In the past, companies associated trade fairs primarily with sales targets, and their effectiveness was measured by the number and value of contracts concluded during them. Nowadays, international trade fair participants increasingly see trade fairs as a communication tool, serving primarily long-term objectives.
In the knowledge economy, the role of international trade fairs and their functions are changing, and trade fair marketing is increasingly being used to build relationships with business counterparties, and other target groups. Today’s trade fairs are a venue that create the conditions primarily for multifaceted communication based on face-to-face contacts and can be considered as a separate promotional instrument due to the difficulty in clearly attributing them, as they contain elements of personal selling, public relations and advertising.
In an increasingly competitive environment, it is necessary to optimise contact with customers, and the basic problem is to persuade them not to reject information in order to ultimately become interested in the content of the message and arouse the need to learn about the product. A complementary set of information and promotional activities, including participation in trade fairs, enables a company to stand out from its competitors.
When using international/local trade fairs in a company’s promotion strategy, it is necessary to plan participation in them (this topic was developed further in the blog article ‘Going to the trade fair – how to prepare well! ) and deciding on the most suitable trade fair events, as well as precisely defining the purpose of participation. A company participating in a trade fair should take care to choose the right tools with which to communicate with the public and shape its image. Awareness of the need for this among entrepreneurs is of incremental value.
It is not only as an exhibitor that we can go to such a trade fair and learn something useful for the company – even as a mere participant in the trade fair, by observing the competitors’ stands (their offers, marketing methods, manner of presentation, etc.) we are able to pick up techniques that will later help raise the company’s profile . It is worth learning from the mistakes of others, but it is also worth replicating good practices in order to get the best out of it at the lowest possible cost to yourself.
In addition, trade fairs are a great place to find out what customersexpect from a company, product and brand. As an exhibitor, we can present our product as we want it to be used. In this way, it is possible to receive immediate feedback on products/services.
Synergy can be achieved by simultaneously exploiting the many different benefits of a trade fair presence that make it possible to:
- attract new customers;
- expand the database to include new customers;
- strengthen customer contacts;
- launch new products and services;
- demonstrate products and promote them;
- sell products;
- create a corporate image;
- build and strengthen the brand;
- increase media interest.
