5 Reasons You Should Attend Trading Conference (Expert Guide)

The trading conference is an important part of the world of eCommerce. If you don’t attend trade conferences, you could be missing out on some great opportunities to network with other vendors, learn about new products in your industry, and even find suppliers for your business. In this blog post, we will talk about 5 reasons why attending trade conferences is a must for every eCommerce seller.

So there’s a direct sales conference coming up and you’re thinking about not going. You think it’s a waste of time and money. It’s better for your business to stay home and get on with your daily work, right? In fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you’ve never attended a direct sales conference, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities that will benefit your business and your personal growth.

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5 Reasons You Should Attend Trading Conference

Attending a trade conference is an investment. It’s about weighing risk versus reward. To help you understand the rewards, here are some of the main benefits of attending trade conferences:

1. Raise Brand Awareness

Trade shows run the gamut from small events with a few dozen vendors to large events that fill hundreds of thousands of square feet of convention center space.

But regardless of their size, most trade shows offer opportunities for trade attendees to get their names in front of attendees beyond just signing up for a booth. For example, you can pay to participate in a tiered sponsorship program or to have your logo placed on event swag (such as badge lanyards or attendee goody bags).

Problem? Most of these benefits come with price tags that aren’t exactly suitable for small businesses. A better solution for small companies is to look for opportunities to present or participate in panel sessions. Not only are you likely to get free tickets for it, but appearing at the event can help build brand awareness and position your business as a leader in your space.

To understand what kinds of offers might be accepted, ask your customers questions to find out what topics they are most interested in. For example, if you’re hoping to give a conference presentation, send out similar survey questions to your customers and ask what they want to know. Use this information to inform not only your presentation but also the marketing materials for your events.

2. Cultivate Business Relationships

Once you’ve decided to attend a trade show, put some effort into determining exactly what you want to get out of the experience. Is your main goal to acquire real customers? Looking to connect with complementary businesses? Or maybe you want to learn more about the industry. Deciding what you want to get out of your investment will help you better prepare and determine how much you can spend to get a positive ROI.

For example, if you use trade show attendance as an opportunity to connect with your audience and build business relationships, there are several actions you can take beforehand to improve your results.

Promote Your Attendance

Make sure your customers know you’ll be attending. Include the event hashtag in your social media posts to put the show on attendees’ radar. Where appropriate, also engage in event conversations on social media.

Some events will provide a list of attendees prior to the event. If you manage to get this information, use it to improve the reach of the events. Invite attendees to stop by your booth or schedule meetings before or after the trade show to optimize your time.

It’s also a good idea to browse LinkedIn to find other contacts who enjoyed the event. No matter how you identify your contacts, make sure you clearly state the value you provide or the benefit they will receive when they stop by to visit you.

Get Creative with Your Swag

Conference pens and other proven options are boring and forgettable. Instead, look for items like these that are useful to your audience, relevant to your brand, and have a quirky or humorous twist. Consider adding a witty branding slogan to help your small business stand out from the crowd at the event.

Items to consider include Bluetooth speakers, reusable water bottles or umbrellas. Search for items that are relevant to your brand or industry. For example, if your company serves the music industry, headphones will be much more appealing to attendees than a bag.

Finally, consider creating an engaging experience or incentive for your attendees to earn a swag—for example, by playing a game or solving a puzzle—instead of leaving everything on the table. Connecting an object to an experience creates a lasting memory as well as a better experience for the participant.

3. Generate High-Quality Leads

You don’t just go to the fair for fun. If your goal is to generate high-quality leads at an event, one of the best tools in your arsenal is your sales and marketing collateral.

These items – including flyers, brochures, folders, business cards and more – say a lot about your company. How you package your content creates an important first impression that can determine whether potential customers read the materials.

For example, use live images to make your collateral stand out. As an example, consider this pocket brochure used by a home remodeling company. The images depict a young couple renovating their home and the slogan of the renovation company: “You bring the dream. We’ll bring it home,” conveying an important sense of professionalism.

As a bonus tip, if you want to measure the success of your event, consider giving out a special coupon code that is only used for that event. Later, you will consider your investment in the show based on how many times the code produced new customers.

4. Learn About the Competition

“Walking the show” is a long-standing trade fair tradition. When you attend, take the time to browse all the exhibits in the exhibit hall to see what your competitors are doing and what trends are emerging.

What kinds of promotions are your competitors advertising? Who is he targeting? What kinds of displays are they using and which visuals are most prominent? Not only can these kinds of observations inform your future booth experience, but they can also provide valuable insight into what your customers need to hear from you.

For example, let’s say your company sells a software program that facilitates online booking in several different industries. If you’ve prioritized low cost in all of your marketing materials—but all of your competitors tout their ease of use—it could be a sign that you need to update your messaging or improve your features.

One thing that many small businesses don’t realize is that you don’t have to be an exhibitor at a trade show to participate. Conferences and events often sell tickets that only include access to the exhibit area. Use these tickets, when available, to attend shows that serve specific market niches, such as this one focused on CPG brands, to better understand your broader industry and exhibit booth trends.

5. Stay on Top of the Industry

One of the final benefits that small businesses enjoy from attending trade shows is the ability to stay ahead of the industry. A tour of the show as described above will reveal some new business trends and insights. However, there are a few other steps you can take to maximize the value of your trade show participation.

If you are presenting a session, you may need to sit through other panels and presentations to prepare for your own. But if not, be sure to check the event agenda for sessions that are relevant to your business or your audience; they are often a good opportunity to hear new voices who are able to share practical insights from the real world.

Make a special effort to attend meetups hosted by industry leaders with whom you can connect. After you get home from a show, sending them a quick email to say how much you enjoyed their presentation can be a great way to start a new relationship.

There’s no getting around the fact that trade shows can be expensive. However, if you are smart about which shows you attend and are careful to maximize the results you expect from the show, these events can be a great way to help grow your small business quickly.

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