Maximizing your tradeshow investments
Trade shows are the number one marketing tool for many businesses. It is a great opportunity to get focused exposure to your target audience. Trade shows can be expensive and require a lot of time from your staff, so it behooves any organization to make sure that you are doing everything possible to maximize the outcomes of your tradeshow attendance. Here are a few tips that we picked up from various articles on the internet (see source list at end of this article)
- Pick the right tradeshow: Do your research to find out the demographics of the attendees. Are your competitors going there? Is the tradeshow well established? Are you going to get traffic?
- Tradeshow booth: You don’t need the most expensive and impressive display on the floor, but your booth design and presentation can help create the right image. We recommend that you find a company knowledgeable in tradeshow booths and let them design it. There are so many factors that need to be considered such as lighting, color contrast, floor usage, and product presentation. An experienced professional can help create a design that reinforces your brand and makes a strong visual impact while maximizing functionality.
- Set goals, make a plan: Setting goals will help clarify where you need to focus. Make a detailed plan. Spending a few hours before the event can go a long way to ensure you have all your basis covered and you and your staff are productively using your time.
- Train your staff: Make sure everyone from your organization that will attend is clear on your messages. Can they engage? Are they knowledgeable enough about your products? It wouldn’t hurt to go over some trade show etiquette and some pointers for selling. Also make sure everyone understand how lead information is collected and followed up on. Your trade show staff should understand your goals and target client so that they can maximize their time.
- Lead generation process: Make sure you have a good process for collecting data and following up. Designing a special form will help everyone stay on the same page and make sure the data is collected in a consistent manner. Make sure your process includes follow up and subsequent emails or mailings if appropriate.
- Promote your attendance: Make sure you are putting the word out to your existing and future clients about your attendance. Press releases, blog posts, updates on your website, email blasts, and social media are ways to help get the word out. You may consider creating a dedicated page on your website for the show to provide more detail information on the show and also be a follow up resource for attendees.
- Social Media: Social media can be used to promote the show, but you can also use it during the show. Posting images, announcing specials and presentation times and give-a-ways, are just a few of the things that can be done with social media. Just about everyone roaming the tradeshow has a mobile device, you can engage with them before or after they find your booth.
Final advice: Have a robust shipping system for your trade show booths and equipment. It is vital that everything arrives without damage. It should be easy to transport and to load and unload. The tradeshow shipping cases need to be durable as they will probably be used many times. Packnet specializes in custom trade show cases that will help insure that:
- Your trade show equipment is protected
- The containers are durable and long lasting
- Your equipment is easy to load and unload
- Your tradeshow items are organized and easy to find
For more information on custom tradeshow containers, please go to our tradeshow webpage.
Sources:
https://advertise.athleticbusiness.com/how-to-maximize-your-trade-show-investment-before-the-show/
https://artemia.com/4-key-points-maximize-trade-show-presence/