Although you have invested hours, days, or even weeks (not to mention your money) in planning your trade show booth, you have just seconds to engage potential customers and get them to remember your brand, products, and services.
Ask yourself a few questions, as you get prepare:
- Are you ready? Have you put together a sales and marketing strategy?
- Is your team ready? Do they know their roles at the trade show?
- Does your booth represent your brand? Is it outdated?
Now consider these key points as you implement your plan to showcase your brand at your next trade show or event.
Marketing for trade show success.
Consider these exhibition industry facts*:
- The average trade show attendee will visit approximately 26 exhibitors.
- 76% of attendees arrive with an agenda of exhibitors they plan to visit.
- Less than 20% of exhibitors utilize targeted pre-show marketing campaigns.
Put together a pre-show marketing campaign to reach out to prospects, customers, and journalists. This can include direct mail, email, and updates to your website. At the same time, have your post-show marketing ready. Don’t wait until after the show to finalize post-show messaging and offers.
ER Marketing Tip: Have a plan to help your brand grow from your trade show efforts.
Do you know your 3, 10, 15, 30-second pitch?
Trade shows and events are some of the best places to share your company’s story face to face. Practice your pitch and make sure you have a short version to grab an attendee’s short attention span.
ER Marketing Tip: Practice your pitch on employees before the show.
Be ready for industry journalists.
Industry journalists are key to getting your message out to the masses. Make this message creative and memorable. Summarize key points of your brand story that will make any journalist want to feature your company.
ER Marketing Tip: Have social media quotes in your press kit for journalists to use.
Dress for your brand’s success.
This is one of those exercises that you can practice with your team and see what responses come back. If your brand were to dress up and go to a meeting, what would that brand wear? Would it be in a suit and tie, would it be in branded golf shirts or would everyone be wearing branded fedoras?
ER Marketing Tip: Don’t be sloppy and unprofessional—dress for success.
Update your exhibit
Are your products and services ready for the modern world, but your exhibit is outdated in both appearance and messaging? Does your booth represent your brand? Is it updated?
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to update your exhibit. There are many cost-effective options to make this happen. Take a look at this catalog for ideas to update and add new elements such as iPad stands, new lighting or a new graphic backdrop.
ER Marketing Tip: Make your exhibit relevant to your brand.
Consider these key points when exhibiting your brand at a trade show. Having a well-thought-out strategy and an updated exhibit can drive more leads and revenue.
