Trade shows used to be a level playing field for groups trying to reach their specific industry audience, but that is no longer the case. Showing up with a booth and a table and a couple basic giveaways won’t get you very far in 2013. You need to bring new trade show ideas if you’re
Trade shows used to be a level playing field for groups trying to reach their specific industry audience, but that is no longer the case. Showing up with a booth and a table and a couple basic giveaways won’t get you very far in 2013. You need to bring new trade show ideas if you’re going to have success!
The last thing any business wants is to be just another business at the convention. You want to make each trade show pay off by developing new relationships and generate leads. Think of the convention as a race and the standout booths as the clear leaders of the pack. Companies that are thinking outside the box, engaging and differentiating themselves from competing exhibitors are having more success.
Dream Factory recently joined over 20,000 industry professionals, including several clients at Power-Gen International in Orlando. To mark this record-breaking convention, we’re sharing three of the best tips to help you with a successful trade show in 2013.
Trade Show Idea #1: Stand Out with Your Space
The days of simple booths at trade shows have gone by the wayside. When you are planning out what materials and setup items you need for a convention, it’s crucial that you look to set your company apart from the rest of the areas at the expo.
Companies who are currently having trade show success are the ones that are looking to be innovative in showcasing themselves. Many are using tactics like available seating, providing charge stations for people’s phones and private meeting rooms within the company’s area.
Standing out with your space is about defining your setup from the rest of the show, but it also comes back to engagement. Visitors come into the booths, but so many times they aren’t even approached or followed up with. The simple and effective solution to this is staff training, which prepares them to create points of engagement and build relationships. Your staff should maintain a three step process with every potential lead that comes into your booth area:
- Gauge their interest level
- Get them talking to the right person for their needs
- Have an expectation and plan to follow up
If you have prepared to engage booth visitors in a unique space and use a process of communication during your trade show, your company is setup for success. Without any type of communication and follow up plan for potential leads, your business could end up wasting money and time on trade shows.
Trade Show Idea #2: Give Away Something Different
Most of you know the classic convention routine. At the end of your trip through the show floor, you usually have a bag full of small branded items that you’re more than likely never going to end up using.
In the same way that diversifying your booth and exhibit space sets you apart, so should your giveaways. Think of them as a strategy to keep people at your booth and make them remember your company long after the show is over.
Some companies who are successful with giveaways are using the audience’s love of new technology to their advantage, by giving items that people will want and use. Start thinking about raffling away high-value objects like tablets or laptops and announce the winners at your booth, ensuring everyone who wants to know if they won must return. Giveaways like these require higher investment, but they keep people at your exhibit longer. Use this tactic to make sure your visitors don’t forget the company who gave them something more to remember about the convention.
Trade Show Idea #3: Be Interactive
As giveaways and booth designs have evolved, so have communication and displays. The advancements in technology and creativity allow us to show products and processes in new ways, promoting interaction just as much through devices as face-to-face contact. Embracing this strategy will allow your company to keep booth visitors engaged.
Repetition is a common theme of trade shows, so let technology assist your booth, whether it’s a touch screen interface or a tablet device. If you look to be interactive with your product displays, your crowd is more likely to stick around and remember your message than if you were just talking about your product or service.
You can’t let the display do all the work either, as it also goes back to engagement with your audience. The last thing you want is a potential lead to come into your booth and be impressed with your displays and interactive features, then leave without being talked to. Always remember to look to create points of engagement with a plan to follow up and get the most out of a potential lead relationship.
The more original your overall presentation is at a trade show, the better chance you have of obtaining leads and increasing your potential clients. Taking advantage of these three strategies at a trade show will put you ahead, but tying them together with engaging interaction will separate you from the rest of the pack.
Increase your B2B business with the best practices for marketing and trade shows.
