Any business with a winning trade show strategy knows that it comes down to 3 things- your trade show marketing, your trade show presence, and your ability to engage attendees. If you’re seeking to dominate your competition, it’s wise to have a solid strategy in place. Have you detailed your trade show strategy yet?
Define Your Trade Show Strategy
When you go into battle, you need a battle plan. While not a literal battle, the trade show floor requires that you have a defined trade show strategy to stand out and be noticed. You’re not going to gain leads by sitting quietly in the corner. Instead, you need to determine how you’ll market your business, what your presence will be on the floor, and how to engage attendees to come to your trade show booth.
- Trade Show Marketing and Your Trade Show Strategy
The basics of your trade show strategy should include a solid marketing campaign. If there is a pre-show list available, it behooves you to get it and to begin marketing to these people months in advance of your show. Determine whether one of your experts will be presenting at a break out session or panel discussion you could also publicize. Otherwise, find a reason why people would want to stop by your trade show booth. This is critical to your trade show strategy. What benefits your prospects if they stop by your trade show booth? If you can’t answer that, then they likely won’t be motivated to come.
In your trade show marketing campaign, it’s helpful to cover multiple areas. Consider how your trade show strategy could include social, onsite blogs, press, email campaigns, calling campaigns and even guest posts in industry publications. If you start early, you’re better able to touch prospects multiple times, increasing the likelihood that you’ll be top of mind on the trade show floor.
- Trade Show Presence
Your trade show presence speaks volumes about your business, your products, and your place within the industry. Some businesses prepare for their largest shows of the year as soon as they’ve finished the show. They mull over their trade show strategy, their spot on the exhibit hall floor, and how to design their next trade show booth. All of this determines your trade show presence.
Your trade show presence is a big deal. The look of your trade show booth, the flow of movement, color, and excitement that it brings are important. By working with an exhibit house, you can ensure your trade show booth is customized for your brand to highlight it best. By working closely with your exhibit house, you can also flesh out a trade show strategy that your booth can support. They can further make recommendations about how to maximize traffic to support your trade show strategy, whether with interactive elements, or other great elements.
- Engagement, Engagement, Engagement
Once you’ve got your overall trade show strategy in place, determined how to market yourself, and what your presence will be, it’s time to determine how to engage the crowd. It’s every exhibitor’s dream to have such a crowd at their trade show booth that they can barely handle the volume. Further, people love when crowds congregate. With a strong sense of fear of missing out, attendees naturally gravitate to the crowd. How will you engage attendees to come to your booth?
This should be a critical piece of your trade show strategy- determining how to engage attendees on the trade show floor. Brainstorm what kind of game, giveaways, interactive elements, or spectacle could drive traffic to your doorstep. Depending upon your industry and your business, different things could resonate with different people. Know your audience and be true to your business’ brand. Don’t try to copy an industry giant such as a Toyota or Polaroid or Call of Duty because they can demand huge crowds with one announcement. Instead, find your own value proposition and niche and engage attendees with your own style and voice.
If you want to dominate your competition, you have to have a solid trade show strategy in place. This needs to include multiple elements that focus on showing off your value proposition, driving traffic and then engaging traffic to stay. With each area covered, you can surely stand out among the giants and dominate your competition.
