There are many reasons companies exhibit at trade shows and exhibitions but the four main reasons are:
1. To sell products or services to attendees or gather sales leads for future sales.
2. To build relationships with your prospective clients, current clients, distributors, business partners or recruit distributors, representatives and employees.
3. To brand your company, and promote your corporate image, your products and services.
4. To meet with industry influencers, such as media, press and analysts.
For whatever the reason your organizes chooses to have a trade show display, make sure it looks professional and portrays the brand image you are trying to communicate to your clients and potential customers. Expandasign has a wide range of products which offer a quick and easy solution for advertising displays and outdoor signage.
1. Chose the right trade show.
So often companies exhibit for the wrong reasons e.g. we've always exhibited at that trade show, all our competitors have already signed up for that trade how. If you have a choice of shows serving the same industry, there are a number of questions you can ask that will help you make the right decision. Is the show sponsored by relevant trade associations? How long have the trade show organisers been in business, how many shows have they organised and how many are still running? Has this trade show been held before and how many exhibitors and visitors have attended each year? What promotions are the organisers planning to attract the buyers and prospects you need? Who is the audience? This is them most critical criterion.
Look at the demographic profile of your target audience - their title, company size, geographic location, budgets, buying influence, purchasing timeframes, and business problems. You could also analyse psychographics, the characteristics of an audience based on ideology, values, beliefs and attitudes. Compare the profile of your ''perfect prospect'' to the statistical data provided by show management to determine which shows have the closest match.
Last, but not least, consider whether sufficient money has been allocated in the corporate budget. Do trade show dates coincide with dates when your new products will be ready for launch? Do the trade show dates conflict with other corporate shows or events? Do you have enough trained people to adequately staff your exhibit? Will sufficient products be available to demonstrate or sample when you need them?
2. Have a proper trade show marketing plan.
Trade shows should not be a stand-alone activity but form part of your overall strategic marketing plan. Identify your objectives and what you want to get out of the event for example increasing market share with existing users, new product launches to existing customers or introducing new or existing products and services into new markets.
A formal exhibit marketing plan will help you identify the stand size you need, your pre-show marketing activity required and your budget.
When planning your stand and your trade show display choose the location bearing in mind the position of the loading docks, entrances and exits, exhibition facilities such as toilets, restaurant, organisers' and press office, other exhibitors that you can do business with as well as your competitors.
3. Have a well-defined promotional plan.
Your plan needs to pre-show, at-show and post-show promotion. Of course, budget will play a major role in deciding what and how much promotional activity is possible. Developing a meaningful theme or message that ties into your strategic marketing plan will then help to guide promotional decisions. Know whom you want to target and then consider having different promotional programs aimed at the different groups you are interested in attracting. Include direct mail, broadcast faxes, advertising, PR, sponsorships and the Internet as possible ways to reach your target audience.
4. Use direct mail to advertise your participation in the trade show.
Direct mail is still one of the most popular promotional vehicles exhibitors use. From postcards to multi-piece mailings, attendees are deluged with invitations to visit stands. Many of the mailings come from show management's lists and as a result, everyone gets everything. To target the people you want to visit your stand, use your own list of customers and prospects - it's the best one available. If using the postal service, use first-class mail. There's nothing worse than a mailing that arrives after the show is over. Nowadays most pre-show notification is done by electronic mail - a fast, effective and inexpensive form of promotion.
5. Incentivise clients to visit your stand and see your trade show display.
Whatever promotional vehicles you use, make sure that you give visitors a reason to come and visit you. With a hall overflowing with fascinating products and services and limited time to see everything, people need an incentive to come and visit your stand. Product launches are always a draw card but even if you don't have a new product or service to introduce, think about a new angle from which to promote your offerings. You could also offer a premium item that will entice them to your stand. Your giveaways should be designed to communicate, motivate, promote or increase recognition of your company. You can also use your website to make an offer for visitors to collect important information when they visit your stand at the trade show.
6. Use PR.
PR is one of the most cost-effective and successful methods for generating large volumes of direct enquiries and sales. Before the show, ask show management for a comprehensive media list and find out which publications are planning a special show edition. Send out press releases focusing on what's new about your product or service, or highlighting a new application or market venture. You could also take advantage of placing editorial in the trade show publication which will be distributed to exhibitors and attendees. It is also professional to have staff members at the stand who are specifically assigned to interact with the media.
7. Use your advertising display at the trade show as a marketing tool.
Your stand and trade show display makes a strong statement about who your company is, what you do and how you do it. Your objective is to attract visitors to your trade show display so that you can achieve your marketing objectives. Your stand needs to have a focal point and a strong key message that communicates the benefits of your products and services to prospective clients.
Your branding must be clear for an effective advertising display. Expandasign's wide range of banners and stands provide a perfect vehicle for enhancing your brand exposure. Our world class printing technology delivers brilliant graphics and colour quality. For artwork to be effective don't use too many words - if your text takes more than 3 seconds to read, it's too much. Avoid the features and focus on strong benefit statements. Our products have a large print area for advertising displays showing product features, graphics and logos. It is important to remember that text should be a minimum of 12 cm tall. Make your type 2.5cm high for every 1m you step back. Avoid fancy fonts and don't use more than two different fonts per graphics. Graphics should be at eye level so, for example, don't put text below the sight line on banner stands (roll-up banners) i.e. the area that people continuously see in an aisle full of people.
8. Have well trained staff.
Your staff, permanent people as well as sales promoters hired for an event, are your ambassadors so choose them well. Brief them before hand and make sure that they know why you are exhibiting, what you are exhibiting and what you expect from them. Give them a thorough update on all products featured on the stand. They must be familiar with your marketing material, sales tools and pricing structures and price lists. Make sure they don't spend more time than is necessary with visitors so as not to crowd the stand. It is important not to overcrowd your trade show display with your employees and company representatives. Schedule a roster to ensure there is always someone on the stand and also to ensure everyone gets a break every couple of hours. It is also important for your sales people to have time to look around the trade show displays of your competitors. You could also use incentives as a good way of motivating staff to perform at a show.
9. Have the tools you need to close a sale.
To close a sale at a trade show you may need product literature, contracts, financing information as well as key personnel with the authority to do so.
10. Follow up your trade show leads promptly.
Plan the follow-up before the show. The key to your trade show success is your lead management process. Trade show leads often take second place to other management activities that occur after being out of the office for several days. You need an organised, systematic approach to follow-up because the longer leads are left unattended, the less interested the potential customer may become. Establish a lead handling system, set timelines for follow-up, use a computerised database for tracking, makes sales representatives accountable for leads given to them and measure your results. This is also a vital part of measuring the return on investment in the trade show.
Interviewing the show management is your best source of information on a specific show. Find out the category of show, location, and type of exhibits allowed. Ask about the conference and exhibit dates and hours to find out if there is substantial overlap between them that will substantially reduce the number of visitors on the show floor. Request information on the costs to exhibit (either square footage or package costs) and show restrictions. The number and names of last years' and this years' exhibitors enable you to check references with past exhibitors' to find out their experience with the show. Ask what type of marketing support the show management will provide to help you reach your targeted prospects and the media, such as access to pre-registered attendees' email addresses, web site listings or links, sponsorships, speaking opportunities and press lists. You could also ask show management for the previous year's attendee audit report showing both total and net attendance (i.e. the attendance of people other than exhibitors and show management staff and helpers). It is good to see the list of attendees by title to see if you are targeting your market. If show management can't provide an audited report, always ask if the attendance numbers quoted include exhibitors, students, or vendors.
It is important to measure your results in order to improve your performance at your next trade show or event. You can measure ROI (return on investment) or ROO (return on objective) or measure the effectiveness of different components of your campaign or marketing initiatives for example, pre-show promotions, direct mail campaigns, traffic to your web site and the number of leads from the show converted into orders.