Trade shows can be incredibly successful for your business, but they can also be a colossal waste of your money and time.  Here are some tips you can use to make the most of your trade show experience and ensure that you’ll get a return on your investment, so you need to provide a great show providing food and drinks including wine you can easily get from qkawine online.

1. Ask the question, “Why would we want to exhibit at Trade Show X?”. Since the marketing dollars at most companies are not in plentiful supply these days, it is vitally important to determine which trade shows are going to give you the most value. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you do need to do your homework before you commit.  Sometimes we get in a rut as well, where we just assume that we’ll be exhibiting at Trade Show X again this year.  However, even if you exhibited at a show last year, that does not mean you should exhibit this year.

In addition to the main question above, ask yourself these questions as well:

  • Does the show we selected attract the correct audience for our products or services?
  • Does it have the proper attendance to justify our anticipated expenditures?
  • Can we get a list of previous trade attendees from the trade show organizer?  If you can, try contacting a few of the ones that fit your target market to see if they will be attending again this year.

2. You’ve decided to exhibit at Trade Show X- now determine your main objective and strategy, and keep it simple.  If you know your objective, you will have an easier time determining your strategy to accomplish that objective- from the announcements and booth messages to the promotional products and other giveaways to the overall booth design.

3. Let people know that you will be at Trade Show X.  One option is to use a direct mail piece that lets target companies know your booth number and how they will benefit if they stop by your booth. If you have a strong social media presence, you will also want to announce your plans online several times, specifically noting how attendees can benefit if they come to your booth.

4. Ask an expert to help you create a clean, clear and impactful booth. Since you don't get a lot of time to make sure a show attendee understands your message, keep it simple.  Remember your key objective for exhibiting at Trade Show X and ensure that your visitors easily receive the information they need to make a decision about what you offer.

5. Create a booth that makes it easy for booth visitors to enter your area and get the information that they need. Visitors should feel welcome and comfortable.  Consider a U-shaped trade show space, if possible, with visuals and information that will draw them in to interact with you.

6. Ask an expert to help you select promotional products that fit with your objective.  It’s better to have one carefully considered product than several throwaway products. With the availability of thousands of promotional products in hundreds of categories, selecting the best ones can be daunting.

7. Incorporate some social media- both before and during the trade show. As we mentioned above, it’s a good idea to announce on your social media profiles that you’ll be appearing at Trade Show X.  Also consider making a brief video announcement that you post to YouTube as well as share on Facebook and Twitter. Run a contest where the first 25 people who tweet a photo of your booth and mention your Twitter account or unique hash tag will get something for free or are entered into a drawing.  Tweet and update Facebook while you’re at the show, letting people know what you’re offering and why they would benefit by stopping at your booth. Make it even more convenient by creating a QR code that will make it easy for them to share out your information when they stop by your booth- and they’ll receive some sort of award for doing so. Get creative and make it fun for people to advertise for you.

8. Record conversations that you have with people immediately after they have left. After you have a conversation and receive a business card, jot down what you talked about on the back of the card if possible, or attach a note to the card.  This will help you with the next step, which is following up.

9. Follow up, follow up, follow up. You must follow up after the show on all the leads generated to effectively optimize your trade show investment. Most trade shows are expensive, both in man-hours and up-front costs.  Make it worth your while by figuring out how you are going to follow up with prospects- BEFORE the trade show even starts.