Trade Shows discussion / questions - if you find the right niche/market, they appear to be an amazing way to find immediate quality customers and raise awareness of your company. However, to be a vendor with a booth, the price tags tend to be pretty large which makes it difficult for the typical small business owner to get involved in a significant way. There's a few that I'm currently looking at potentially getting involved with next year and was looking for discussion/feedback/advice on the following:
1. In what scenarios is it worth the price tag for the small business owner? total expenses including travel/lodging generally runs $6-10,000 based on the large ones I'm looking at...maybe more if I try to make a better splash. Is it really just a numbers (expected ROI) play? Are there non-monetary factors to consider?
2. What are the best strategies/tips to make sure you get the most bang for your buck if you do participate in one of these.
3. Are there ways to take full advantage of these trade shows without buying in as a vendor? Keep in mind, sometimes, you're not allowed to go as anything but a vendor if you're not the business the tradeshow is for.
3a. And if you are allowed to go as a non-vendor, is it possible to get the same level of impact given the restrictions and lack of ease of access to the tradeshow participants.
Can't wait to see the feedback on this!
Comments (1-2)
I go to GenCon every year. They have an extremely tight demographic but seeing what many of my friends have purchased, it is definitely worth the vendors time and money to be there at the right time people are ready to make a purchase. So in general being at the right show with the right audience can be extremely lucrative. I'm also a member of my local barter group.
I have paid for a booth at two very recently. One in Atlanta and one in Tampa. Neither did I recoup any of the $ spent.
I plan on going simply with a regular purchase ticket next time and spending time with the booths I would like to network with.