If you’ve attended the same tradeshows over the years, no
doubt you’ve seen an interesting phenomenon: some companies attend for years
and then just stop.
Why? What caused them to disappear?
Certainly, there are a thousand answers to that question,
and much of those answers likely have a lot to do with internal dynamics as
much as the show itself.
But I’ve seen it happen frequently.
I’ve worked with some companies that have exhibited at the
same show for years, only to decide after seven or eight appearances that they
weren’t going to get anything useful out of another appearance.
Why’d you stop going? I’ve asked that question and received
a variety of answers:
“We’ve pretty much maxed out our ability to get new distributors, which is why we exhibited at that show. Our focus is on working with those retailers one on one to get more focused on giving them better products based on what their customers want.”
“The show moved a couple of weeks. Meaning it fell into a different fiscal year. And once the new company owners saw how much their tradeshow budget would be increasing for the fiscal year, they got to looking closer at all the marketing. We’ve decided to pull back and re-examine our entire marketing strategy.” This company did return to the show a couple of years later.
“We kept getting lousy locations which we couldn’t overcome. We put our marketing dollars elsewhere.” In this case, we wondered if they couldn’t have done better to market their appearance in spite of the bad location. It’s been done.”
“Our company has matured to the point that this particular show no longer works for us.”
And so on. There are a thousand reasons to continue
exhibiting at a show. And as many to decide not to exhibit again, or at least
for a couple of years.
Tradeshow marketing is expensive. For companies that are
investing in this marketing channel, it behooves them to make sure the dollars
are well-spent. And one of the questions that should be asked is: should we
really be at that show this year?
I first crossed paths with David Meerman Scott over a dozen years ago. Since then he’s written several books and been a keynote speaker at countless conferences, discussing the changing world of marketing and public relations. On this week’s TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee, David joins me to talk about his just-released book, Fanocracy, co-written with his daughter Reiko Scott.
This week’s ONE GOOD THING. Actually, four of them!
These days, business owners spend a lot of their time on the internet. Many do not have actual space for office and spend their time looking for digital marketing strategies and making digital products. You might feel like you are working in a void when you run an online store, even if the work is very rewarding. You may not ever talk to colleagues or even your consumers besides over the phone and through email. Does this imply that face to face marketing has no place in e-commerce marketing?
The
answer is: no, it is not so. In fact, digital business owners can profit from face to face marketing as much as a
business owner with a physical store can.
What is Face-to-Face Marketing and Why Does It
Matter?
Face-to-face
marketing applies to any situation where you sell your business to a group or
an individual. You get to look at your customers in the eye as you offer your
angle or connect with them on an individual level. For example, you may meet
someone at a grocery store. They may ask what you do and you say that you
create online photography classes for enthusiastic.
The
conversation might change at this point. However, if the other person is into
photography, they may ask questions about your online class. You can offer your
website address or business card where that individual could discover more
about your class. This is an instance of spontaneous face to face marketing. You get benefits of this opportunity to let
them know about your store and the products you sell online.
So,
how does face to face marketing matter?
Think back to the time you last went to a retail store. You were unsure what
you were looking for but you had a basic idea. You may experience more frequently
when you buy electronics. They may know they have come here to buy a tablet,
for example, but they don’t know what features will be most beneficial to them.
In a brick-and-mortar store, you are checking the collection out, perusing the
details of every product, and the price tag also. Eventually, a store
representative shows up, asking if you need help.
You
accept their offer gratefully and they explain what the tablet is all about and
if it meets your demands. The representative might also suggest a few other
models that could be suitable for you. You are grateful for their help and it
helps you choose, and thus, more prone to buy that tablet right away.
Why
does this happen? It is because a personal connection was established between
you two. Maybe they shared a joke with you and answered all your questions. All
of these things are face to face
communication advantages. It just does not always have to happen in a
physical store. Therefore, face-to-face marketing matters because it’s a
totally diverse experience from digital marketing. You can meet prospects who
otherwise would not have known about your online business, and you can address
issues and pain points to boost the chances of a sale.
Now,
let us look at some of the benefits of face-to-face marketing.
Benefits of Face-to-Face Marketing
Here
are some of the benefits of face to face
marketing.
Produce
Better ROI
Imagine
you visit a restaurant for the first time and the food and wait staff impress
you so much that when a friend later asks your recommendation for a restaurant,
this one immediately comes to your mind. You recommend this restaurant because
of the awesome experience you had. This is called word-of-mouth marketing. When
someone likes a particular product or service, they are likely to tell everyone
they know about it.
A
similar concept works for face-to-face marketing for your online business. When
you meet people, you can create an experience that leaves a positive impact on
them. After the person becomes a consumer, you deliver an amazing digital
product that meets their requirements. Then, awed by your service, they will
talk about your product to other people.
Event
Causes Your Audience to Come You
You
probably already know that online marketing becomes more challenging over time.
It’s not a waste of time surely, but online business owners are finding it more
difficult to find audiences organically. Face-to-face marketing takes away the
scalability aspect that affects several small businesses. Events can bring you
more customers directly than just waiting for customers to find you through
customer referrals, search engines, and social media.
We
can take the example of our photographer again. They can attend a convention or
show for photographers. When they put themselves in those events, they expose
themselves to many potential customers.
Build
Credibility and Relationships
Relationships
are what make up a business. The best business owners know that generating
relationships with their customers and prospects can enhance customer
acquisition and retention. You can consider your own relationship with your
local business. You may have been going to the same bakery for the last ten
years and you can’t even think about going anywhere else because you’re very
satisfied with their products and service. Developing similar relationships
with customers online is possible.
Make
Yourself More Noticeable and Available
People
prefer it when businesses make themselves accessible. The people you help also
demand those things. If you are incapable to convey on their expectations,
you’ll possibly lose a buyer. You can utilize face-to-face marketing to ease
your prospects’ concerns. Tell them that you are both available and reliable so
that they feel more relaxed buying your product or service. Face-to-face
marketing makes you additionally more noticeable. This is particularly valid if
you talk at an event or associate in its construction.
Communicate
More Efficiently
For many businesspeople, interacting in person
proves far more comfortable than interacting online. When we communicate in
person, we appear more sincere and more natural than when we communicate online,
especially through text. They can see your body language, facial expression,
and the way you present yourself. Moreover, listening to your voices makes them
fully appreciate what you are saying based on delivery.
Summary
You can profit from face to face marketing in various ways. You can produce more ROI, profit from an identified audience, build relationships with potential and prevailing customers, increase your reliability, and interact more efficiently.
