Trade shows are a great opportunity . . . to get in front of potential customers, increase brand awareness, launch a new product, connect with industry influences, and tell your story. Salespeople love the thought of an exhibit hall packed with buyers. But before you book your next booth, make sure you’re making the most of the opportunity. A few best practices to help ensure a high ROI for your next show:
What’s the plan? Make sure your team (Sales, Marketing, President) takes time to define goals for each show you plan to attend. Samples goals:
With defined goals in mind, make sure you’re booking the “right” show. How do you know? Characteristics of the right show:
You’ve got a plan, and you’re at the right place. Off to a good start! Now it’s time to focus on your message.
The design of your booth and visual presence you create is part of your message. With the large number of attendees walking past your booth, you want to make sure your design is bold and will grab attention. Keep all important messaging towards the top of the exhibit so that nothing gets lost at people’s feet. It’s more impactful to have one large graphic than a number of smaller, mismatched banners and signs. Make sure that your graphics and any materials at the booth are cohesive and that your booth staff are coordinated. You only have one moment to make a good impression, make it count!
Even if you have a team working a booth, when there is rush of traffic you will miss the opportunity to talk to people. Having a video loop that plays on a monitor can tell your story and engage people to stop, watch, and hear your story even if you can’t tell it directly to them.
Be selective and make them relevant. Develop a theme that will create a clever and logical reminder to your brand, ideally with a usable or helpful angle. Some attendees make it a hobby to collect “tchotchkes” and aren’t interested in engaging with you. Don’t throw your money away – be selective with your promo items.
Once a show has closed, it’s important to have a follow up meeting with your team and cover successes and what could have been improved upon. Did your booth see a lot of traffic? Did your message resonate with attendees? Was there good engagement? Did you meet your leads goal? Make sure to add all contacts to your CRM and share the results with your sales team within days of the show closing. Don’t miss out on connecting with potential customers!
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