PARTICIPATING at trade shows like the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Mine Entra or Harare Agricultural Show offers a strategic platform to build your business’ visibility, build invaluable connections and open your business to the possibilities of new business opportunities.
It is common knowledge that we now operate and function in a digital world moreover in a global stage.
Most of the small businesses rely on social media such as Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp, among many social media platforms and traditional forms of media such as print and electronic media to market their products and their brands.
Yes to a certain degree they are right because it is the new way of conducting business, but that is not enough; trade shows are very important platforms to market the products and build strong connections.
Trade shows are business platforms where business players from different sectors converge to showcase their products and services and also network with other businesses.
In the same vein the ZITF is roaring into life from April 21 to 26 at the Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City in Bulawayo and will run under the theme Industrialisation: Crafting an Integrated Economic Landscape.
If small businesses aim to grow to be big and established entities in the market it is prudent to seize the opportunity and be a participant at the ZITF and other trade exhibitions.
ZITF in particular draws exhibitors from within Zimbabwe, Sadc and other countries.
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There are many benefits that one could reap by showcasing their services or products at the trade shows some of them are:
Learning from industry experts
A company whether big or small is bound to learn something vital from other business players which could help in their growth.
For example an entrepreneur who specialises in making soap could hone skills of making a better soap or benchmark best marketing strategies to create visibility of the product or service.
Meeting with other industry players plays a pivotal role because your company could get the latest industry trends.
Building trust and brand visibility
The easiest way to build trust in your clients is through showcasing your product and demonstrating how it works or how it is used and taking into consideration the voice of the customer.
Showcasing a product also promotes brand visibility, thereby attracting new business opportunities.
Improve sales and profits
Your exhibition stand should be strategically positioned and designed to showcase your product in a very professional light.
Most importantly, your sales representatives team should be very knowledgeable about the products or services so as to share information with the attendees.
Most of the time, a visible brand and an eloquent sales person play a role in making potential customers buy the product or service.
After visiting the exhibition stand, a potential customer could also visit the website to learn more about the services and products that a company provides.
Building confidence
Showcasing how the product functions and explaining its competitive advantage to clients and potential customers helps in boosting customers’ confidence in the company and its products.
Customer engagement
There is an art in displaying the product.
The way the product is displayed should attract potential customers to engage the sales team to learn more about the product or services offered.
Customer engagement can trigger their interest in doing business with the company.
Networking
Meeting with other players in the industry could aid in building strong partnerships.
Moreover, networking helps in building synergies that might prove advantageous if there is a plan to scale up the business by venturing into new markets.
Leveraging media and publicity
Sales representatives should have product information at their fingertips so that when journalists approach them for interviews, they are ready to answer intelligently.
Companies could pay for advertorials to be published in different media spaces to market their products.
An exhibiting company could partner a particular media house for publicity.
Materials such as brochures and any relevant information should be made available to the media personnel for them to have accurate information to use when they are writing their stories.
A strategic person (company spokesperson or one appointed to talk to reporters) should be accessible to reporters.
By strategically planning and actively engaging in tradeshows like ZITF, you are significantly enhancing your business’ market presence.
Tradeshows will help your business establish valuable connections, and unleash new growth opportunities.
- Innocent Hadebe is a United States based certified John Maxwell Leadership business coach and mentor. He runs the Innocent Leadership Group (ILG), an organisation inclined on capacitating upcoming entrepreneurs with the requisite skills to run their businesses.
