Are Exhibitions Still Important in 2015?
7 years ago
The majority of companies now have a strong online presence. With facilities such as LinkedIn and Twitter the majority of networking is now done online. Many meetings are also conducted in peoples own offices with programmes such as Skype. The convenience and time saved by using these modern approaches cannot be denied but companies are now starting to realise that never meeting face to face with clients, prospects and peers can have a detrimental effect to businesses.
If you never physically meet people it is difficult to make lasting impressions and to really get to know people and build strong relationships, with just an online relationship you become difficult to remember as it is so hard to stand out from the crowd and probably the many, many other companies people only have an online relationship with.
Attending exhibitions is a way of having a physical presence in your contacts minds; they are far more likely to think of you if they have actual memories of meeting you. If you sell a product rather than a service it is also a brilliant opportunity for people to actually see the product and maybe even try it out. People also like to be able to have confidence in the people that they are working with so what better place to meet clients and prospects than at an exhibition.
Of course exhibitions can be maximised by working with modern technology. A great way to really maximise the potential that you can get from an exhibition and make sure as many people as possible get to see you is by advertising the fact you are going to be there through social media and websites, you can also email your contacts to invite them to your stand. All of these outlets are also a great way to do follow up work after an exhibition to make sure relationships are built on.
So the answer is yes exhibitions are still a very crucial part of marketing in 2015 but now they can be maximised by using modern technologies before and after the event to get even more out of them.