2020 was a year of tremendous disruption and change for many businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted supply chains, sales channels and strategies, travel, and workplace policies, to name just a few of the many challenges of this altered landscape. These changes happened suddenly and required business leaders to identify and implement creative solutions to survive. Technology proved more indispensable than ever – telework, video calls, and webinars all became commonplace. For businesses focused on international business development and exports, these challenges were particularly acute.
Trade events such as conferences, expos, workshops, and trade shows have always played a critical role in helping businesses network to find new customers and partners and maintain relationships with existing clients. For all of the reasons these events were so integral to business development before the pandemic – large gatherings of key industry players in one location, face-to-face networking, and an opportunity to focus on relationship building in a discrete timeframe – they suddenly became non-starters in the context of COVID-19. In the early months, many events were cancelled or postponed while trade event organizers scrambled to adjust and adapt. As the year wore on, organizers began to explore online or hybrid models to still deliver those cornerstone industry events and provide value to their exhibitors, attendees, and audiences.
The transition to online events has been a forced learning experience for all involved, with its share of frustrations and pitfalls but also with many new opportunities to learn and succeed. New platforms arose to deliver that needed value and the trade show industry quickly evolved. Virtual booths, online business-to-business matchmaking, and video presentations required an adjusted marketing and business strategy to connect in a digital landscape.
The sheer pace and magnitude of the change to trade events was overwhelming. However, these forced circumstances offered new opportunities for businesses willing to innovate and embrace the changes. In speaking with numerous trade event organizers, it’s clear that they see value leveraging technology for their events and that virtual events or components of events will remain even after travel and in-person gatherings can return to normal. Virtual or hybrid events open participation to a broader audience of both exhibitors and attendees. They reduce barriers to participate by lowering or eliminating costs associated with travel, printing, and materials. They offer new ways to provide the metrics needed to deliver the marketing value for exhibitors, speakers, and participants. The industry continues to evolve and learn, to be sure, so we can expect to see these opportunities further accentuated with the improvement and refinement of online event delivery.
It is precisely these newfound opportunities that excite those of us working in international trade. In our role at the U.S. Commercial Service, we have long worked with key industry trade events to promote their events to overseas audiences. Leveraging our global network of trade professionals housed at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, we have recruited delegations of vetted international buyers to attend events both domestically and overseas and connect them with U.S. exporters. Our trade and industry experts have regularly attended events to counsel U.S. exporters on opportunities in their countries, providing valuable insights and market intelligence to help U.S. companies succeed internationally. Suddenly, with lowered barriers to trade show participation (i.e., expensive international airfare and travel expenses, visa requirements, etc.), the number of markets participating and the size of the delegations from overseas markets has grown.
We continue to draw lessons from these early experiences, but thought it would be useful to share here some of the successful tips and strategies we have seen exporters use at these events to expand their international sales:
- Research, research, and research. Put in the time before the show to understand the attending audience. Many of the new platforms provide an online listing of participants, and most offer the opportunity to review their profiles and connect ahead of time. If international business growth is an objective of your business (and we hope it is!), look for buyers or attendees from markets your business is targeting and connect with them before the show.
- Review your marketing materials. Most virtual booths provide the opportunity for you to present your content and marketing collateral pieces. Tailor those materials to the specific event and audience you seek to reach. For an international audience, pictures, videos, and graphics are always helpful to overcome potential language barriers and demonstrate the true value of your products and services.
- Know and practice with the technology. Each event has its own technology platform and system for presentations and online meetings. Be sure your team is comfortable with the technology, always log on early, and practice providing product demonstrations. It is also helpful to identify a point of contact with the organizer or platform vendor to contact in case of technical issues.
- Use live video chats to your advantage. In the absence of face-to-face interactions, be proactive in requesting video meetings with targeted international buyers. Think through your product pitch and try to use language and terms that will be understandable even to a non-native English speaker.
- Assign the right team. Most events provide a finite number of “booth attendees,” so think strategically about who those core team members will be. If you are focusing on attracting international business, be sure to always have someone available who is knowledgeable about your international business objectives and can speak with international participants. If you have staff with foreign language capabilities, that can be a huge advantage.
- Be available and present. One of the challenges in online events is time management. The show hours may be adjusted to fit a global audience and time zone differences, so it’s important to have qualified staff available at all hours of the event. And because your team is not physically present at the event, it is important to advise and train them on limiting distractions (email inbox, home life, etc.) when they are working the show so that they can be present and responsive when that potential customer or partner is online and ready to engage.
- Follow up. As with traditional trade shows, be sure to continue the dialog with customers you interact with at the event. A short email or follow-up video call might be the needed next step to close a new partnership or sale. It is also an excellent way to gather feedback from your customers about their online show experience and can help to improve your approach at the next event.
As we all work to adjust to these new realities, please keep in mind that the U.S. Commercial Service remains available to help you grow your international business. With support at virtual events, as well as day-to-day counseling and virtual matchmaking services, we want to help you grow and succeed with your exporting strategies. Please visit our website at https://www.trade.gov/pennsylvania-pittsburgh or contact our office at (412) 644-2800 to learn more about upcoming trade events we will be supporting or how we can help you achieve your international business growth objectives.
Ryan Russell is a Senior International Trade Specialist and Global Environmental Technologies Team Leader with the U.S. Commercial Service Pittsburgh Office.