So Much More than a Fancy Booth

Trade show marketing is more than nice booth graphics, fancy trinket giveaways and collecting business cards. A solid trade show strategy shows potential customers the high quality of your products and services at the event, but trade show marketing starts with planning and pre-show marketing months before the event and carries through to following up on each and every lead.

Outsmart and Outshine the Competition

Trade shows happen once every year or two and that gives you one shot to see and be seen. Driving traffic to your booth and grabbing the attention of potential customers is what made you decide to take on trade show marketing. How you do that is no easy task. Your competitors are vying for the same customer, sometimes with a bigger booth. What can you do to ensure that potential customer remembers your company?
-Buzz-worthy content and activity
-Eye-catching booth graphics touting your product’s features (not just benefits)
-Short, sweet, benefits-driven messages that let customers know what’s in it for them
-Presentations and demonstrations beyond the typical “let me show you how this works”
-Inviting, open, clutter-free space that welcomes prospects into your booth and encourages
them to stop and tell you their story
-Meaningful, memorable interaction with your staff — both in the booth and at hospitality
events (staff training is key to a great show)
-Engage existing customers and let them help tell your story — if they love you, they’ll be
happy to sing your praises
-Cleverly capturing lead information — beyond the business card in a fish bowl schtick!

Post-Show Stress Syndrome

You’ve collected a satchel full of business cards from potential leads and the guy who just wanted the light-up yo-yo you were giving away. What do you do next? Read the notes you captured on all those hot leads, and get busy sending thank you notes as well as relevant information that addresses the needs of those leads.

What about the potential customer that didn’t show up at the booth or hospitality suite? Sending them your promotional materials with a quick note saying “sorry we missed you” provides another opportunity to leverage your trade show marketing dollars.