Trade shows are still a huge part of modern-day marketing.
Through attending a trade show, you can:
- Create new leads and opportunities
- Showcase your products
- Grow your brand awareness
- Disperse knowledge
- Form new professional connections
In 2022 alone, 70% of businesses generated new leads and brand awareness from trade shows (Display Wizard), which highlights just how valuable they are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fresh start-up or an already established company: you can get an excellent ROI from trade shows.
When it comes to trade shows, it’s all about preparation and planning. This way, you and your team can squeeze every last drop out of the experience without missing out on potential leads and everything else inbetween. As a helping hand, this guide is going to tell you what you need to do to achieve this.
Here are 5 top tips for a successful trade show.
Use Custom Promotional Products
Trade shows are all about business branding. This is why you need to use custom promotional products at your exhibition stall, such as trade show tote bags, pens, USBs, table covers, t-shirts, and more. Essentially, the aim here is to get your brand name noticed when people walk by your stall. You’ll then be able to use your trade show items and giveaways to take your brand awareness to the next level, which will then lead to other businesses and professionals remembering your name. It’s a no-brainer.
Plan Your Teams
As mentioned in the introduction, planning is key for a successful trade show. In particular, you need to spend some time planning which specific teams (and team members) will be representing you at the trade show. Ideally, you should be looking to take your “A-Team” from each sales and marketing department. Each team member should also be kitted out in branded promotional clothing that looks smart yet also approachable.
Increase Your Trade Show Booth Traffic
Naturally, you want as much traffic as possible coming towards your trade show booth during the event. Surprisingly, this is a lot easier than you think. What you need to do is send pre-trade show emails and messages to engage with prospects prior to the show. You can then schedule time slots to have meetings with these prospective clients at your booth during the show. For example, you might allocate ten slots throughout the afternoon for prospects who have shown interest in you.
Optimize Social Media
Social media is your best friend when you want a successful trade show. Before the trade show, you can promote that you’ll be attending across all of your social media pages, from Facebook to Instagram. You can then mention what you’ll be doing at the trade show, from giveaways to product demonstrations, which will help to further increase the amount of traffic you get during the actual day. Also, don’t forget to post photos and videos to social media after the trade show so that you can give your followers some insight into how fun and successful it was.
Arrive Early
The fifth and final tip is an important one: arrive early! By arriving early, you can set up your booth, get a “feel” for the event, go over your schedule and individual team tasks, and even plan which business booths you’re going to approach.
