Exhibiting at a trade show without a well founded strategy is a multitude of wastes in money, time, and even your physical being. Your trade show strategies echo your overall plan. Often, exhibitors disregard time or attention to developing their trade show strategies. As a result, their marketing efforts can become somewhat chaotic. What are your core objectives? Who is your target audience? What are the solutions that you offer?
Exhibitors who fail to recognize the importance of developing a strategy and pushing toward core objectives cannot have nearly the long-term trade show success as those who do. When you create your trade show plan in light of your overall strategy, you can plan for events more efficiently. Many exhibitors do not realize that there is an important difference between trade show strategies and tactics. While strategies reflect the long-term big picture, tactics are the relatively short-term events that are measured on the road to accomplishing your strategic objectives. In effect, your strategy is executed through your tactics. And the right strategy is more forgiving of less than perfect tactics.
To achieve your core objectives you must think strategically and speak to each of the short-term tactics you will use leading up to, during, and after the show. You must utilize pre-show marketing to drive customers to your booth. Promotional items and giveaways can effectively brand your company. Even your choice of where your booth will be located can be leveraged to better enable you to meet your long-term goals. In short, your implementation of your tactic schedule will converge to promote your trade show strategies.
