Trade Show Economics: Get more bang for your buck!

The season is upon us. A time of tradeshows and events, excitement to connect with customers and vendors, scouring the tradeshow floor for leads, and anxiously anticipating your customer’s reactions as you announce new product launches or improvements. You have invested time and money into attending and exhibiting at tradeshows, so how do you maximize the impact your company will have in those few short days?

To level up your company’s impact at tradeshows consider the following tips & tricks:

Determine the ideal outcome and make it happen

From the outside, exhibiting at a tradeshow looks like a simple operation. Build a booth, put some messaging up and then hand out pamphlets until you are “discovered” by your customers. However, the former strategy rarely ever delivers.

• Do you want to meet certain individuals from particular companies? Set up meetings in advance.
• Do you need to touch base with current clients and vendors? Send an email campaign with your booth number and invite them to come and meet with you.
• Are you looking to bulk up your email list with prospects? Draw a door prize for people who leave you their information for your mailing list.
• Need to build awareness of a new product? Launch it at the event and advertise the reveal in trade media and the show dailies.

Know what your goals are and focus your presence on these objectives.

Everything you do supports your sales funnel

Utilize your booth space to convert a qualified lead. Your booth should be visually appealing with your logo or simple messaging at eye-level to catch a person’s attention as they walk by. The more dynamic and uncluttered you can compose your booth the better. Don’t make the mistake of using your booth space to overwhelm your visitors with information. Your booth is the place where you can encourage them to watch a demo, have an in-depth conversation with an expert, or provide you with their contact info. Advance conversations as much as possible before the tradeshow with potential clients so that you can focus on the close when you are face-to-face.

The tradeshow floor does not define the scope of your reach

Your reach extends past the confines of the conference center’s doors. Trade media, industry analysts, bloggers, and the tradeshow’s promotional team are publishing interviews and online content at all times to keep the web of digital onlookers apprised of all the show’s happenings. Utilize the show’s hashtag; comment and engage with trade media, analysts and bloggers; and structure email and social media campaigns to maximize your potential audience.

Follow through – it’s as simple as a prompt response

If you tell someone, you are going to email them, do it. If you promise to forward a product demo video, send it, and do it quickly. A prompt response to a request could be the difference between you and your competition.