IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MARKETING MEDIA TECHNOLOGY Most-trusted sources There is rather more disconnect between buyers’ most-trusted sources of accurate Trade shows will have and impartial industry information, and the channels that suppliers think create most trust with their prospects. more of a role—most suppliers are not based Buyers have far more faith in social media, webinars and published content than sellers think, while sellers greatly overestimate the importance of direct contact. in our country. It’s easier to work with Sellers also underestimate the role of trade shows in creating a trusted relationship with buyers. It can be notoriously di昀케cult to quantify the value of investing in a them remotely if you’ve trade show presence in terms of leads and pipeline growth—but this research (our met face-to-face once focus group and survey) reveals a consistent message: buyers want to meet their or twice a year. potential suppliers face-to-face before they do business together, and trade shows Senior architect, European are an e昀昀ective and e昀케cient way to do this. commercial broadcaster Trade shows, and meetings arranged by industry organisations, o昀昀er a chance to build trust and rapport that can sustain virtual interactions via web conferencing the People go to trade rest of the year. shows to qualify you out, not in. Trade shows increasingly play a more important role in closing Marketing VP, production sales than in generating pipeline, with content-based marketing software technology provider raising awareness long before the convention begins. Most-trusted sources of industry info 32% Trade shows 1 Personal networks 36% 20% Personal networks 2 Direct contacts 29% Buyers 12% Industry 3 Industry 13% Sellers organisations organisations 12% Social media 4 Trade shows 9% 8% White papers, 5 Trade press 4% reports, case studies mags/websites % single response ‘most trusted’ channel, top 5 responses