Trade Fair

What is trade fair means in Marketing?

A trade fair is an exhibition where manufacturers demonstrate their products to other people in the industry and try to get business. A Trade fair is an event in which firms belonging to the same industry present their product and services in a defined setting to prospective clients, wholesalers, end-users, retailers, and distributors (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019). Some trade fairs have a massive audience as they can attract visitors and participants from every nook and corner of the world. Trade fair is a massive stage that provides widespread exposure and interactions. In other words, a large gathering in which different companies in a particular field or industry show their products to possible customers (Abdullahi 2019). It is one of the most popular means of promotion and gaining recognition as participants can meet customers and industry partners, examine opportunities and market trends, study the activities of their competitors and showcase their latest services and products to one and all.

Some trade fairs are open to the general public, whereas others are open only to the company representatives and media personnel.  Some of them are hybrid and allow some days for public viewing and some for corporate members.  A trade fair, also known as a trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019). 

Trade fair is commonly also known as

• Trade show
• Expo
• Trade exhibition

Explain the types of trade fairs.

The trade show industry identifies exhibits as either:
1. Custom
2. Custom modular
3. Pre-owned
4. Portable
5. Rental

Custom Display

The custom trade show is built from scratch with exact booth space specifications in mind, including width, height, and depth. With the custom build, you can have a one-of-a-kind, eye-catching trade show exhibit that incorporates new design elements, materials, and AV components that enhance your company’s powerful image (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019). 

Custom Modular Display

The custom modular trade show exhibit offers dramatic trade show exhibit imaging without the higher cost of a custom trade show display. Its highly flexible components allow you to reconfigure the design or size of your booth from one trade show to the next. It uses lightweight structural materials, such as aluminum, Plexiglass, and high-grade fabrics (Faroque et al. 2021).

Pre-Owned Display

A pre-owned trade show display saves your company when you face a time or budget crunch. You can cut your trade show exhibit design time and construction costs by more than half when you select a previously owned trade show booth.
Professional trade show display companies have impressive inventories of top-quality, pre-owned exhibits for sale or rent (Gigliotti and Runfola 2022).

Portable Display

A portable trade show booth is extremely easy to install and dismantle due to its skeletal frame that has attachable laminate panels, which clip together, offering multiple structural styles. It is lightweight and highly portable and is able to meet a variety of trade show display configurations while offering a distinctive creative image (İpek 2020).

Rental Display

You can also rent a trade show booth, rather than purchase one. Renting can be the perfect solution for An occasional island trade show exhibit, When you need to supplement your regular trade show exhibit, When you have a trade show booth scheduling conflict, and When a simultaneous trade show appearance requires you to exhibit at more than one location at the same time (İpek 2020).

Explain trade fair marketing techniques.

Trade Show Marketing is a very hands-on approach to presenting your business, product, or service, and value at an industry event.

1. Set Your Goals.

Planning your strategy around goals will help align all of your efforts toward one grand result. It will also help give your representatives a standard to try and reach so that they can make the trade show a successful investment (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019). 

2. Identify Relevant Trade Shows.

With trade shows being so industry-specific, you’ll want to come up with a specific list of events to target.

There’s a distinct difference between trade shows meant for your industry and ones made for your target audience. This is where your goals really help out (Faroque et al. 2021).

If you’re looking to boost brand awareness, make partnerships, and network, then the industry-focused expos are your best bet. But if customers are your priority, then you’ll want to head to trade shows that have the highest lead generation opportunities.

Both have their benefits, but you’ll have to set different expectations depending on which you attend (Faroque et al. 2021).

3. Develop Your Call to Action.

Coming up with a CTA that you can track and measure will give you the metrics you need to determine the success of your strategy.

Have it be lead generation focused and start the conversation at your booth. Create a landing page for newsletter sign-ups, contest entries, or even create a unique hashtag for your business (İpek 2020).

You can feature the CTA at your booth and encourage visitors to engage with them. After the event, you can analyze the data to gauge how effective the trade show was for your business.

4. Prepare Your Collateral.

With the right team and equipment, you should be able to physically prepare for the trade show quickly.

Invest in marketing collateral that will attract attention and stick with potential customers after they leave. This can be in the form of Banners, Display boards, Brochures, Business cards, Samples, and Giveaways. Design your booth to be attractive to your ideal customer and stage it in a way that will capture the interest of those passing by (Ouboutaib, Mekkaoui, and Aitheda 2021).

What Are the Benefits and Downsides of a trade fair?

Advantages of exhibiting at trade shows

The benefits of exhibiting include Raise awareness, Meeting in person, Networking, Launching new products, and Building your database  (Deepak and Jeyakumar 2019). 

Disadvantages of exhibiting at trade shows