There are a lot of different ways to go about marketing your business. If you want, you can go the traditional route and pay for advertising in media outlets like newspapers, TV stations and radio broadcasts. You can also go online, either with banner ads on websites or more creative strategies like content marketing or social media. In any event, there's no shortage of ideas.

Trade shows, however, stand above all those other marketing ploys. While the others can all be successful, none of them are quite like the trade show, which gives you a dedicated group of audience members who are there in person, and ready to discover your brand.

Attending a show can be expensive at times, but there's reason to believe that doing so is more than worth the investment you put in. There's just no replacement for a great trade show.

Uncovering unique marketing value

There's no doubt that if you want to try other marketing methods, they can be effective to a certain extent. If you put an ad in the newspaper, some people will see it. If you use pay-per-click to get more Google hits, it will indeed produce traffic. But those methods don't involve the targeted, personal touch that a trade show does.

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, trade shows are unique when it comes to marketing activation potential. A recent CEIR report entitled "The Changing Environment of Exhibitions" revealed that 99 per cent of marketers have found value in shows that they didn't get elsewhere. More specifically, 60 per cent agreed that they benefited from the ability to see a lot of customers and prospects all at the same time.

Placing ads in the media still works, but it's not the same as attending a conference and seeing dozens of potential customers in the flesh. There's really no substitute for that.

How to maximise your trade show ROI

Trade shows offer tremendous potential, but it's also expensive for companies to send their employees. When they do, they want to make sure they're getting a maximum return on their investment.

Do you have a booth design that will grab people's attention?

One way for your business to do this is to have a well-planned, targeted strategy. Only attend a show if you know that a certain number of qualified buyers will be there.

Once you're at the event, you can zoom in on those individuals and really invest your time and energy into winning them over. Then, after the event is completed, you can then follow up with the leads you developed and start to build strong customer relationships.

Of course, that's the long-term process. In the short term, what you really need is a trade show booth that will grab people's attention and get them interested in your business.

Booth design plays a pivotal role

Design is a pivotal part of trade show success. If you have a display at your booth that's catchy, engaging and really sells the value proposition of your business, that's half the battle right there. However, it's not always easy to create such a booth. Even if you're smart, capable and understand your business well, the process is still complicated, and it's probably best left to professional exhibit designers.

Luckily, we have a team of them on staff at Proj-X Design. We're proud to be the foremost designer and builder of exhibition stands in Australia, but we work internationally as well, thanks to a global network of suppliers. No matter where you are or what sort of trade show marketing project you're planning, you can contact us today and we'll be ready to help.