How Manufacturing Brand Hussmann Took Its B2B Business on the Road

While many B2B brands have gone the virtual route to engage customers in the absence of trade shows, one manufacturing company engaged its target audience with a 12-week roadshow. The only effective way to educate customers on its products, the brand determined, was in person. The result: Hussmann’s Shop the Future Mobile Experience, a 40-stop, summer roadshow that showcased the food retailer’s solutions inside a 53-foot-long trailer, according to a piece in Event Marketer.

Creating a roadshow wasn’t new for the brand—but executing one in a pandemic was. After communicating with its customer base of grocery and convenience store operators, Hussmann determined that they were interested in experiencing the products in person. Naturally, safety was a key component. Measures included masks, temperature taking, signed forms verifying attendees’ good health and an eight-person limit to the number of people in the trailer at one time.

The experience itself began with an initial conversation with a sales contact outside the trailer followed by a welcome video with brand updates from CEO Tim Figge. Inside the vehicle, nine high-tech products for the grocery industry, such as electronic shelf labels, were on display for attendees to explore. If further details were of interest, a virtual product specialist was available via Zoom to give customers a deep dive into the technology.

For more on Hussmann’s roadshow tour during the pandemic, read on in Event Marketer.