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In a market as competitive as the United States, it is not enough for us, retailers, the supplier, or manufacturers, to have a quality product, a product in demand, or a unique product in the industry. These qualities alone are not going to create added value to our assortments. It will be a great mix of qualities such as service, quality, supply, and continuous updating. The best meeting point between retailers and manufacturers-suppliers are the trade shows that are once again protagonists throughout our geography.
After the hiatus of these years, trade fairs have been able to adapt to the new global context and have been able to remove the label of “obsolete formats,” with which they ended the second decade of the 21st century.
Once again, we are faced with the affirmation that trade shows are the most effective marketing medium for gaining market share and consolidating brands.
Now more than ever, both retailers and manufacturers need trade shows to align with today’s characteristics. The need to promote these events results in a win-win for both parties and, consequently, for our customers.
The need for retailers to attend trade shows
Retailers have also learned to bring together various blends of qualities, such as our presence at key events such as trade shows.
After these years of global upheaval, where we concluded that a physical presence at trade shows was not as necessary, we believe it is now. It is not only to see product updates, as this can nowadays be seen 100% online, but for the very exercise of moving out of our “natural habitat” and being able to observe the behavior of products, assortments, and stores in other areas and with other retailers and suppliers.
In addition to their main floor with suppliers’ exhibition stands, today’s trade shows also offer a wide range of concurrent activities where retail professionals can benefit from training and executive activities.
It is already common at a trade show to attend conferences by international professionals and attend round table discussions where we can update ourselves on the topic to be discussed. These two activities are the most classic, but others are innovative and have very positive results, such as the Retail Tours, in which professional visits are made to the stores in the city where the event is held and where you can even interact with the managers and associates of the retail store you are visiting.
The need for manufacturers-suppliers to attend trade shows
Knowing the new situation of retailers with the latest offers of training and professionalization offered by trade shows, manufacturers and suppliers need to take into account the following points when deciding to participate in these events:
- Budget available.
- Design and purpose of the exhibition stand.
- Human team that should be assigned to the event.
- Constant follow-up throughout the event.
- Analysis of results at the end of the event.
- Be informed in detail about the characteristics of your trade visitors.
- Make an exhaustive study of the products you can offer to each potential customer.
- What kind of business the potential customers have, about their private labels, value-added offerings in their businesses, and a long list of additional information.
- For us retailers, it is essential that when we sit down with a potential new supplier, we get to know each other beforehand, thus showing a total interest in the retailer-manufacturer relationship we intend to build, to be fruitful from the first minute of contact.
