France is a leading country in the organisation of trade fairs. In 2018, 230,000 companies exhibited their know-how in France in front of more than 28 million spectators (Unimev 2018). Meetings between visitors and companies generated 34.5 billion euros in turnover.
The benefits
The field of professional events is a profit-generating field. For many companies, as we met at the Paris Air Show, it is even the only way to make themselves known, to assess the competition and to reach large groups, otherwise inaccessible.
A face-to-face meeting changes things. Customers can go to your website to get information, but a direct exchange will personalize your company and allow you to make a good impression, to convince.
You will thus be able to reach foreign customers: ⅓ of the turnover generated by trade fairs is made with foreign companies. France is a hub on the world trade scene.
Another advantage that you may not necessarily think of ... A trade fair strengthens the ties in your teams! Employees, whether commercial or not, mobilize for a common goal and share time together.
Disadvantages
Participating in a trade show can be risky. Profitability cannot be accurately predicted in advance. Poorly prepared, participation in a trade show can be useless and can even damage the company's image and discredit it.
Remember that participating in a trade fair takes time! Upstream preparation is essential and many forget that it is necessary to set up a commercial follow-up after the event, an essential follow-up, knowing that more than half of the contracts are realized within 10 months.
It's a long-term economic investment with a provisional budget of funds to advance material expenses, provision of collaborators, etc.
So it's all a question of preparation and follow-up. In France, the assets are there to ensure that a company that has targeted its participation in a trade show and has prepared itself well, can achieve a positive return on investment. We invite you to read more about this subject in our article on "How to prepare my participation in a trade show".