A word on marketing for avionics companies.
I had someone write me a DM own LinkedIn, saying they had searched our entire website and they found advice specifically for brokers, FBOs, MROs, consultants, appraisers, etc. but nothing at all for avionics manufacturers or installers.
You’re right! This was an oversight.
In our experience, avionics companies tend to rely on the traditional favorites –
Trade shows and
Magazines
Which are great, but there are a few problems with these.
Trade shows have proliferated, and have gotten a lot more expensive in recent years.
But many of our clients are getting fewer leads and lower quality leads from trade shows in recent years. The biggest players get attention, but people with 10 x 10 or even 20 x 20 booths just find that people tend to walk by, or take your candy and swag without stopping for a conversation.
Magazines are also great, and we love supporting aviation journalism. But frankly, their distribution is down and their rates are reflecting that you’re paying the same or more for fewer eyeballs that actually see your ads.
Soooo,
What do you do?
Do fewer shows, but do the heck out of them.
Choose one or two shows a year, and get a bigger booth. Spend more time and through planning a campaign. Plan reasons for people to visit your booth – schedule product demos, trivia games, speakers, champagne toasts, or coffee meetups.
Have your salespeople schedule meetings with prospects and customers. Have an area of your booth where you can sit down and talk.
Also, do magazine ads, but do smaller ads more frequently.
One full-page ad will not have the impact of a well-designed quarter-page ad run monthly, that changes each month and leads to a demo video or other attractive call to action.