How to Be Successful at Face-to-Face Marketing

What is face-to-face marketing?

Unlike virtual marketing, face-to-face marketing gives customers a live experience of your brand. It’s about the smile, the firm handshake, and the meaningful interaction that leaves a positive and lasting impression on them. There are countless ways to reach customers like this, from brand ambassadors and sales representatives to trade shows and exhibitions.

Why does face-to-face marketing matter?

It’s simple: nothing can beat a real, tangible human connection.

According to Forrester’s 2018 Customer Service Index, most companies today fail to create and maintain relationships with their customers. Their business models prioritise cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency over customer experience. As a result, they struggle to find new customers and even risk losing existing ones.

Face-to-face marketing is a step in the opposite direction. It’s a chance to make yourself visible, get to know your customers, and address their concerns. People ultimately buy from people they like and trust, so if they feel that towards you, you’ll have won them over.

Getting Started with Face-to-Face Marketing

A successful face-to-face marketing campaign requires plenty of planning and preparation. Here are 5 tips to getting started:

• 1. Choose a place for its people For your interactions to generate value for your business, you’ll want to have them with the right people. And for that, you’ll need to be in the right place. Be strategic and think about where your target audience spend their time, including the social areas they frequent and the events they attend.
  

  Be creative when creating your meeting booth
  Traditionally, businesses have sought to meet customers by setting up booths at trade shows and conventions. Feel free to be more creative! Take inspiration from product sampling stands in supermarkets, fundraising street teams outside tube stations, and pop-ups like Amazon’s recent fashion shop on Baker Street.
• 2. Skip the hard-sell tactics Instead of launching into your worn-out sales pitch, get to know the person you’re speaking to. What brought them to the event? Why are they interested in your business? They might have heard about you from a friend and want to know more, or they might be an existing customer with a pain point.
  
  Taking the time to understand where they’re coming from will help you determine the most relevant and meaningful direction to steer the conversation in. After all, this isn’t about making a quick sale, it’s about building a long-term relationship.
• 3. Make them feel Several studies have shown that spending is as much an emotional decision as it is a rational one. Customers are often driven to purchases by feelings of belonging, trust, happiness, and fear. You can harness these by, for example, highlighting how perfectly they would fit in with your brand community, or playing to their fear of missing out.
• 4. Keep a strong brand identity
  
  If your interaction goes well, they’ll walk away feeling positive. Make the most of this by ensuring that they associate this emotion with your brand.
  
  Firstly, have a distinct look and feel. Design your booth, literature, and all other collateral in a way that sets you apart from your competition. Secondly, invest in your marketers. They are the face of your brand to customers, so educate them to understand and embody its values.
• 5. Connect with them online, too Before you part ways, be sure the person knows how to reach you online. Make it personal by handing them your business card or letting them know your accounts on the social media platforms they use. It’s the final flourish to an interaction that will hopefully be the beginning of a long-term relationship.

Now, what will face-to-face marketing do for your business?

In a world of endless social media posts and email blasts, face-to-face marketing is a breath of fresh air. It’s a simple but powerful tactic that can help you reach customers and grow your business.

If you want to find exhibition furniture for hire, or furniture to buy, ExpoCart is here to help you every step of the way!