Five Must Haves for Your Trade Show Experience
PLAN
Attending a trade show in your industry is not something that can be done without quality time spent planning and preparing. Trade shows allow you a focused amount of time to get in front of a large quantity of people in your business and you want to do it right. Take time to consider which shows would most benefit your business. Do decision makers attend the show? What is your goal in attending the show? What message do you plan to get across to visitors who see you? All of these things and more should be discussed within your organization and good plans set so that you will leave prospects with a lasting impression and build your business.
DISPLAY
Carefully designing your display with a distributor who is experienced in trade show set ups is another important piece of planning the event. You can get creative with your booth set up and design, but be careful not to be overlooked. Use limited text, only saying what needs to be said to attract attention to your company. Also, using a few large images is better than many small ones so that they can be seen easily. Be sure that your banners and signage are up to date and customized to fit your business. Using lighting, custom display racks and other fixtures can complete a fabulous booth that will draw in the crowds.
STAFF
Don’t just fill your booth with whatever staff member happen to be available that day. These people should be the cream of the crop in your company. Not only do they need to know everything there is to know about your business, but they have to convey the message well. Booth staff should be professional looking, outgoing, confident and ready to talk to any and every prospect that comes their way. They are the front lines of your company and will create the first impression. Nothing less than the best will do.
GIVEAWAYS
So what promotional product should you give to visitors to your trade show booth? The options are endless and can be designed to fit the smallest or largest budgets. Consider what will give you the best bang for your buck. Would you rather spend $1 on 2000 custom pens and hand them to everyone who comes near your booth or spend $10 on 200 branded pens and give them only to those people you get contact information from and who you begin a relationship with? Maybe the best fit for your business is some of both. Talk to a promotional products professional and they can help you design the perfect stash of giveaways for your event.
FOLLOW UP
The booth is packed away, and your headed back home with leads-a-plenty. Now it’s your job to follow up and make those prospects customers! If they left with a promotional gift from your booth, odds are they will see your name again. However, you can’t wait for them to call you. So follow up with everyone you met, and use the experience and knowledge gained to plan for the next trade show event.
