So, let’s first tackle the “what is a B2B Roadshow” question for those who are not familiar…a B2B Roadshow (sometimes referred to as a Mobile Trade Show Tour) is a strategy where a company takes its products from market to market engaging key prospects and customers in a well-planned experience that drives awareness, trial, energy, excitement and ultimately sales.
Maybe this video will help draw the picture.
When we started Pro Motion 25 years ago, our client focus was on soft drink brands, auto manufactures, lifestyle brands and beer and liquor brands. Today, the experiential marketing industry is full of B2B brands. These brands have developed customer focused roadshows looking to drive awareness, value, pipeline and ultimately, revenue for their company. For the past 10 years, this area of our company is growing the fastest. Look at what is happening in the marketplace: decision makers are harder and harder to reach, brands want to get away from status quo marketing that isn’t driving enough results, and marketers are being challenged to do something that truly stands out and drives customer engagement – sales.
Based on feedback from our clients, here are the top reasons they have added B2B Roadshows to their marketing mix:
- Needing to increase awareness on a new product line and break through the clutter
- Not seeing enough decision makers at trade shows
- Wanting their brand to stand out where it is the only SHOW
- Their sales force was stuck in traditional strategies and needed a spark
75% of B2B brand-side respondents agree that Experiential Marketing has proven to be the most successful tactic of their brand’s various marketing strategies, a 14% increase from 2018.*
Our clients tell us there are some intangibles with each roadshow that are unexpected. First, even with their best customers with whom they great relationships, the relationship is even stronger during and after a roadshow appearance. Everyone from the key buyer to the operations department, maintenance department and anyone else who would normally touch this product after the sale has the ability to experience the roadshow (many who don’t attend trade shows). You now have shown every influencer you care about their feedback by bringing your roadshow directly to them.
Second, internally, the sales team gets energized. We see sales staff from the early events calling their peers who are getting the roadshow to share best practices. This helps flatten the learning curve and truly generates a team event where everyone wins.
We love working with B2B brands and their agencies. If you would like to dive deeper into how a B2B Roadshow can help you to meet your sales goals this year, give us a call at 636.449.3162.
*Experiential Marketing Trends in 2018 – Agency EA