Tradeshows can be for the birds – How to get the most from a show.

During the pandemic tradeshow attendance came to a relative standstill. Manufacturers are now reflecting on whether the time and dollar costs associated with exhibiting are worth the investment. Rather than drop $10K-$20K for 2-3 days of face time they put their websites to work 24/7 for 365 days a year. Now don’t get me wrong. I believe in all forms of marketing where there is a positive return on investment, and marketing efforts tend to have multiplier effects when various marketing efforts are combined. If you are going to spend the time and money for a tradeshow let’s make sure you get the best bang for your buck

Tips for Success

To get the most from your tradeshow work with your marketing agency so they can help you market your appearance before, during, and after the event.
Have a strong, multi-step, email outreach campaign prepared so that you can follow-up with prospects after the event.
Have a strong and unique message on your booth backdrop. You must stand apart from your competitors. Your agency can help craft a compelling message. When someone looks at your banner of backdrop they should be able to quickly tell what you do, who you help and whether you are the right company for them to learn more

Basic Gaffes

Generic messaging. At one show I saw 8 labelling companies and every booth looked the same. I went up to a woman at one booth and asked her how her company was different than the others. She was able to explain to me in a few minutes how they were different, however her booth didn’t show their unique capabilities. I sometimes see copy on banners/backdrops that is so confusing or vague that I have no idea what the company does for it’s customers.
Poor lighting – Some venues have poor lighting. By bringing your own lights you can help your booth to stand apart from other dimly lit booths and proper lighting can make your background “pop.”
People staffing the booth on cell phones This happens more frequently later in the day and presents the image that you don’t care. It’s also a lost opportunity since you can’t be on a phone and speak to prospects at the same time.
Not smiling and saying hello. Try to engage with passers-by, but not in a sales-like manner.
Packing up before the day is done. Some of the best conversations can take place at the beginning and end of the day when the crowd has thinned. Other places for strong conversations are at networking events at the show, or at tables in food areas.
Placing a large table between the attendees and the back of the booth. You want to be welcoming and should work to get people into the booth to engage in conversation.
Like your website, you only have a few seconds to get the attention of passersby. If the font size of your copy is too small or if there is too much copy then people may not get the message quickly. Here is a great article about effective booths written by an exhibit company – https://www.btwnexhibits.com/blog/make-your-trade-show-booth-stand-out
Make sure the signage copy is spelled correctly. I saw a very large sign at a tradeshow that a company posted that spoke about how that manufacturer had great quality control procedures and that was a specialty of their process. Unfortunately, they had a word misspelled on their sign. To their credit they had fixed that spelling by the time I revisited the booth the next day. They spent a lot of money to get a double-wide booth but missed proofreading their message copy.
A major goal at the event should be to acquire the emails of visitors so you can begin follow-up email campaigns after the event. Most events provide the emails of the exhibitors and provide badge scanning capability.

Don’t have a marketing agency working on your behalf? Reach out to me so I can help your next event or your tradeshow alternative marketing efforts be successful!

Eric Jacobson
Business Growth Specialist
IQnection.com
215-345-5424 X7215