer base. So reaching working with these various retail venues which all have strong customer bases, we can maximize our sales and opportunities.
Of course trade shows are not for everyone. If a company has a comfortable base and is not looking to expand or focuses more on their niche sales channel than volume business, those marketing funds could be better applied toward other services or outlets. But regardless of whether your company is big or small, participating in the right focused trade shows could be the difference between expansion or stagnation/contraction.
The only warning I have for those looking to expand their business through trade shows; firstly make sure the customer base is appropriate for your product line or else it’s a complete waste of time and money. Secondly, it’s no miracle elixir. Creating a strong channel takes time and repeated impressions, participating in one trade show may not be enough to rocket sales, it may take repeat impressions over a period of time to really have the impact necessary.