INTRODUCTION
Industry trade shows can be a helpful marketing activity for your company. According to GraphiColor Exhibits, 83 percent of trade show attendees have some kind of buying power. With the correct strategy, trade shows can provide an opportunity to expand your company’s customer base and business sales.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRADE SHOW AS AN EXHIBITOR
- Advertise your presence. Face it, you will likely have several competitors at the trade show. Use tactics such as Facebook ads and direct mail to notify trade show attendees where you will be and what you will be offering.
- Don’t underestimate the power of social media. A company can attract business through customers that have not even attended the trade show. Make sure to use the trade show or conference’s hashtag to insert your company into the conversation, but make sure not to use social media solely to sell, or potential visitors will be turned off.
- Drum up content. For example, create a free, one-page guide to the conference that can be downloaded from your website. Create videos (live or taped) during the trade show, in which you can interview key figures from your company or your company’s clients.
- Always staff your booth and avoid sitting. Your company logo, free pencils and brochures are not enough to engage potential business clients. Plus, an abandoned booth or a booth with staff sitting behind a table looks like you don’t care. The best way to expand your business is through you. Displaying characteristics of enthusiasm and professionalism will get you on the right track to a working business relationship.
- Make it interactive. Turn your booth into an interactive experience, giving way to attracting prospects who stick around long enough to learn about the products and services your business offers. Think about running giveaways, games, demonstrations and using technology to its fullest. Make your booth the most memorable because custom exhibits that differ from the rest are going to make an impression.
- Measure ROI. Not only do you need to know if something worked by testing it, but the only way to know if the test worked is to measure it. Did the trade show fulfill your goals, such as generating leads or receiving press coverage?