Trade Shows Help Build Brand Awareness

RCS Influencer Greta Bajrami says that at home shows you need to use the time and space to represent your work and brand.  

Trade shows are fun and an exciting way to show off your newest product and best work. A time to meet clients, or potential mentors. A time to see what everyone in your industry is up too. 

But what about trade shows when you are a residential roofing contractor and when you are trying to get a lead or a new prospect as they walk around the tradeshow floor? How do you go about it and stand out to these people?  

Homeowner trade shows are filled with many roofing contractors that are all there for one thing - booking leads. Most homeowner walk the floor overwhelmed and afraid to give out their information.  

Should a roofing contractor continue being there? Or should they take their marketing dollars somewhere else? 

When I was asked this question, my answer is keep it, but only for the purposes of branding your business. To attend a trade show as a residential roofing contractor in 2021 looking for leads is simply a waste of time. You can probably obtain more leads by running a search campaign. However, to attend a trade show as a residential roofing contractor in 2021 looking to build brand awareness is a smart way to gain credibility. 

My trade show strategy is always brand awareness. If I represent my company at a trade show, it’s to build awareness of my brand. I want homeowners to touch, feel and experience my world with me. I welcome homeowners to use our 3D visualization tools to see their home transformed. I welcome homeowners to use our roofing calculator (that I built by the way) to get an instant quote on their home project. Pretty cool idea, right? Nothing like building trust by giving them the thing they crave most - price. Gone are the old days of dropping the price like a forbidden fruit. I welcome homeowners to attend a quick demo of most common roofing mistakes presented by our roofing team. 

These three ways of engagement take skill, and effort, as you will have to be on your A game, invest in these things for your booth, and bring a roofer to the show. But they work. People love being a part of something, think of it as show and tell. It’s the best way to welcome them to your world. Trade shows are effective and will bring leads and make your phone ring during or after the show has ended. The results of this will depend on how you use the time and space to represent your work and brand. 

Greta Bajrami is the founder of Golden Group Roofing. See her full bio here.