Boosting Manufacturing Sales: Trade Shows or Digital Marketing?
Talking with manufacturers about their marketing efforts, the consistent budget suck amongst all of them is always tradeshows. Then the conversation becomes; can we afford to invest in digital marketing while we are spending $100,000 per year on trade shows? Both marketing efforts have merit, so do manufacturers have to choose one or the other, or can they work together? In this article, we’ll dive into the arguments for all of the above, as well as explore some strategies most manufacturers haven’t thought of yet!
Caution: I will be a bit biased towards digital, but bear with me.
Benefits of Trade Shows for Manufacturing Companies
Let’s start with looking at the benefits of attending a trade show. Trade shows have long been a staple in the manufacturing industry, providing a platform for companies to showcase their products, network with potential clients, and stay up-to-date on industry trends. Attending these events can yield several benefits, including:
- Face-to-Face Interactions: Trade shows offer opportunities for manufacturers to connect with customers, suppliers, and industry leaders in person. This direct interaction can foster stronger relationships, build trust, and facilitate meaningful discussions about product offerings and industry developments.
- Product Demonstrations: Attendees can experience products firsthand, interact with them, and witness live demonstrations, allowing for a deeper understanding of their features and capabilities. This hands-on approach can be particularly valuable for complex or innovative products.
3. Industry Insights: Trade shows often feature seminars, workshops, and keynote speakers, providing manufacturers with valuable insights into emerging trends, best practices, and industry developments. This knowledge can inform strategic decisions and foster innovation.
The manufacturing industry, especially sub-sectors like agricultural equipment manufacturing, are very much in favor of doing business in-person, and meeting fellow business leaders in person. Which is great, but is it worth the cost of attending?
Costs Associated with Trade Shows
As we just outlined, trade shows offer numerous benefits, however, they also come with significant costs that manufacturers must consider:
- Exhibit Space and Setup: Renting booth space, designing and constructing exhibits, and transporting equipment can be a substantial investment, especially for larger trade shows. Average cost for a trade show exhibit: $20,000
- Travel and Accommodation: Exhibitors must factor in the costs of travel, lodging, and meals for their staff attending the event, which can quickly add up. Average cost of travel and accommodation for attending a trade show: $1,000 per person
- Staffing and Promotional Materials: Hiring and training knowledgeable staff to represent the company, as well as producing promotional materials and giveaways, can further strain budgets. Average cost of promotional products: $1,000
The numbers above give us a general idea of the costs associated with trade shows, but in my experience talking with marketers in the manufacturing industry, costs can climb to $40,000+ per trade show easily.
Cost-Per-Lead from Trade Shows
Now that we have an idea of the cost to attend a trade show, what can businesses expect to generate from the investment aside from the educational element. Because at the end of the day, the return on investment (ROI) is what really matters when budgets get broken down for the following year.
The average cost-per-lead for manufacturers from trade show interactions is $811.
Now the question becomes, is that good? The simple answer is yes. If you are selling grain handling equipment for a large grain storage system that runs $10,000+, then $811 for a good-quality lead is a drop in the bucket.
However, we both know that some trade shows result in a complete bust. Getting maybe two or three phone numbers by the end of it with little hope of converting them into a buyer. If that’s the case then $20,000 or more was spent for your marketing team to attend a tradeshow and get some education and shake a few hands.
Now, what if there was a way to get an even better quality lead at a much lower cost, without the hassle of attending a trade show?
How Manufacturers Can Use Digital Marketing
Digital marketing can mean a lot of different things to different people. In this case though, digital marketing is referring to leveraging your website to attract visitors that can then convert into leads. Here are a few of the most common digital marketing strategies for manufacturers:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing website content and architecture for relevant keywords can improve visibility and drive organic traffic from potential customers searching for manufacturing solutions.
- Google Ads: Targeted pay-per-click campaigns on Google or other search engines can put manufacturers’ offerings in front of interested buyers at the right time… when they are looking for it online!
- Social Media Marketing: Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Meta, and industry-specific forums can help manufacturers connect with professionals, share thought leadership content, and build brand awareness. There is also the opportunity to run PPC ads here as well.
- Email Marketing: Targeted email campaigns can nurture leads, share product updates, and foster customer relationships, enabling manufacturers to stay top-of-mind with their audience.
Benefits of Digital Marketing for Manufacturers
So, what makes digital marketing so valuable for manufacturers?
- Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to trade shows, a monthly digital marketing strategy should be more cost-effective, allowing manufacturers to reach a wider audience with a smaller investment.
- Low Competition: This is my favorite reason. Your competitors are “old school” and are leaving the door wide open for you to rank #1 online for all of your products and solutions!
- Targeted Reach: Digital channels enable precise audience targeting based on demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring that marketing efforts are focused on the most relevant prospects.
- Measurable Results: Digital marketing platforms provide detailed analytics and reporting, allowing manufacturers to track performance metrics, measure ROI, and optimize campaigns for better results. Ever heard of Google Analytics? It could (and should) be your best friend.
- Continuous Presence: Unlike trade shows, digital marketing efforts can maintain a consistent online presence. Investing in an SEO strategy allows your content to live on your website forever. It has a cumulative effect.
Digital Marketing Costs
While digital marketing can be more cost-effective than trade shows, it’s still not cheap. Performing an impactful digital campaign will cost anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000 per month depending on how aggressive you want to be and what niche you’re in.
- Website Development and Maintenance: Building and maintaining a professional, user-friendly website is crucial for digital marketing success, requiring investments in web design, development, and hosting. Average website cost: $3,000 (one-time)
- Advertising Costs: Google Ads campaigns, social media advertising, and other paid digital channels can incur ongoing costs based on clicks. Typically manufacturers will want to spend around $2,000/month on ads to start, and then can adjust from there.
- Content Creation: Producing high-quality, engaging content for websites, blogs, social media, and email campaigns can require substantial time and resources or the assistance of professional copywriters. Hiring an SEO expert can range from $1,200 to $5,000 per month.
- Analytics and Optimization Tools: Utilizing advanced analytics and optimization tools can provide valuable insights but may require additional software or service subscriptions. This would be very minimal in most cases, and with a reputable marketing partner, these costs would be included in your investment for SEO or advertising.
So, now that we know the monthly cost for digital marketing could be anywhere between $3,000 to $10,000 per month, what’s the value and how do I know how much to invest?
What to Invest in Digital Marketing
The million dollar question in digital marketing, or most marketing efforts for that matter is deciding how much to budget. Digital marketing offers a ton of flexibility, and budgets can be changed monthly in most cases. Unfortunately, the simple answer here is… it depends.
The budget depends on various factors like:
- Your Niche
- Competitors (how aggressive are they online?)
- What your lead generation goals are
- How fast you want results
- What your current online presence looks like
The best way to determine the optimal budget for your manufacturing operation is to request a free audit from a reputable marketing firm.
Cost-Per-Lead from Digital Marketing
B2B manufacturers should expect to pay between $150-$300 per lead via digital marketing initiatives. Each strategy will range, with SEO offering the best long-term cost-per-lead at around $100/lead while social media will be a bit higher.
Think about it:
You start ranking #1 for searches related to your product on Google. Your content will always be there, so as your website traffic grows, your costs stay the same, thus reducing your cost-per-lead. This is what we love about SEO, the cost-per-lead should decline month after month and year after year!
Investing in a Website vs An Exhibit Booth
Your website is dated, and is not going to get customers to convert on it. Yes, I’m talking to you agribusinesses!
All of this marketing stuff sounds great in theory, but if your website was built in 2010, and you haven’t updated anything on it in years, why do you think a potential customer would spend any time on it?
Good guess, they won’t!
So, should you spend the first quarter marketing budget on a new website or a trade show?
Crazy I know! But it’s really not!
When considering the long-term benefits and costs associated with building a new website, it’s a no-brainer. Spend $3,000 right now to get a new website so that when you do go to the next trade show, the people you interact with have a place to go after the show to learn more about you.
Cost NOT to Attend a Trade Show
Ok, so we established that attending a trade show is expensive, and the cost-per-lead metrics might not be great, but is there another piece to this puzzle? The argument for trade shows is less about the cost and the ROI, but the intangibles. The perception of being at a large trade show trumps most of the tangibles if you talk to manufacturing leaders and marketers. Large manufacturers that have been attending trade shows for decades want their customers and the industry to know where they’ll be and what to expect when they visit their booth.
Not attending a trade show that a manufacturer has always attended could cost more in the long run than the $20,000 to attend if the perception in the industry is that they are skimping or not rolling out new, innovative products to show off.
Ethan Boulley-Dekker, the marketing coordinator at Lambton Conveyor emphasizes this point even further by saying,
“It is almost mandatory that we maintain a consistent presence at a lot of our larger shows because people in the industry KNOW that we’re going to be there and oftentimes plan their entire year around talking to specific suppliers at certain shows. So while trade shows are significantly more costly than digital marketing on a per-lead basis, the cost of a well-established company in this industry not attending any given show could potentially be detrimental to their yearly performance.”
Many manufacturers are not going to completely give up all of their trade shows for the year, so does that mean there is not an opportunity to invest in digital marketing at all? I certainly hope not!
Can Trade Shows and Digital Marketing Work Together?
You might be wondering why it took so long to get here. Well, because I needed you to understand the value of digital marketing first.
Yes, I have been bashing trade shows for the last 1,000 words, but for good reason, they are expensive, time consuming, and frankly, they don’t generate a lot of leads.
That being said, I understand the value of a trade show. Manufacturers and agribusinesses love relationships. You guys have done business this way for four or five generations. I am not going to take that away, because there is value in being involved in the industry and being educated (or giving education) by experts in the field. So, can we compromise and attend one or two trade shows next year and put a bit of budget towards digital marketing? Yea, I think we can do that. Here are a few ways I love supporting trade show efforts:
- Digital Business Cards: Your website and social media pages are your company’s digital business cards. When they see you at a show, they are going to do more research. Make sure these places are modern, updated, and have valuable information or that work to get a lead might be wasted.
2. Advertising Before, During, & After the Event: If you know you will be at a trade show next fall, start running ads on Google and social media a month or two before to help generate interest and let your current customers know where you’ll be. During the event you can run ads targeting the zip code or even the specific building the event will be in! After the event you can leverage your email efforts to send a follow up note to all your hard earned prospects from the show.
3. I Forget Your Name: Your customers are probably seeing and interacting with hundreds of businesses during the course of a weekend trade show. Are they going to remember your name or even your business’s name? Potentially not, but they might remember your product or the solution you solve. Where are they going to look? Google! Making sure you rank for your products and services on Google is a way to guarantee they can find you again.
How Manufacturers Can Start Incorporating Digital Marketing Into Their Businesses
Ok, so you’re bought into this idea of generating more leads at a lower cost, and maybe dropping a trade show or two next year, now what? The first step is to determine your lead generation goals, what your budget is for those leads, and finding a partner to help do all this. The first two items are on you unfortunately, but Loading Leads Marketing should be your first call for the last one. We will prepare a custom strategy for you based on your goals, and will walk you through what we recommend as a course of action to achieve those goals. We offer free digital marketing opportunity audits to all of our prospective clients. Just reach out, and we will get you set up for success!
