Are you ready?
Trade shows are a great place to meet with hundreds, if not thousands of motivated and potential customers. They are also a great way to stay connected with your current clients as well. While they require a lot of planning, the results from trade shows can be rewarding – such as increased brand awareness, or the number of leads received.
Here are 5 B’s to consider when preparing for trade show season:
• Be Prepared – Make sure you have enough well-designed marketing material to hand out. Business cards, presentation folders, catalogs, brochures, and flyers are very important to keep customers informed. Also, know your elevator pitch! Don’t turn away prospects by going into too much detail right from the very beginning. Give them enough information so they’ll be intrigued to ask for more.
• Be Generous – Personalized promo products such as tote bags, pens, notepads, calculators, and lanyards are a surefire way to get attendees’ attention, as well as help your business stay on their minds long after the show is over. Don’t worry about handing out too many, the more items a person receives, the better chance of them passing them out to their colleagues and friends.
• Be Visible – A great way to stand out from your competition during trade show season is with eye-catching, high-quality banners, posters, or displays. These will draw attention to your booth. Also, make sure you have an interactive activity that forces onlookers. This will create a crowd gathering around your booth curious to see what is going on; this will give you a better opportunity to provide information about your company.
• Be Known – Proactively let customers know you will be there with direct mail, email, and social media. Provide information for the show as well as the location of your booth. Don’t forget to include a special offer or giveaway – it’s an exciting way to build interest in advance.
• Be Sure to Follow-Up – Following up with your trade show leads is an important part of trade show success. Whether you send out an email, LinkedIn request, or make a phone call, you want to make sure your company is fresh in their minds. Follow-up as soon as possible, preferably the day after. If you plan on sending an email or LinkedIn request, make it personal; use their first name, and remind them of the fun they had at your booth.
With proper planning and a well-executed marketing campaign, you’ll be on your way to attracting potential customers in no time at all. Contact us today, and we’ll help get you prepared for your upcoming trade shows.
About the Author:
Cathleen Drury is the Marketing Coordinator at CFS, Inc. in Norton, MA. You can contact her at [email protected]
