So you’ve gone through all the necessary red tape and procured the estimated $10K for an exhibit space at, what hopes to be, a very promising tradeshow. But with the additional $15-25K to be used for graphics, travel expenses, equipment rentals, etc., your boss may need some additional insurance that they’ll see a return before he or she parts with $50K or more.
You can go with the tried and true, “you have to spend money to make money,” or you can get serious on why you’re there in the first place and show upper management why they hired you to be in charge of the marketing.
Whether you want to introduce or reinforce your brand, obtain solid leads, recruit capable staff, woo investors, or achieve some other measure of success, commit these 7 tips to memory before setting up a booth at your next trade show.
1.Focus on one or two clear goals and assign success metrics.
As we hinted, there are several end-goals you may be trying to hit by attending a trade show. While the thinking may be to put a little effort into achieving each one, ultimately there’s a limited time to make an impression and thousands of other businesses are competing for attendee’s attention. In short, it pays to get very clear about your top priorities and focus all your energy there.
By dividing the cost between each goal and assigning a metric to measure its success, you’ll be able to clearly demonstrate its value once you’re back in the office.
2. Develop a solid strategy and decide who on your team is best to execute it.
Meeting different goals requires different skills and expertise. For instance, if your #1 goal is to commit clients on the spot, you need the brightest, most knowledge sales people you’ve got ready to answer questions from decision makers. Whereas recruiting for new positions will require that you have HR staff on hand to cover things like company culture, as well as other departmental members who can field questions about the team or a specific project.
3. Get high-impact signage.
Venue spaces can span over 300,000 square feet. It may seem obvious, but announcing your presence and location in a big way is the only way to avoid getting lost among a sea of competitors. Ask if the venue allows for banners or displays to be hung from the ceiling above your booth. If not, make sure your company name and logo towers above the crowd height.
- Have a backup plan for internet.
In 2014, there were more than 32,000 attendees at SXSW Interactive. Needless to say, with tens of thousands using data and WiFi, the internet was unreliable at times. To show your demo and other branding you’ve spent so much money to develop, make sure you have a backup modem/router, or at least canned demonstrations or screencasts are a must.
5. Draw in as many people as possible and give unique, memorable swag.
If you’re at a conference, chances are everyone is in roughly the same industry, which means they’re likely to have a vested interest in your product. Therefore, the more foot traffic you generate the better. You can screen your leads after the fact.
To start, smiling is always a must. From there, offer potential clients some useful swag
By useful we mean, ditch the unoriginal T-shirt or pen and give folks something they’ll really use like an iPhone case for the raffle you’ll later host, some sunscreen to combat the hot Texas sun at SXSW, or a portable poncho.
- Give away the latest and greatest during your raffle.
Collecting business cards is the best way to turn strangers into sales leads. The best way to collect business cards is by hosting a raffle. The best raffle prices are hard-to-get products like the newest version of the iPhone. The more appealing you can make the prize, the more entries you can follow up with later.
- Follow up!
Follow up with everyone who stopped by to drop off a card. Keeping a log will help you substantiate your work there and assess the effectiveness of your branding efforts, as well as provide your sales team with a list of ‘warm leads’ from which to pitch.
Regardless of whether the individual won anything in your raffle, thank them for entering. From there you can offer something of value to their business like a white paper, free 30-minute consultation, or invitation to your next webinar.
While the end goal of any marketing effort is to increase that magical bottom line, there are several steps in between. While a trade show is a brilliant step that brings in a high volume of people to help meet some of your top goals, it also brings in some stiff neighboring competition. Following the above tips is the best way to set yourself up for success at your next conference.
Charles Beshears is the owner of National Trade Show Displays, a company offering products and services designed to minimize tradeshow budget constraints. Beshears is committed to providing high-quality products and even better customer service. For more information, visit nationaltradeshowdisplays.com.
