The Exhibit Source Blog

B2B marketers continue to rate trade show events as their most effective marketing tactic (71%). However, to make the most of an event, and see real return on your investment, you need to create a solid strategy and execute.

If you’ve been to a trade show, half of the exhibits seem to be effective, attracting large crowds, and the other half seem to generate no interest and are filled with employees who look bored and envious of the booths around them.

Some companies benefit from trade shows, and others wonder whether their time and money was worth it. With some proper strategizing and planning, your trade show efforts can get the results that you need it to.

Here are important steps to an effective trade show marketing strategy.

Plan far in advance

Many times companies register far in advance for the trade show, and then forget about it; or they’re last-minute and reactionary when picking the trade shows they participate in. To do trade shows right, you need to begin your planning long in advance. Planning should be a very strategic process, where pre-show, during-show, and post-show are all meticulously tied back to a strategy and aligned with your business goals and objectives.

Determine trade show goals beforehand

What are you looking to accomplish at the trade show? What’s your purpose for being there? Determine in advance, long before the event, what it is you actually are looking to accomplish. Everything you do related to the trade show should be connected back to accomplishing your objectives. Be sure to set specific, quantifiable metrics for measuring the success of your trade show.

Design your trade show booth and messaging to make an impact

With all those trade show booths, you have seconds to attract a passerby to your booth. So, creating a powerful visual impact with simple and clear messaging is very important to lure people in. Your booth is intended to be a backdrop, not a brochure. This can’t be overstated: people walking by should be able to instantly recognize who you are and what you do. It’s your trade show booth staff’s job to take it from there. Also, be sure your brand is prominent and consistent with your other marketing materials.

Make your exhibit space open and inviting

Know your trade show exhibit setup in advance: the dimensions of your space, where it is in the room, ceiling height, access to lighting or electricity, etc. This will determine how you set up your presence. Having a table across the front of the booth space can make it appear closed off and uninviting. Instead, create a space where people can enter without feeling trapped. You can create different stations in the space for people to learn about your company and products or services.

Make sure your staff is engaging

Your booth should be staffed with energetic and enthusiastic employees who enjoy connecting with trade show attendees and are implementing the strategy you defined long before they arrive. There should be no working on computers, no smartphones and no sitting. Your staff is there to work the booth, so that should be the primary focus.

In addition to having engaging conversations, consider something else to lure in an audience and create some hype like contests, promotions, and giveaways. But it’s more than just giveaways, you need to have a plan of action for generating conversations, identifying legitimate leads and capturing their contact information through a scanner or landing page. This will be helpful when beginning the lead nurturing process after the event.

For more information on effective trade show marketing booths and strategies, contact The Exhibit Source.

B2C

Many companies are concerned about how to represent their company when they are heading to their first trade show. Most importantly it is imperative that you are prepared. What do you want to accomplish? What supplies do you need in order to do this? Your main goal is to make a good and lasting impression on potential as well as repeat customers.

Trade show marketing is highly effective when done right. This is the perfect time to connect with potential clients, competitors and other businesses. It  is also the perfect time to impress and pamper existing clients. Promote and display your brand. Your brand is what your business is all about.

Trade shows are the perfect place to promote your brand, your mission and what separates you from your competition. When you have the right trade show display, you can promote your brand and your business to client who have not heard of you or to those who have not yet chosen to do business with you. So, your main consideration should be having an impressive trade show exhibit that clearly gets your message and your brand across. Therefore, it needs to be professional and appealing.

High quality trade show exhibits make the right first impression along with professional marketing hand-outs. Be sure that your logo is clear and consistent with your marketing materials. If you have recently changed or updated your logo, it needs to be consistent on all of your marketing materials: brochures, display and business cards.

For more information on professional, eye catching displays that make a lasting impression, contact The Exhibit Source.

Many businesses can be promoted and marketed through trade shows. When they are done properly, trade show marketing can be incredibly profitable creating a large amount of new sales in a short time.

Successful trade show exhibiting has to be done right with the right trade show display that gets your brand and message across concisely.

There are three key areas to look at when exhibiting at trade shows: What you do 'Before' a trade show, 'During' a trade show, and 'After' a trade show. All of these areas need to be approached correctly and efficiently in order to get the most from trade show marketing.

The statistics for closing a trade show lead are more promising than traditional leads. Surveys done by the Centre for Exhibition Industry Research found that it usually takes one sales call on average to close the business to a trade show lead.

So for help creating a trade show display that shows your message and encourages potential clients to stop, contact The Exhibit Source.

In a precarious economy small business owners must adapt and consider new ways to market their products and services. Trade Show marketing is a great way to do exactly that.

Studies show that trade shows and exhibitions are valued among marketers. 73% of executives rate trade shows as highly valuable in helping their company achieve business objectives.

According to a recent study, exhibiting during a recession makes sound business sense. Researchers highlighted the stable nature of trade shows and and consider trade show marketing a continued value for exhibitors.

There are many reasons why:

1. Exhibiting allows businesses to reinforce brand presence, position, and reputation. It is a cost effective strategy that offers measurable ROI.
2. Trade shows allow potential customers to come to you rather than chasing new clients yourself.

For information on creating effective trade show displays, contact The Exhibit Source.

Yes Magazine

For your business to be successful, you must actively promote your business. One way to do this is to attend trade shows. If you attend a variety of trade shows, then you need to know how to market your business to gain potential customers. When executed properly, trade shows are an excellent way to display your brand, product, or service.

Social Media
Check to see if there is a hashtag for the trade show on Twitter. You can use the hashtag to send a tweet to the followers of your business. The trade show that you plan to attend needs to be promoted on your Facebook page. Use your Facebook page to create an event that you can send to all of your fans. This will give you an idea of who may plan on attending. Post updates to Twitter and Facebook at different times during the trade show.

Publicity Options
Make sure that you advertise your appearance at a trade show on your website. You can also send out a newsletter by email or post an update on your company’s blog.

Draw Attention
Use various methods to draw attention to your trade show booth. Your booth needs to be distinct, memorable and visible. Make sure that you have brochures and a leaflet promoting your business or product. Another option is to create a theme for you booth. This is a great way to actively promote your brand.

Register Early
The placement of your booth may depend on when you complete the registration process. Make sure to register at the earliest time possible. A discount can be offered by trade show organizers to companies that register early. This can save your company some money to spend on marketing and promotion.

Proper Research
Research your target market so you can plan your trade show exhibit. This needs to be done weeks before the start of the trade show. Determine which trade shows you should attend and that they are appropriate for you target market. Find out the details of the show that you want to attend.

Set Objectives
Objectives that you need to meet can be set before a trade show. Discuss with employees the best ways to meet these objectives. Create a list of the most important to the least important. Assign tasks to each person that will attend the trade show that ca best meet your objectives.

Offer Contests
Contests that include a drawing or gaining followers, fans or check-ins are a great way to attract people to your booth. Come up with creative ways to allow trade show attendees to enter the contest. You may offer a survey or promote your social network pages.

For more information on trade show displays, contact The Exhibit Source.

business2community.com

A trade show is effective when you are able to share knowledge and receive unexpected knowledge that helps your business. A trade show is about building new relationships that help generate new business. Use the following tips to organize effective trade shows to help promote your business.

1. Stop thinking about trade shows in terms of sales and earnings and think rather in terms of cementing customer relationships, building networks and advancing marketing goals.
2. Forget about flooding your trade show booth with people – rather, focus on the quality of your interactions with your attendees.
3. Keep your trade show exhibit clean; your message and your images must be simple and easy to digest. Remember that while complex layouts and flashing lights may garner attention, people will miss out on your brand message and show purpose.
4. Do some brainstorming very in advance and create marketing initiatives to put in place before, during, and after the event. Doing this will help you better engage people, build relationships and generate leads.
5. Evaluate your trade show display booth based on visibility, prominence, size, marketing requirements and your budget. Make sure your booth is big enough for a comfortable show, but not so big as to make you look like a laughing stock.
6. Work with top graphic design providers to create effective graphic elements for your exhibits. Your graphics must effectively portray your key messages, thereby fulfilling your brand communications requirements. Establish design parameters for modular exhibition stands, brochures, banners and so on.
7. Try to make your trade show booth stand out from the others. You can try elevating it by a few feet above others, or build a mock-terrace for your event models and so on. This will attract more prospects to your trade show display area.
8. Design costumes for booth staff using your brand colors; embroider or print your brand logo on their t-shirts for instant recall. Make sure your logo and byline are prominently displayed on all sides of the booth.
9. Research what kind of giveaways or promotional products people like. Look for cost-effective giveaways that will both complement your company image and have high-perceived value among your target prospects.
10. Train your booth staff to be courteous, informative and professional. Hire a professional event modeling agency to staff your booth and train event models to represent your company, secure sales and generate leads.
11. Print sufficient brochures and marketing materials for at 1.5 times the number of people you expect. Train your staff to point out valid points in the brochure while they introduce your brand and product to prospects.
12. Set up a screen and display still shots of your company and its top people along with their names and special quotes from them. Break up this display with a few of your company’s top TV Ads to grab people’s attention.
13. If possible, take help of professional event models and  brand ambassadors to represent your products and services in effective way.

For a more effective trade show display, contact The Exhibit Source.

B2C

A great way to increase brand awareness and make new connections is attending industry trade shows . Of course, your competition is there too, and so are a lot of other companies. And everyone is battling for brand awareness and competing for the same clientele. You need your company to stand out from the pack.

You only have about 3 seconds to make an impression when someone is walking by your trade show display. A surefire way to draw attention is to think outside the box with your trade show booth. Do something unconventional, surprising, or out of the ordinary, and bigger is better. Your trade show exhibit needs to grab qualified prospects and draw them in.

Your salespeople or employees who are working your trade show booth should be having fun too. Having fun stands out. Let them know they can have fun with the passersby. All of them are potential customers, and some of them are customers. Give them a reason to stop at your booth.

The Exhibit Source understands the importance of your trade show exhibit, we offer numerous options of display styles, contact us.

If you are looking for a low-cost trade show display that is sure to stand out from the crowd, look at “Glide”. Glide has an unusual oval-shaped graphic background that will set your trade show exhibit apart. But just as important, it's the first portable exhibit that was designed to support a large-screen LCD monitor.

The 8' tall tower not only holds the video monitor and a shelf, but also provides integrated locking storage. Mounted to the sides of the tower is the large oval background banner, illuminated by a compact fluorescent edge lighting or optional LED lighting.

Experience the Portable Strength of these trade show displays. Built around a strong central tower, Glide blends true portability with incomparable strength and function.

No other portable trade show booth can support a TV screen this large! This trade show booth display is the Winner of the Best New Product Award at the Exhibitor 2009 Conference and The Only Portable System to receive an honor.

• Supports a 36” Monitor
• Integrated Locking Storage
• Choose the innovative oval shape or traditional rectangular fabric banner
• Sets up in less than 30 minutes
• Packs in one small, wheeled case weighing under 100 lbs.
• Save on shipping and storage costs!

Available for rent or for purchase. Contact The Exhibit Source.

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

Trade shows allow businesses a setting in to find new business leads, new clients and to attend to existing customers. In theory, trade shows provide one-stop-shopping with hundreds of potential clients under one roof. Seems like the perfect opportunity right?
   
Face to face contact with companies is a more efficient approach than calling or emailing prospective clients.   

The reality is very different.  The scale of many events and exhibitions can quickly overwhelm those very clients you are trying to attract. The right trade show exhibit can help. Exhibitors attend shows to reach sales targets, your trade show display needs to attract people to your booth so you don’t have to go looking for them.

Trade shows are great opportunities to network, build relationships with customers, and invite prospects to explore your goods or services. Try to plan your space and use your location to your advantage. But most importantly, promote yourself before the trade show. Let  your potential and existing customers know where you are going to be and offer them a show special.

For assistance in creating the perfect trade show booth, contact The Exhibit Source.