Virtual Exhibition Trend Opens Up Greater Opportunities for Export Market Research

Having identified potential markets of opportunity, preliminary market research is one of the very first stages of creating an export campaign, and one of the best ways to undertake such research is to visit one or more construction trade shows in the given target market.

These events often provide a good opportunity to obtain local market knowledge, become familiar with the competition, understand prevailing issues and trends, and gain awareness of the key media and communication channels. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, visiting trade shows can frequently provide a good chance to meet potential distributors and business partners. 

Virtual Exhibitions Provide New Opportunities for Export Research
It hardly needs saying that the Covid19 pandemic has had a massively disruptive effect on the exhibition sector globally – with all industries affected. The crisis has necessitated a rapid change of approach by event organisers, with most physical events rescheduled and, for many, the adoption of virtual alternatives for the meantime. Whilst these alternatives cannot replace the benefits of touching and feeling materials, and might not completely replace some of the more spontaneous relationship-building advantages of attending in person, they do provide an excellent opportunity for knowledge building, discovering new products and technologies, keeping up-to-date with topical issues/regulations, attending in-show webinars, etc. What is more, attending a virtual exhibition offers a significant time-saving advantage.

The Exporting from the UK section of our Directory includes a wide range of articles,
including International Project Lead Sources, / Agent or Distributor? /
Identifying Suitable Markets 900+ International Construction Exhibitions / Government Support for Exhibiting Overseas

As a result of the pandemic, we have seen a surge in the number of international construction exhibitions going virtual and this, in turn, offers the export market researcher even more potential advantages: specifically, time, costs for travel and accommodation, and speed of information access. 

Our International Exhibitions Calendar has hundreds of construction trade shows listed across the world between now and the end of 2021 (subscribers may download the full International Exhibitions database, which provides websites, etc., and which may be sorted, from the My Account tab), including over 40 virtual exhibitions scheduled until the end of this year:

The Construct UK Sales & Marketing Directory hosts over 75 articles, 1,000 construction events and 30 different databases for download. The annual £195 (+VAT) subscription fee provides unlimited access to all resources on the site.

Keep up to date with the latest construction marketing news by registering for our regular free construction sales and marketing e-bulletin here.

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