Microsoft Sees Inbound Marketing as the Future; Quits Trade Show

Dec 22 2011

Microsoft Pulling Out of CES

Microsoft announced yesterday that next month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will be its last as both a keynote speaker and as an exhibitor.

Frank Shaw, head of Microsoft’s corporate communications said the following,

“Microsoft decided to downsize its role at CES because the company is looking at all of the new ways we tell our consumer stories“.

Shaw went on to cite their website, their social media presence on Facebook and Twitter and their new retail stores as being the marketing avenues they wish to pursue more aggressively.

Wow! Let’s just let that sink in for a moment.

One of the biggest technology companies in the world is quitting one of the biggest technology tradeshows in the world.

Microsoft is basically admitting that inbound marketing is the new tradeshow.

And it’s not just Microsoft. You’ll remember Apple pulled out of the Macworld Conference & Expo in 2009. At the time, Apple’s head of marketing Philip Schiller said,

“Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before” and “trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers”.

Tradeshows’ Decline

Tradeshows have always been questionable investments for many companies.

But as the web has become the dominant means of connecting with potential customers, trade shows are losing their appeal.

A recent study cited by Exhibit News, a UK publication, cited a 2011 study conducted by Vivid Interface that found tradeshow attendance in the UK has fallen an average of 13% every year since 2005.

Trade show attendance decline in UK since 2005

Source: Exhibition News (http://bit.ly/uvGR2m)

Inbound Marketing Gaining Steam

Inbound marketing on the web is a lot like a being at an online tradeshow.

And just as you would create an appealing backdrop, provide educational content and engage in conversations at a trade show, this is exactly what you have to do to attract and convert prospects on the web.

As more companies recognize that traditional outbound marketing just isn’t delivering the kind of results they’re used to, inbound marketing is gaining steam.

Learn more about inbound marketing by downloading the Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing.

Plus, check out our latest inbound marketing infographic to find out why you should work with an inbound marketing agency.