Hi everyone, welcome back. Have you thought about attending a trade show? If you have, then I will give you some reasons on why you should go attend a trade show. Let’s start by going over what a trade show is. You can think of a trade show as a convention in which companies promote a product or service. They typically last from a few days to a week long and each trade show will have exhibitors of a specific industry. Trade shows can have as low as twenty exhibitors to as high as a couple thousand exhibitors. Other purposes of a trade show include meeting partners and customers, and to check out the competition.
Some information about myself. The first trade show I attended was the SEMA show in 2014 that takes place yearly in Las Vegas. I went with some coworkers back when I used to work at a warehouse and didn’t know what to expect. But it turns out, I had a great time. It was cool to see all the latest products by all the different companies and they do a great job giving demonstrations and showcasing events. Ever since then I’ve attended the SEMA show a few more times, and I’ve traveled to other trade shows within a few hours driving distance. All the trade shows I’ve attended have been within the automotive industry.
I use https://www.thetradeshownetwork.com/tradeshow-calendar to find trade shows. I’m sure you’ll find other great resources if you browse the internet on where to find trade shows. When looking for a trade show, make sure it’s worth the time and money to visit. If you need to travel across the country for a show with only 100 exhibitors, it may not be worth the travel time.
What are the benefits of attending a trade show? You don’t need to be an exhibitor to benefit your business. As your going around to visit the tables and booths, talk to the exhibitors. Get to know their product or service and what their company does. From here on, this is how relationships and potential partnerships start to form. This is also a great way to see what other companies are doing, seeing what the latest products are, and gaining insight on what the future holds.
If you’ve thought about exhibiting at a trade show, that comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include raising awareness of your company, meeting potential partners and customers, and helping the launch of your product and/or service. Disadvantages include cost, and time of setting up your demonstrations. With your demonstration, you would want to do something that makes your product or your booth stand out compared to your competitors.
Trade shows are definitely worth attending, even if you aren’t an exhibitor. The main thing is that you’re putting yourself out there to understand the industry more and it gives you a reason to travel. I hope this helps you understand more about what to expect when attending a trade show. Thanks for reading.
