Description
Before attempting to respond to this post, refer to the “Trade Promotions: Appealing to Other Businesses” Learning Activity. According to the text, why are trade shows important? Assume you were tasked with overseeing a B2B sales promotion for a product. Describe the product and describe the type of trade show you would seek to participate in (what types of businesses would you seek to be with). Then, describe how you would participate and explain the goal of these activities. How would you know if you had a successful trade show experience?
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Introduction
In business-to-business (B2B) marketing, sales promotions are typically called trade promotions
because they are targeted to channel members who conduct business or “trade” with consumers.
In this reading, learn about trade promotions, or promotions aimed at businesses, which include
trade shows, sales contests, trade allowances, and push money.
In business-to-business (B2B) marketing, sales promotions are typically called trade
promotions because they are targeted to channel members who conduct business or
“trade” with consumers.
Trade promotions include:
•
trade shows
•
conventions
•
sales contests
•
trade allowances
•
training
•
special incentives (given to retailers to market particular products and
services, such as extra money, in-store displays, and prizes)
Trade shows are one of the most common types of sales promotions in B2B markets.
A trade show is an event in which firms in a particular industry display and
demonstrate their offerings to other organizations they hope will buy them. There
are typically many different trade shows in which one organization can participate.
Using displays, brochures, and other materials, representatives at trade shows can
identify potential customers (prospects), inform customers about new and existing
products, and show them products and materials. Representatives can also get
feedback from prospects about their company’s products and materials and perhaps
about competitors.
Companies also gather competitive information at trade shows because they can see
the products other firms are exhibiting and how they are selling them. While
approximately 75% of representatives attending trade shows actually buy the
product(s) they see, 93% of attendees are influenced by what they see at the trade
shows. However, only 20% of organizations follow up on leads obtained at trade
shows and only 17% of buyers are called upon after they express interest in a
particular company’s products.
Figure 2.1 is an example of a booth display at a trade show showcasing the Korean
electronics firm Samsung. Trade shows can be very successful, although the
companies that participate in them need to follow up on the leads generated at the
shows. With changing technology, Webinars are being used to reach businesses that
may not be able to attend trade shows. Follow-up after a Webinar is also essential.
Figure 2.1
LG Electronics Display at CES 2010© LGEPR/Flickr
Conventions, or meetings, with groups of professionals also provide a way for sellers
to show potential customers different products. For example, a medical convention
might be a good opportunity to display a new type of medical device. Sales
representatives and managers often attend conventions to market their products.
Intuitive Surgical is the maker of the da Vinci robot, a new type of technology used to
make surgeries easy to perform and less invasive. Intuitive Surgical often
demonstrates the robot at surgical conventions.Image from Nimur. (2006). Laproscopic
Surgery Robot. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia
Commons . Reproduced with permission.
Sales contests, which are often held by manufacturers or vendors, provide incentives
for salespeople to increase their sales. Often, the contests focus on selling higherprofit or slow-moving products. The sales representative with the most sales of the
product wins a prize such as a free vacation, company recognition, or cash.
Trade allowances give channel partners—for example, a manufacturer’s
wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and so forth—different incentives to push a
product. One type of trade allowance is an advertising allowance (money) to
advertise a seller’s products in local newspapers. An advertising allowance benefits
both the manufacturer and the retailer. Typically, the retailer can get a lower rate
than manufacturers on advertising in local outlets, saving the manufacturer money.
The retailer benefits by getting an allowance from the manufacturer.
Another sales promotion that manufacturers, such as those in the tool or high tech
industries, offer businesses is training to help their salespeople understand how the
manufacturers’ products work and how consumers can be enticed to buy them.
Many manufacturers also provide in-store product demonstrations to show a
channel partner’s customers how products work and answer any questions they
might have. Demonstrations of new video game systems and computers are
extremely popular and successful in generating sales.
Free merchandise, such as a tool, television, or other product produced by the
manufacturer, can also be used to get retailers to sell products to consumers. In
other words, a manufacturer of televisions might offer the manager of a retail
electronics store a television to push its products. If a certain number of products are
sold, the manager gets the television.
Have you ever been to an electronics store or a furniture store and felt like the
salesperson was pushing one particular television or one particular mattress?
Perhaps the salesperson was getting push money, or a cash incentive from the
manufacturer to push a particular item. The push to sell the item might be because
there is a large amount of inventory of it, it is being replaced by a new model, or the
product is not selling well.
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