Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1515304
FEBRUARY 2024 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 27 Trade shows are an investment of valuable resources: time, money, labor, travel, and time away from the office. In fact, the average trade show investment in the United States is between $40,000–$60,000 (inkwellusa.com) simply for a booth. Trade shows take tremendous effort, and every exhibitor's goal is to get the greatest return on investment, which translates into closing sales. Being at the show and having prod- ucts ready to present is just part of the ROI equation. It is also critical to make your booth a destination so magnetic that prospects arrive at the event with a plan to seek you out, ready to do business. To really maximize your investment and success, the work begins long before the show doors open. Pre-show marketing is a critical part of any successful trade show strategy. I-Connect007 trade show marketing packages provide unparalleled pre-show and in-show visibil- ity to help make your booth a destination for visitors while keeping you top-of-mind before, during, and after the show. To experience your best trade show ever, reach out to Barb Hockaday. Make the Most of Your Marketing and Trade Show Investment If a prospect visits your website and finds out- dated information and broken links (the IT department is in sales, too) or goes on a fac- tory tour and sees your team not wearing safety glasses, these experiences set an impression. Every opportunity to cast a good impression on a potential customer is essential. Not everyone will be on the front line of sales, but their voice is still valuable. We are increas- ingly seeing companies feature their teams in marketing and advertising, and to their bene- fit. We see their faces and read their stories in ads and trade shows. ey are even writing col- umns and articles for trade publications. Your people are valuable; they add strength and sub- stance to your selling process, and you should consider their positive impact. Maybe we need to add "sales" to everyone's title? The Key to Sales Marketing is a very broad and misunder- stood topic. It is an important investment, a cost of doing smart business. Everything I've explained comprises an essential piece of the marketing (and sales) formula, explaining what marketing is and how it works in concert with your sales effort. It all comes back to my original thoughts about content marketing. It is the smartest way to create your brand, and develop your story and the identity you want to convey. If a pro- spective customer doesn't know about you, they won't buy from you. So, tell them. I can still hear the old-school naysayers argu- ing that marketing is an unnecessary expense, saying things like, "What are the salespeople for?" However, the most important reason to market your business is because prospective customers must know about you before they can buy from you, and you must control the narrative of who "you" are. I challenge you to consider that your position on whether to engage in marketing, whatever that may look like, will either support and position your salespeople well or make their jobs getting that first appointment much more difficult. Good marketing is good business, and I wish you all luck in your journeys. SMT007