The Exhibit Source Blog

You have made the commitment to attend trade shows. You have hired and paid the staff, expensed the travel and in some cases lodging, you have purchased the uniforms and you have a captivating trade show display. Because of it all, you have gotten some great leads. Now you have to follow-up on those qualified leads. This is the challenge.

Trade show lead follow-up has long been a problem. Why go through the effort and expense of exhibiting at a show with no follow-up plans in place. This is such a waste of precious marketing dollars.  However, it is done all the time by companies who must think that this activity is just not that important.

Lead Follow-up Problem Overall

Here is a breakdown of companies overall approach to leads, not just trade show leads.  One statistic shows that the majority of leads are never follow-up.

Does Your Company Qualify Leads for Sales?

• 58% No
• 42% Yes

How to “fix” this problem?

The root of the problem is “accountability.”  Senior management needs to require this information from their staff.  When there is a mandate from senior management, performance measures are normally in place to gauge progress.

Forward thinking exhibition managers tackle this issue with excellent results.  Sometimes they have tied it into calculating a return of trade show performance or they just want to streamline their internal marketing/sales processes.
 
Getting A Sales Person Involved

Have a key sales person in the planning process of the lead qualification form that you will use at the trade show.  Having their fingerprints all over the thinking process and the lead scoring parameters ensures they are more willing to follow-up.  This sales person can communicate to his/her peers the measures which are in place, so the teams knows their time is not being wasted with all of the non-leads.

Business 2 Community

When you exhibit at trade shows, it is important to have a well-place dynamic trade show exhibit that draws people. For companies investing money in trade show exhibits, it is important to do it right.

Trades shows are a great way to meet new potential customers, and interact with existing customers. But first, they need to be able to find and be attracted to your trade show booth.

Picking a great spot for your booth is important too. An attractive trade show booth and the right location within the trade show is a solid exhibit strategy, especially for a smaller company. The opportunity for face-to-face contact that a trade show offers cannot be replaced.

A small or medium sized company can attend a show with a memorable trade show exhibits without breaking the bank. It is surely possible to outfit a 10x10 trade show booth display on a small budget, small enough to make a attending a trade show a great decision for many businesses.

For information on designing your trade show exhibit, contact The Exhibit Source.

Each year, companies have to decide what to do with their marketing dollars. Are you going to market your business and products at trade shows, and if so, which ones? Trade shows represent a huge opportunity to enhance brand and product visibility, promote products, generate leads and increase sales. But to capitalize, your trade show exhibit needs the “wow” factor.

While the main point of trade shows and expos is to meet new clients, there are many other benefits to trade shows that businesses need to consider, such as discovering industry trends and growing relationships.

If you choose to spend your marketing dollars on trade shows, you need to ensure that you get people to your trade show booth. New and existing clients need to be exposed to your goods and services and educated as to why it would benefit them to use your company.

This is done through effective and captivating trade show displays - the “wow” factor. You want to be the company that is memorable. Do not just put up a sign and give out a pen. Your booth needs to WOW potential customers.
 
Contact The Exhibit Source in Massachusetts, we can help you create and develop ideas that will bring customers to your trade show booth with “wow”.

The New Year is almost upon us, and it is time to think of some resolutions for your business. Resolve to spend your marketing dollars wisely. When you choose to go to a trade show, you need to do it right. Or, if you are spending your dollars on a smaller scale training meeting, your money still needs to be well spent.

The Exhibit Source provides a complete selection of event marketing and trade show exhibits, from national trade show promotions and key product launches to small-scale training meetings.

We can help you calculate your budget, create the displays and trade show exhibits as well as take care of the shipping, installation and dismantling logistics. Let us help you resolve to make the most of your marketing budget, contact The Exhibit Source for trade show booths and displays.