Six Secrets to Trade Show Success
Exhibiting at a trade show is a great way to get some face to face time with potential customers. Recently our company attended a national conference and trade show in Las Vegas. It was our fourth consecutive year exhibiting at this trade show and many of the same companies we see every year were in attendance. Some of the exhibitors always do a fantastic job, while others are missing the potential to maximize their ROI.
Here are six best practices that that you can use when preparing for and attending your company’s next trade show:
- Start preparing well in advance. Getting a jump on your trade show prep is vital. Send out a preconference email to the list of attendees, map out your show strategy with your exhibit team, create product/service sales sheets, take care of any printing needs for handouts and schedule equipment and promotional item shipping.
- Make sure your messages are clear and consistent. The most common question I get at trade shows is “So what do you guys do?” Each member of your sales team should be able to give a 30 second response to this question. Determine how you want to promote your company, create an elevator speech, and make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Keep the messaging on your display and signage short and readable. Trade show participants move through the exhibit floor pretty quickly. All of your signage should be easily readable from the front of your booth. One mistake that I often notice is when exhibitors cram too much information onto their signage or use fonts that are too small. Provide just enough information to make attendees stop and ask questions.
- Always provide giveaways. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Providing a giveaway will draw more traffic to your booth and is a great conversation starter. Always include your company logo or name on the product. It will remind potential customers of your interaction when they visited your booth after the conference.
- Stay active on social media. Most conferences will promote a hashtag to use throughout the event. Post photos, give updates, announce speaking sessions and promote your booth number using the conference hashtag. This is a great way to drive engagement. Don’t forget to post a thank you to everyone who stopped by your booth after the conference.
- Schedule a post conference wrap up meeting. It’s important to get feedback from your team while the conference is fresh on their minds. What worked, what didn’t work? What questions did the attendees have? What were your strongest leads and what are the next steps for contacting these potential customers? All of this information will give you a head start when planning your next trade show.
Do you have any trade show tips? Share them with me: [email protected]