When it comes to any kind of marketing, the value of statistics is incalculable. That goes for trade show marketing as well; in this field, there are plenty of statistics for us to learn from. One source is Marketech, which published a report that outlined what more than 3,000 trade show attendees said about their trade show experiences in 2012. Here are some of the findings:
- The #1 reason that attendees visit a specific booth is to obtain product information, as 32% of those polled cited product info as their primary reason for approaching a booth.
- 11% of visitors will approach a booth to watch a product demo.
- 17% will approach a booth to take advantage of a giveaway
- A mere 1% of attendees will visit a booth based on an invitation
What can we learn from that? How about this: It’s important to focus on the product first, followed by interactivity and incentives, when planning your trade show strategy. Plus, the research revealed that pre-show promotions are very effective at getting attendees to a booth. Facebook is a tool that makes pre-show promotions easy; as long as your business meets the requisite number of Facebook likes, you can hold contests that reward Facebook contacts for visiting your booth at the trade show.
Another key piece of info: The research showed a strong association between learning from a trade show exhibitor and being more inclined to buy from them. When an attendee learned something new, they were 27% more inclined to buy from the exhibitor. That should be the only reason you need to make sure your booth staffers are stocked with company information, industry knowledge and tips or tricks that can teach attendees something of value.
We hope our Houston trade show customers can learn something from this information, and will use it to have a more successful exhibit at the next show. For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Exhibitors Service Network.
