Planning for a trade show is essential to your businesses’ success at the event. Any major trade show requires considerable preparation at least a few months in advance, and if you aren’t ready, is certain to present a logistical nightmare. It is very important to develop a solid plan, partner with the right resources, and monitor the process vigilantly.
Participating in a trade show can require a major investment of time, money and resources. Therefore, you should be critical in your evaluation of which shows are going to benefit your business the most. Consider whether or not attendees are in your target market or are even likely to be future customers or clients. Exposure to a couple hundred qualified targets is a far better investment than exposure to thousands of generalized visitors who may not be interested in what you have to offer—unless that is your goal in the first place. You should also specify the things you want to accomplish as a result of your participation in each particular trade show you are evaluating. Do you want to gain exposure to potential customers, increase your visibility in the community or check out the competition?
If you want to have a significant presence at a strategic or influential show, you should plan to set up a booth—on your own or with a key partner who will complement your efforts and message. Booth space is usually limited and must be reserved in advance. There is most likely a fee for the space, and can include the square footage, location on the exhibition floor, but may or may not include additional materials such as tables, chairs or dividers. Before you do anything, contact the organizers of the show to find the show’s manual. Everything you need to know about the show should be there, including a proposed or final schedule, registration information and forms, floor plans, exhibit specifications, invitations for potential speakers, and other important details. Developing a good design and clear message for your booth are both key to the success of your presence at a trade show. Your area should be inviting, easy to access, attract positive attention, and your logo should be big enough to see from a distance. Powerpoint presentations are a great way to attract visitors, convey information and can be easily set up and looped for minimal distraction to the staff operating the booth. You should also employ a dress code for your staff at the show so they will be easily identifiable. This can be a full uniform, or even something as simple as the same color shirt or hat. Your staff should also know what is expected of them, and you should brief them on what message you are trying to convey and what aspects should be emphasized as well as providing the knowledge of how to run any demos or presentations. Nothing looks more unprofessional than demos that don’t work, or an uncoordinated staff.
Part of making a good impression is giving visitors some sort of a gift to take with them, so they are effectively taking your contact information with them as well. Colby Ridge offers personalized popcorn bags that are a great way to promote your business. Leave a lasting impression with somebody you just met by handing them a bag of Colby Ridge popcorn, complete with your custom information included on the label! These popcorn bags are also very affordable at only 99 cents per bag, and there is no set up fee for the labels. Jeff White of Colby Ridge says “If you are attending a trade show as a vendor you need to make sure that you leave a lasting impression. Stand out in the crowd, and don’t always resort to pens, pencils and letter openers. Nobody is going to remember you if they open the bag from the trade show and there are five pencils that look exactly like yours!” When you place an order with Colby Ridge, you will always receive a quality product at an affordable price. Set yourself apart from your competitors and other trade show participants by offering a delicious and creative reminder of your business.
You can send your visitors with just about anything, but some of the best items are both creative and useful. Quality Resource Group offers a variety of promotional products to inspire the imagination! Dorothy McManaman, a consultant for Quality Resource Group, emphasizes that image is everything when you are reaching out to new clients. She says, “Trade shows are an excellent way to promote your business and get your name out to new clients. At a trade show you will want your booth to stand out against your competitors. Be creative and come up with fun ideas to attract customers to your booth. A booth with games, food, fun people and a great promo giveaway is always a success. To get optimal results, make sure the promo item relates to your booth theme.” McManaman adds, “Promotional products are a way for new clients to remember you. These clients may misplace your business card, but will keep a great pizza cutter with your contact information. Most people will keep their promotional product for more than a year–75% will do this because they found the product to be useful! Always purchase as high quality an item as you can afford. Kitchen items are very useful to most people. With over 600,000 products available, ranging from a simple pen or mug, you can always keep your logo in view of your customers. My favorite picks are a ballpoint pen with stylus or hot/cold tumblers. Anything dealing with technology is very popular as a giveaway as well.”
Mindy Lubeck of Good Life Imprinting also stresses the importance of staying away from items “the other guy” is giving away and to think outside the box. If used correctly, promotional products at trade shows do work! A recent Promotional Products Association International study showed that 52% of tradeshow attendees who received complimentary items reached out to the advertiser that provided the merchandise after the event. However, it is also common knowledge that many people come to trade shows simply for the freebies. In order for this to be mutually beneficial, it is best to hand out your promotional products personally to attendees instead of leaving them out on a table. Lubeck advises that if you have to leave them out, make sure to leave out just one color at a time as some people seem to think they need to take one of each color. Lubeck says, “A tradeshow booth takes hours of thought and work in order to make it successful. Make sure you leave the promotional products planning to a professional. I’ll save your valuable time by doing the research for the best products, and you’ll save money because I can likely provide them at a lower cost than online retailers. You can then focus on the other aspects of making your booth a success!” She adds, “Six months before your show is a great time to have me start working on locating your advertising specialties. I can advise on high-impact tradeshow giveaways and promotional strategies you’ll use to attract visitors to your display area. Your promotional items will not only be useful to the recipient but will be relevant enough to keep them reminded of your business long after the show is over.”
When planning to participate in a trade show, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (or any local Chamber of Commerce) is a great resource to find recommendations on preferred vendors with a track record of providing excellent customer service. According to Jaime Henning of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, booth design and marketing are key to the success for each company at a trade show. So much can be done, with a large or even a small budget, to market to each company’s advantage. Henning also emphasizes that encouraging attendees to visit your booth utilizing social media is a must! Avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, graphics, apps, Instagram and posts on various Internet sites all help grab attendee’s attention and contests online or promotion of contests or giveaways during the tradeshow drives more engagement through likes and followers, thereby getting the word out exponentially with minimal effort on your part. This will give you more time to plan for other aspects of your presence at the tradeshow.
Here are some simple tips for your next trade show appearance:
• Promote, promote, promote that your booth will be at the expo. Announce new products or services. Create anticipation so people want to visit your booth.
• Have a game or contest at your booth. This draws a crowd. It could be as simple as having a jar full of cash and people have to guess the total. Or a TV with a Wii hooked up. Maybe even a “stack the cups” game.
• Wear comfy shoes! Bringing an additional pair of shoes to change into midday isn’t a bad idea either.
• Bring your own snacks and water so you’re not leaving the booth and possibly missing your next client.
• Network with the people who are also exhibiting. Your next client could be just 8 feet away!
• Put in a good effort. As with any networking, you get what you give.
• Follow up with everyone that visited your booth.
Pre-show promotions are a great way to let people know about your presence at a trade show. Some of the most successful promotions involve giving people an incentive to visit your booth — to redeem a postcard for a gift, bring the item for an autograph, bring a key that unlocks a prize or a missing piece to a puzzle, etc. You can also include a photo of your display on a direct mail piece or in a mass email, or use the same color scheme/branding as the display in the promotional materials. This all helps breed familiarity and continuity–it helps people find you! The exhibit itself needs to be attention-getting and fit the same branding as the pre-show promotion. Your display is a very large, three-dimensional representation of your company for all to see. The importance of looking your best should never be underestimated. After all, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
The design of your exhibit should be based on your company’s objectives for that particular show and it should attract the attention of YOUR target market. To some extent you can compare exhibit design to the billboard effect — you only have a few seconds when driving down the highway at 65 mph to view a billboard, understand its meaning and the company advertising, and understand any call to action. The same often holds true for a trade show display — the attendee will decide in a just 4 to 7 seconds as they’re strolling quickly down the aisle whether or not they will visit your display.
Businesses can also use at-show promotions to entice visitors to enter the booth. There are two main forms of at-show promotions — giveaways or games and drawings. Giveaways are rewards and thank guests for visiting your booth, while games and drawings are used to expand your database or draw a crowd to your booth.
We’ve all walked by tables filled with anything that you can put a logo on — but think about the perceived value of these items. If I’m leaving them all out in the open for anyone to grab, I must not think they’re worth very much! If, however, I keep them under the table and only give them out as a reward, a thank-you for visiting my booth or listening to my demo — then my visitor perceives the gift to be of higher value. And I am not wasting money by giving items away to people who would never buy my products or services.
There are lots of important questions to ask yourself before choosing your next giveaway, but the key ones are:
1. Would you like to receive the item?
2. Does the item reflect the proper image your company wishes to project?
3. Would this item only appeal to your company’s employees, or management, or just a small segment of your target market?
4. Where will the giveaway end up after your prospect leaves the show? At national tradeshows, industry experts estimate that 8 out of 10 items picked up at the show never leave that person’s hotel room!
Many exhibitors use games to entertain attendees, inform them of new products, and otherwise involve the normally passive visitors. Games can draw a crowd and help booth staffers interact with attendees in a fun and soft-sell manner. Make sure that any game fits within your show objectives. If you are looking for highly targeted visitors who need a lot of detailed product information, games will only be viewed as an annoying waste of their time. If however, your objective is to increase company or brand awareness to the general public, games can be a cost-effective way to stop attendees in their tracks and take notice of your exhibit.
Drawings are primarily used to add names to your database. The key here is to make sure to give something away that will attract only your buyers. If you sell computers, advertise that you’ll be giving away software or a peripheral device. If you’re a catering company, offer to cater a small dinner party for free. If you sell siding, offer a large discount on re-siding an entire house. It simply isn’t a good idea or use of your resources to give away an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii or a big screen TV — these will attract ALL types of people to your booth, not just your target audience.
Once you start participating in the trade shows you have decided are worth the investment, figure out a specific way to measure each shows’ success. Whether this is handing out 2,000 brochures, obtaining contact information from 250 prospects or having 500 people participate in a demo; these benchmarks will help you evaluate whether the show was worth the expense. Finally, it will be incredibly valuable to your business to keep track of prospects and follow up. Persistence is not a bad thing. It shows that you are professional and willing to go that extra step to get their business. Adding prospects from tradeshows to company mailers is a great idea too.
Trade shows are an excellent opportunity for businesses to reach potential clients and customers, and as long as you are prepared they are a great tool for marketing and networking.