A group of ideal prospects has agreed to meet with you, taking several days out of their week to travel, just to learn about your business and its products. How will you make the most of this opportunity?
Experiential Marketing is One of Your Most Effective Tools
Anyone who’s selling or promoting a product or a service can benefit from experiential marketing—face-to-face, in-person events. They are some of the best opportunities companies have to establish trust and build relationships.
People still buy from people, and buyers are still looking for a real sense of who they’re buying from. And in today’s want-it-now, tech-heavy culture, it’s still important for both the seller and the buyer to know the person on the other end of the transaction.
Experiential Marketing: Messaging You Can Touch, Feel, and See
Even if a brand has a strong digital presence, customers want in-person experiences of the brand and many will choose experience over convenience. Take moviegoing, for example. Even though DVD vending machines, online streaming and microwave popcorn are readily available, many of us will still stand in line for tickets and concessions, despite crowds and noisy strangers. Why? For the experience.
Live events, such as tradeshows or site visits, are one-of-a-kind opportunities for buyers to experience a brand completely—with all their senses. Not just seeing and hearing, as with online interactions, but smelling, tasting and touching. They can pick up a drill to feel its heft and test it, or smell and taste a sample of food before committing to a full meal.
Experiential Marketing Leaves a Lasting, Brand-Focused Impression
Beyond meeting the people and products that support a particular brand, buyers at live events are able to test-drive offerings from multiple companies in one location—rather than travelling to each company individually. That means as marketers you have the opportunity to differentiate and leave a lasting impression. And experiential marketing does just that.
When you market to multiple senses, you increase the likelihood your product or service will be remembered. Why? Because the ability to recall becomes greater when more senses are engaged.
So even strong brands with strong reputations understand the importance of constantly creating opportunities for customers to sample and try their products and services. Because truly, there is no substitute for experience.
