Setting up a booth at a trade show can provide small businesses with all kinds of benefits. Through trade shows you can showcase and sell your products, gain new customers and prospects, make great contacts, learn and explore new industry trends, and build awareness of your business.
Before you start the whole trade show process, set clear goals. What is it that you aim to get out of the show? Knowing what your objective is from the very beginning will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.
Start the process by choosing the right trade shows. Find out which ones help support your goals as well as target the audience that you are trying to reach. Those are the ones you want to participate in. There are lots of costs involved with participating in a trade show, so you'll want to settle on a budget before you commit to a show. Consider the cost of space rental, the display design and construction, travel expenses, accommodations, promotional give-away items, and flyers and other promotional literature. You will also want to find out approximately how many people are expected to attend the show. Based on the number of leads you expect to receive from trade show visitors, you'll be able to better decide if this is a worthwhile investment.
When you do decide which trade show(s) to participate in, try to book a space early. Not only could you possibly take advantage of discounts on booth space, you'll also have more (quality) booths to choose from. Go for the ones in busy aisles with lots of traffic. After you book the right booth, find out everything you can about the space so you can plan accordingly. What are the physical conditions? Are there chairs to sit on? How big is the table? Will you have electricity or an Internet connection? Are there height restrictions? Or any other questions you might have. It might be a wise idea to let clients and prospects know in advance that you?ll be attending the trade show. About two or three weeks ahead of time send them an email to give them a heads up.
Now that you've signed up for the show, you need to put the time and money into getting the most out of it and making it a success. Achieving the goals that you set forth starts with grabbing people?s attention. You have to be memorable so that potential customers will think of you later on when they need what you have to offer. You don't want to get lost among the hustle and bustle because there's nothing about your booth that's unique.
There are several ways to attract attention. One way is through the design of your booth. Attractive displays draw people in. Your booth should be well organized and clean. Another great way to bring people in is through promotional offerings. Give patrons something functional, like water bottles, pens, key chains or canvas bags with your logo on them. These types of gifts not only build rapport with potential customers, but having your logo splashed all over promotional items will help build your brand as well. You might also want to consider offering a white paper on a topic that is relevant to your business and will be of interest to trade show goers. Place these items in such a way that people have to walk into or through your display to get to them.
Another way to garner some trade show attention is to get interactive. You could try a demonstration, a game, a survey or even some kind of drawing? anything that's fun and will give people a memorable experience at your booth.
Manning your booth with the right people will go a long way in turning potential customers into actual customers. Just being there isn't enough. You have to be prepared to meet the needs of your patrons. Whoever is manning your booth should know exactly what to say regarding your company?s brand, service offerings, product benefits or any other information that?s important to convey to your potential customers. These talking points can be practiced in advance if need be. When talking with potential customers, use open-ended questions to get a better understanding of their needs and wants and to set the groundwork for a deeper discussion. Focus most closely on their needs and concerns. Think of it as a free consultation rather than a hard-sell pitch; your potential customers will be much more receptive. You also might want to try to have an extra person on hand to walk the show, network and gather ideas for next year?s show.
The idea behind a trade show is making people more familiar with your company and your products or services; therefore the information that you provide needs to accomplish just that. Make sure all relevant information is highlighted and easily visible using signs or posters. Also make sure that you maintain a good supply of promotional literature like fliers and brochures as well as order forms, process sheets and business cards. With all of your information and paperwork on hand, you?ll be able to conduct business right there in the showroom.
Just because the trade show is over doesn't mean that your work is over. Follow up on leads. Send emails. Make phone calls. This is the kind of stuff you'll want to get to right away while it's fresh in your mind (and in your potential customers? minds).
