Friday, June 22, 2012

Some Trade Show Marketing Tips

Trade Show Tips
Trade Shows are a big market for promotional products. Shows provide a great opportunity for companies to present their products/services to potential clients and even existing clients in an atmosphere that's a little more relaxed than an office or meeting room.

Promotional products, of course, are important for keeping your brand and marketing message in front of the people you meet at a show long after the show has ended.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your next show.

If your show display table does not include a tablecloth, be sure to get one that complements your display and represents your company’s image and color scheme. Even if a tablecloth is supplied, bring your own or at least something to add some depth to your table (i.e. a table runner). Try to make your space stand out.

Trade show hand outs work. Most people who attend shows are expecting to take home some goodies. The key with these items is to first determine the objective behind them – i.e. do you want to deliver a verbal ‘pitch’ to make a strong first impression on visitors who aren’t yet clients or keep your name in front of prospects in the days following the show? Or do you have a new marketing slogan and want to hand out items that play off of it? There are strategies (and products) for all scenarios.

Consider a drawing for a prize – and have it be a good prize that people really want and that complements your business in some way, if possible. Have visitors and entrants sign a guest book, fill in a ticket, or drop their business cards into a fish bowl or gift bag. The great thing about this type of technique is that you can then use this information at a later date to make a follow up contact.

Have a portfolio of your work available as part of your trade show display. Print off some of your best projects, put them into plastic sheet protectors, and arrange them in a binder. Then lay out the binder where visitors can flip through the pages.

Don’t Forget the Follow Up- Companies that get the best results will market continuously to the qualified contacts they meet at a show until the start of the next show the following year. There are several techniques for doing this and I’d be happy to share my views on this subject if you’re interested. Promotional products can be very helpful in this area, but they are not the only method of staying in touch. And some of those methods don’t cost anything.

2 comments:

  1. I have not done trade shows, but I have attended different shows where people display there product. I found it interesting, that as a passer by of the tables, that after reading your blog, I can understand the methodology of why different things work. Thank you for this insightful viewpoint.

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  2. Thanks for your comment Laura. To get the most out of the dollars you spend to display at a trade show, I think there has to be a process involved where you examine your objective(s) look at your available budget and then figure out how best to achieve them. It doesn't hurt to get others involved, have a little brainstorming session and see what you come up with. Creativity certainly counts!

    I always look at shows as a great opportunity to find new business...so its always a good ideas to try to put your best foot forward...both during and afterwards with the follow up aspect.

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