If trade shows are a major component of your marketing efforts this year, it’s imperative that your team makes the most of each event. To maximize potential, you need to look beyond the booth. With these trade show tips below, you’ll be positioning your company for success
Be sure it’s a conference worth exhibiting at or having your team attend. Do your homework and find out which companies typically exhibit at the event and gather data about past show attendees to see if it aligns with your marketing targets.
Start planning early. Allow your team plenty of time to appear first-rate to your prospects and customers. And overprepare. With so many moving parts, time is your biggest friend when ticking all the boxes for a truly memorable trade show impression.
Think strategically with samples. What do you especially want to promote? Industry events are an excellent vehicle for product introductions and announcements. And during the show, use socials and hashtags to promote what you’re sampling.
Seek thought leadership opportunities. Speaking events during trade show presentations allow you to position your team as industry experts. For larger booth spaces, you can also have speakers do presentations and live demos at your booth.
Promote your exhibit with incentives leading up to the event. Yeah, this is an obvious one. But don’t overlook the use of email marketing, social media, email signatures or even direct mail to promote your company’s appearance. And don’t forget the power of a personalized message/email from your sales team to prospects and customers attending the show.
Create opportunities. You can also organize special invitation-only events for customers outside the trade show to have more extended, more meaningful conversations without the distractions of the trade show floor.
Ensuring trade show goals are met
Establish goals for the show beyond sales objectives. Although it’s a critical measurement, think further than just the number of leads. If you’ve chosen to invest resources in exhibiting at a trade show, make it worth the investment by establishing goals that benefit your whole team. Allow members time to explore the trade show floor–and your competitors–to share their impressions with your team. Or attend breakaway sessions to understand better what customers are challenged with and how your company’s capabilities can help them address those needs.
Use technology to all your advantages. If available at your event, be sure the sales team is scanning as many name badges of visitors to the booth as possible to build up your database. Use QR codes for digital downloads to save on printing costs and the amount of event materials that need to be transported. Embracing new technology and its benefits can significantly enhance your trade show experience.
Have your sales and marketing team members there. Naturally, trade shows are a gold mine for the sales team. Still, the marketing team has many opportunities to learn how competitors are positioning their brands and products and what kinds of challenges customers seek to solve.
Put your networking on overdrive and fill the calendar up! Trade shows are filled with long days. But with sooooooo many prospects gathered in one place, you need to jump at the opportunity to connect with everyone you can. Maximize the opportunity by having as many face-to-face interactions as possible. Timely follow-up is important.
Need help planning for your next trade show? Contact our team of experts today to set your business up for a successful event.