Post-Covid, Digital Marketing Delivers Better ROI Than Trade Shows

The post-Covid world of trade shows has fundamentally changed, just as working in the office changed. Interestingly, the impacts on both have been similar.

The blended percentage of trade show exhibitors and attendees now hovers around 65% of pre-pandemic levels, according to Skift Meetings, a convention industry trade publication.

Likewise, 60% of office workers have returned to their desks after going remote during the pandemic, according to a Gallup survey.

Trade shows have been a traditional part of the B2B marketing mix for several reasons:

• They allow brands to display more company bravado with elaborate exhibits, product demonstrations, and in-person experiences.
• FOMO – or “Fear Of Missing Out” – is a thing in business, too. Trade shows help ensure you won’t miss out on the exciting conversations or latest developments in your industry.
• There has been a lack of suitable alternatives that effectively recreate the atmosphere and serendipity of in-person trade shows.
• They provide an opportunity to research the competition in person.
• They provide a venue for more face-to-face customer interactions that strengthen the business relationship.

Why Trade Shows are Losing Ground?

Trade shows require a monumental effort. They’re costly for companies to exhibit and for employees to attend. Consider the scale of these costs compared to the average budget for digital marketing activities. You see why trade shows amount to putting your proverbial marketing eggs all in one basket.

Still, despite the time constraints, businesses justify their participation in trade shows by pointing to increased brand awareness and lead generation. Ultimately, trade shows prove their ROI when they lead to sales conversations with new prospects who meet you at the event.

Less Foot Traffic Means Fewer Opportunities

The uphill effort to justify the costs of attending trade shows suffers when attendance hovers at about two-thirds of pre-Covid levels.

Exhibitors have lost a third of potential customers for numerous reasons:

• The Great Resignation
• The Great Retirement
• Layoffs
• Economic concerns
• Trade show alternatives

Growing Challenges for Exhibitors

The pressure for trade shows to deliver is even greater than before the Covid shutdown.?Here are some reasons why trade shows aren’t working:

• Trade Show Economics - Rising costs of everything make exhibiting more expensive. The ROI for trade shows is more significant than other marketing and promotion channels.??
• High Cost-per-lead - The expense of participating in a trade show impacts the cost per lead. Results aren’t guaranteed, and that one attendee that missed talking with you might be the sale that got away.
• Time Intensive - Planning the exhibit may not involve a cast of thousands, but it does require months of work, including solidifying goals, messaging, and participants. Then there’s designing the space, shipping supplies, and more. All of this takes time and budget away from other high-value marketing projects.?
• Changing Buyer Demographics - The Great Retirements mentioned earlier mean Gen Zs and Millennials are filling those vacated spots. They are tech-savvy and are far more at ease exploring a virtual trade show or a Reddit discussion that leads them to a business website. In addition, these generations are wary of the environmental impact of flying, not to mention the inevitable headaches that come with flight delays and cancellations.

Consider not only the ROI for the trade show, but also the opportunity cost of exhibiting at a trade show compared to the potential benefit of applying those resources across digital marketing channels.

How Digital Marketing Delivers Better ROI

Let's say the visitor to your trade show booth picks up a brochure or gets your business card because she doesn’t have time to talk.?

What’s next?

She might call you–but more likely, first she will visit your website. When she does, her experience should be positively memorable.?

Consider another scenario where someone who couldn’t attend the trade show saw your social media posts. Those posts often lead them to your website.

A High-Performance Website Foundation

The point is, many prospects pass through your website on their lengthy B2B buying journey. Their bosses may visit, too, in cases of a matrixed purchasing process.

When the website is properly built and designed to support these journeys, the ROI for digital marketing can be dramatic.

Today, Google evaluates websites based on performance. So having an optimized, fast-loading website built to best practices maximizes the opportunity for B2Bs to capture prospects from search results.

Global Audiences

A standout benefit of digital marketing is its ability to reach the maximum audience worldwide, expanding opportunities to grow the brand and earn new business in international markets.

Next-Generation B2B Buyers

The demographics of your customer base are changing. Younger buyers are less concerned with attending events in person, more concerned about preserving the environment, and savvier with the technology they can use to research and choose new vendors and partners.

24/7/365 Brand Presence

The online world never sleeps. A high-performing website technically optimized for organic search will appear to offer the solution to a prospect’s pain point.

Easier Audience Identification and Targeting

Analytics for your website, email, paid digital advertising and social media offer deep, actionable business insights. You can choose your target audience from the global pool based on your business objectives, value propositions, and budgets per market.

Get Discovered with Organic Search

Over 50% of B2B website traffic comes from search engines. That's why you want your company website appearing on the first page of search results for keywords related to your business offerings, ideally in the top three organic positions.

Getting there requires more than high-priority keywords these days, now that Google and other search engines are focusing on content quality and user experience. Success requires extensive technical SEO, page experience optimization, development and design best practices, and several other criteria.

Content Showcases Expertise and Demonstrates Thought Leadership

At trade shows, companies need more time with a single prospect to explain their company's unique value proposition. High-quality content supports prospects during the many stages of the buying journey. It’s more than a sales pitch. You become a trusted resource.

More Cost-Effective

Your website becomes the hub of traditional and digital marketing. Trade shows, print advertising, and collateral material expand on messaging and product information. On the digital side, social media and email marketing direct users to the specifics of those brief interactions. Your website is the foundation and digital front door for your B2B business.

Be Both Tactical and Strategic

Trade shows, social media, emails, etc., are all tactical opportunities and touch points in the buying journey. Each one points back to the website sooner or later.?

That’s why a high-performance website showcasing your company's expertise positions your company strategically to achieve a higher ROI for your marketing.

At DBS Interactive, we’ve built our reputation on helping B2B companies achieve greater visibility and high-quality leads.?