I want to tell you about an expensive trade show marketing experiment we did.
We learned:
- Exhibiting at a conference only provides brand awareness to your partners and competition. Most of the contacts were competitors or vendors. If it was a qualified contact, it was almost always not the idea point of contact.
- To get results at a conference you must have a crystal clear definition of target market and segments, as well as your approach. The vast majority of most trade shows is junk. 20 qualified vs 1000 (0.2%)
- For high ticket or relationship based sales, It’s more effective to research and court ideal clients in advance and personally reach out for a intimate experience like a high end dinner. Conference exhibition not required, attendance optional.
