The Art of Trade Shows – Hands-On Interactions

The Art of Trade Shows – Hands-On Interactions

Marketing in today’s economical climate can be particularly challenging, as people search tirelessly to try and get as much as possible for as little as possible. Trade shows can be an awesome opportunity to bring your product to your potential customers, rather than waiting for them to come to you. If your business involves the production or sale of a specific product or line of products, this can be particularly valuable, especially if you are attempting to catch the attention of a carrier or sales outlet in the hopes of expanding your business.

One of the natural pitfalls of a marketing a product rather than a service is that pictures and print ads rarely do a product justice when it comes to functionality. A small print ad in the corner of a magazine may to very little to truly communicate to the customer how and why they can benefit from your particular products. Trade shows and expos can provide your customers with the chance to experience your product for themselves so they can fully understand what they stand to gain. While displays and explanations can certainly attract the client’s attention initially, the best way to really make an impression is to let them try to product for themselves.

People love free stuff, and while you may not necessarily have a product that lends itself to free samples, allowing a person to touch, handle and manipulate a real object will make a much stronger impression than keeping the product behind the glass of a display case. Depending on the size and purpose of your product, it may be necessary to rent a special staging area in addition to your regular display booth. This will allow people to take their test runs without feeling crowed or rushed, affording them the opportunity to really soak it in and decide if your product is something they’d find useful.
In the instance that your product is something new and innovative, it is also advisable that you perform demonstrations for your visitors to give the idea of what they should expect when using a product on their own. It wouldn’t do for an object to break or malfunction because a potential client wasn’t properly educated on its use and purpose. While the break down might have been purely user error, the human ego will naturally blame it on a defective product and the entire purpose of the hands-on interaction will have been defeated.

The sense of touch is one of the strongest in the human arsenal, and making a customer comfortable and confident in the use of a new product is paramount to a successful sale. Many people balk at the idea of trying new things for fear of failure or looking foolish. Allowing customers to try it for themselves, with no potential for personal or financial loss can instill those customers with confidence in a product as well as the individual or business responsible for creating or selling that product.