How to Make the 2nd Half of the Trade Show Season Really Count
The trade show industry takes a breather in the summer months giving exhibitors an opportunity to see if show strategies are working. We're at about the half-way mark on the year and changes you make now can still have an impact on 2011's revenues. With a focus on late summer and fall trade shows, here are some trade show tips to be mindful of.
Choose the best show to exhibit at. You want to exhibit where your business has a good chance of being seen by buyers in your industry. Better to have fewer very targeted leads than more poorly targeted leads - so make sure you are going to the show with the most targeted buyers.
Get aggressive with pre-marketing. Send an email to last year's attendees or this years registrants to make sure they come to your company's booth. Consider an "old school" targeted phone outreach or direct mail approach. However you do it, make sure you prep attendees that your business will be exhibiting and that you'd like them to stop by.
Make sure your display and graphics are fresh. It doesn't take much to make a great impression (or a bad one). So think about a new pop up display or set of of banner stands and graphics if yours are dated.
Work the floor - get with prospects and past clients. Work the crowd - connect those you pre-marketed to and work good drop in leads. This is the press the flesh and the spin the story part of the game - and you have to play to win.
After the show, make sure you follow up. Wait two weeks for the dust to settle and then send emails or make phone calls to address follow up need. Do they need a quote, catalog or pricing? Send it. And while you're at it, get more information on their descison process and find out what you can find out to better your odds of winning.
Judge your trade show performance. Check your 1st half results (or even your results from last year). How many leads or prospects did you get in the booth? How many did you follow up with? How did you do with these? Most companies will get 25-50 new leads per day in their booth if they have a 100-200 square foot booth. So over 2 or 3 days you might get 75-150 raw leads. If you pre-marketed well, as much as 30-40% of these leads might be well qualified - meaning your company has a chance of doing business with them. Timing is uncertain, but that's 30-60 new customers - a great way to crack open the 2nd half of the year.
If you business isn't getting these results, don't despair. Trade shows do work - they just need to be tweaked from time to time. Think about your messaging - is it relevant? Is your trade show booth inviting? Trade show graphics persuasive? Are you doing the most effective pre-marketing you can? Are you going to the right trade show?
Think through these issues - it's the rare company that doesn't have to change something to get better results. So you're in good company. The most important thing is to keep looking for more success and keep generating new leads at trade shows.
Copyright Impact Marketing Displays LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Choose the best show to exhibit at. You want to exhibit where your business has a good chance of being seen by buyers in your industry. Better to have fewer very targeted leads than more poorly targeted leads - so make sure you are going to the show with the most targeted buyers.
Get aggressive with pre-marketing. Send an email to last year's attendees or this years registrants to make sure they come to your company's booth. Consider an "old school" targeted phone outreach or direct mail approach. However you do it, make sure you prep attendees that your business will be exhibiting and that you'd like them to stop by.
Make sure your display and graphics are fresh. It doesn't take much to make a great impression (or a bad one). So think about a new pop up display or set of of banner stands and graphics if yours are dated.
Work the floor - get with prospects and past clients. Work the crowd - connect those you pre-marketed to and work good drop in leads. This is the press the flesh and the spin the story part of the game - and you have to play to win.
After the show, make sure you follow up. Wait two weeks for the dust to settle and then send emails or make phone calls to address follow up need. Do they need a quote, catalog or pricing? Send it. And while you're at it, get more information on their descison process and find out what you can find out to better your odds of winning.
Judge your trade show performance. Check your 1st half results (or even your results from last year). How many leads or prospects did you get in the booth? How many did you follow up with? How did you do with these? Most companies will get 25-50 new leads per day in their booth if they have a 100-200 square foot booth. So over 2 or 3 days you might get 75-150 raw leads. If you pre-marketed well, as much as 30-40% of these leads might be well qualified - meaning your company has a chance of doing business with them. Timing is uncertain, but that's 30-60 new customers - a great way to crack open the 2nd half of the year.
If you business isn't getting these results, don't despair. Trade shows do work - they just need to be tweaked from time to time. Think about your messaging - is it relevant? Is your trade show booth inviting? Trade show graphics persuasive? Are you doing the most effective pre-marketing you can? Are you going to the right trade show?
Think through these issues - it's the rare company that doesn't have to change something to get better results. So you're in good company. The most important thing is to keep looking for more success and keep generating new leads at trade shows.
Copyright Impact Marketing Displays LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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