Trade show marketing is an efficient and successful way to find new, qualified leads. However, your business needs to participate successfully in trade shows; you cannot just be a bystander. Don’t set up a trade show booth unless you plant to do it right.
Here are four things you should never do at a trade show:
- Forget to use a name. A potential customers is a real person, so treat them like one. Extend your hand in greeting, ask their name and tell them yours. Smile and act as if you’re actually interested. After all, they might just be your next big customer, but you’ll never know unless you make an effort to get to know them.
- Pitch visitors. When they ask what you do, no one wants to hear your party line. Don’t tell them what your product does and how great it is. Don’t go on and on about its features. Instead, ask about them or the needs of their business. Engage them in conversation. Acknowledge questions without corporate-ese. You don’t know how your product can benefit another business until you ask about the visitors to your booth and their business.
- Try to scan the badge. Don’t have your trade show booth employees ready to scan badges. No one wants their information scanned to be bothered in the future by lengthy, automated emails thanking them for visiting booths and inviting them to download a whitepaper or attend an event you’re sponsoring.
- Ignore visitors. This one should probably go without saying, but here it is: Don’t zone out and ignore people walking in or around your booth. There’s nothing more off-putting than walking up to a booth and finding people so busy playing with their cell phones that they have no idea people are there. These are your future customers.
If you’re business is going to attend a trade show, make sure you want to be there. Remember the reason your company spent the money to attend. Respect that investment and the people visiting your booth.
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