Not sure if you should be sending your employees to trade show events? We can understand the hesitation because trade shows are expensive and your staff will have to spend time outside the office. Plus, your return-on-investment may not be immediately clear. But networking events provide unique opportunities that your employees can’t get in other places.
Let’s cover the benefits of having your employees attend trade shows and what you can look forward to when they return.
Develop New Skills
Most trade show events feature presentations and workshops that your staff can attend. These presentations are designed to teach new skills, educate attendees on the best practices and discuss ways to achieve long-term success. As long as your staff is eager to learn, they will return with a wealth of knowledge and information they can share with your team.
Get Inspiration for Content
Attending trade shows gives your employees plenty of ideas for creating new and relevant content. For example, they can post updates on social media, capture key moments through video and publish blog posts regarding their experience.
Not only can your team produce content based on the trade show itself, but also they’ll gain a deeper understanding of their market and the types of pain points customers experience. This way, you can create helpful content that your audience wants to read and share with others.
Promote Brand Awareness
When you send your staff to a trade show, you can also choose to set up your own booth if your budget allows. You’ll need at least one person representing your company and the other(s) can walk around the trade show floor taking in the other displays. Make sure you have plenty of branded swag to hand out.
If you need a refresher on how important promotional products are to your brand, here are a few things to know:
- 83% of consumers can recall the advertiser of a promotional product compared to 7% after viewing a commercial
- 58% of consumers keep promotional items for 1-4 years
- 45% of consumers use a corporate giveaway at least once a day, while 73% use them once a week
- 8 out of 10 people love to receive branded swag, whereas 7 out of 10 people find online advertisements annoying
- 20% of consumers are willing to make a repeat purchase with the advertiser after receiving a branded item
Meet Industry Professionals
Industry events offer endless opportunities to network with other professionals in your industry. It doesn’t have to be much – a quick exchange of business cards allows your team to follow up and perhaps even send direct mail promotional products along in the mail. What a great way to get noticed and show the quality of your business!
Not to mention, employees are looking to get back to good old fashioned in-person communication. Talking face-to-face with other industry professionals raises the chances for long-term business relationships and inspiration for new products, services or ways of doing things.
Looking to attend a trade show in the near future? Contact Inkwell for a full catalog of custom branded merchandise. We have quick turnaround times, excellent customer service and fair prices. Check us out today!