How To Impress At Industry Trade Shows

Most industries have some form or another of trade industry show and for many this may be their main outing into the wider customer sphere annually. Obviously, this means that impressing and informing is the order of the day – it’s the perfect way to get leads after all.

It may sound simpler than it seems, but it is in fact very easy and there are a number of ways to ensure that you can get that attention, inform those customers and nail those leads.

Planning

The centre of all winning formulas is planning. One of the problems with trade shows is that people tend to see them as a yearly chore. You show up, you stand there for a few days and then go home. However, they provide so much opportunity if you can really impress. Everyone is vying for attention and to get your fair share or more you will need to stand out. Planning is the perfect way to do so. Get your staff together a few months before and brainstorm on the ways you can impress and stand out at the show. You can then delegate and get ready for the event.

Prepare

A little bit of marketing do no harm and informing your current customers and leads that you will be at the show via online newsletters, your website and emails is a good idea. You can also use offline media such as banners to announce your appearance. One of the best ideas is to send out cards or tokens to potential customers offering a free gift if they come to your stall – a great way to engage them.

The Booth

Of course, when they arrive you want to be cock of the walk and this means your booth should flex your marketing muscles. This is where great marketing and advertising comes into play and you require a quality print company to create those roller banners, pavement signs and wide format posters. These are the things that will help you to stand out and you should ask the company for tips on what works and doesn’t.

Your booth should be easily accessible and there should be nothing to obstruct users coming in and around for a look. Essentially, you want to create a rich user experience that gives the people the best impression.  This should also mean staff is looking their best. Smart casual is best as it is most approachable. Also, be sure they are rearing to go and full of energy; this is the sort of atmosphere that makes conversions.

Samples and Promotional Items

Make sure that you have both samples of your product and catalogues for your potential leads, as well as promo items – people love free stuff. These can be anything from pens to note pads and are the little things that encourage people to recollect you.

Gather Information

Try and gather and take in as much information as possible, this can be anything, from writing down the topic of light conversation on the back of their business card when you go, to foot counts and conversions. You can then follow this up with a thank you email for those that came to your booth during the show and if they seemed keen make sure to provide a follow up call in the next day or two.

Follow these tips and your show should be all the more successful and your business will benefit from it too.

Cormac Reynolds writes for www.discountbannerprinting.co.uk and has written on numerous marketing topics across the web