Should I Exhibit at the NBAA BACE Tradeshow?
2021 BACE Post #2: Should I exhibit at the National Business Aviation Association BACE Event? 🧐
This post is a little bit of a precursor to the rest in this series which will assume you have decided to exhibit at BACE. Even if you already have selected your booth and booked your hotel, you may want to keep reading as I raise some questions you might want to ask yourself about the show.
I'm a big fan of this event and it has been great for me in the past, but not every successful #bizav company exhibits at the show. Just because BACE has a good ROI for some businesses, doesn't mean it will for yours.
I've heard a lot of exhibitors say something like - "Tradeshows are just one of those things you have to do (regardless if they deliver results 🤷🏽)." In the past, tradeshows provided a unique way for you to meet with key players for your business. Today, the number of ways for you to connect with prospects, customers, and partners has been expanded greatly through the development of technology and social media, especially following COVID.
I think it is important to figure out what your goals are for exhibiting at a tradeshow (not only BACE, but any tradeshow, in any industry). I have 5 key objectives which I believe are pretty universal for exhibitors:
1️⃣ Sign new customers
2️⃣ Build relationships with existing customers (and upsell additional products)
3️⃣ Secure & strengthen industry partnerships
4️⃣ Drive brand awareness
5️⃣ Create a stronger bond with my team
Using those 5, plus any particular to your mission, try to quanitfy what success would look like at the event for each objective. Ask yourself if hitting these goals at the show are realistic, or would it be more fruitful to invest your time and money into different channels to hit your goals? If you could take that money and invest in webinars, video content, podcasts, on-site visits, etc. would the impact be greater?
If you have come to the conclusion that the big booth at the show is maybe not the best use of your resources, there is always the option of attending and walking the show. For many companies, attending the show can be a much cheaper, more effective option than exhibiting. You can get surgical with your approach to your 5 key objectives and target the key customers, prospects, and partners you want to meet with face-to-face.