(ThyBlackMan.com) A trade show is your big chance to show off your newest innovations to industry insiders, potential clients, and the competition. The most important thing to remember about a trade show is that presentation is just as important as the product you are selling. If you want to really impress important people at your next trade show presentation, then you need to be properly prepared and ready to look professional.
Staff Your Booth Properly
Nothing frustrates trade show booth visitors more than not getting any help from the booth workers. If you are expecting a big turnout for a trade show, then make sure that your booth is properly staffed. As a general rule, you would rather be overstaffed for a trade show than understaffed. Luckily tradeshow booth rental is cheaper these days. Make sure you take advantage of such an opportunity, as promotion of your business is a must.
Present A Professional Image
If your company does not wear formal business attire, then have shirts made up for the trade show that make your staff look like a unified team. Insist that each booth worker be properly groomed and do not tolerate workers that are less than professional to each and every visitor.
Have A Way For Collecting Information
Business card scanners are extremely popular for trade shows because it is a fast and easy way to collect the information from a prospective client. Have a business card scanner set up at your booth and use it to collect information. You can also set up a card scanner that visitors can use to scan their cards when they do not feel like talking to a booth employee.
Have Something Special Planned
Your booth is going to need something special to grab foot traffic, so have
a marketing plan in place ahead of time. You may want to bring a celebrity to your booth, or have a special light show that gets people’s attention. Regardless as to what it is you do, you need to do something that will get people talking about your booth and something that encourages foot traffic. It would be preferable if your attention-grabber had something to do with your product, but that is not necessary for it to be successful.
Plan On A Practical And Popular Giveaway
Every trade show booth needs to have a marketing piece they give away to visitors, and it is the more practical giveaways that get the most mileage. For example, a cloth bag with your company logo on it is something visitors will use at the trade show and many years afterwards. Toys and stress balls are nice, but practical giveaways will give a bigger return on your investment.
Get New Marketing Material
Trade show visitors want to see something special, even when it comes to the marketing material you giveaway for your products. As you prepare for your trade show, have marketing material designed and printed that is specific to that show. It will impress your visitors and it will attract attention to your booth and your products.
Plan Everything Well In Advance
Always set your trade show staff at least a year prior to the show and start making arrangements at that time as well. If you wait too long to book hotel rooms, reserve conference rooms, and rent vehicles then you may wind up not getting what you need. Another problem with waiting too long to plan and prepare everything is that you could wind up paying much more than you would have paid if you had just made your arrangements months earlier.
Develop Emergency Plans
Part of preparing for a trade show means developing contingency plans for everything. You need plans to:
- Replace booth employees if they should leave the company or become unable to attend the show.
- Have a plan to get materials to the booth in a hurry (a reliable overnight shipping address for the trade show always works well).
- Have backup products on hand in case the demonstration models do not work.
Advertise Your Presence At The Trade Show
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming that just being at a trade show is enough to generate visitors and revenue. You need to put together a marketing plan that advertises your company’s presence at the show and lists all of the products you will have on display.
A trade show can be a significant investment for your company, which is why you need to plan everything well in advance. When you take the time to put together comprehensive plans for your trade show, then you will be able to benefit from the results and use the contacts that you make to generate revenue.
Staff Writer; Shelia Jackson