Participating in trade shows is not for the faint-hearted entrepreneur especially since it is one of the most challenging strategies in traditional marketing. Most businesses think twice before diving into one, not just because of the amount of work required to pull it off but also due to the financial hit the company budget will have to potentially take.....
To make sure do right on your next trade show event, we are going to walk you through the whole process, from start to finish.
Before the Trade Show
Do Your Research
The first step to successful trade show marketing is knowing what you are getting into and preparing for it. Here are five important information you should definitely have with you before signing up for a trade show event:
1. Choose the right show for your brand
A trade show can be an ideal venue to market your brand and products but only if you choose the right expo. So before you jump the gun and register for a booth space, the very first thing to do is to research. List down at least three relevant trade shows you are eyeing and discuss and evaluate with your team which trade show marketing theme is more aligned with the goal you have in mind. A good way to determine if a trade show is right for your brand, is to attend the show and walk the floor so you know exactly what to expect and start thinking about where you want to be placed.
2. Make sure it fits your budget
Once you and your team have successfully chosen the trade show event you want to sign up for, it is time to get down to the details. Contact the event organizer and schedule a meeting so they can discuss with you the packages available and its respective basic inclusions. Knowing your choices can also help you better determine the budget you can work with to make the trade show happen. We are not just talking about booth options, but also about what kind of marketing the trade show event can do for your company. Basically, it is all about getting the most of what you will be paying for.
3. Know your booth options
At the core of all trade show marketing events is each and every attending company’s booth. An expo is a battlefield where you and your competitors are fighting to win your market’s attention. To make sure you can maximize your participation in the trade show event, go for a booth size that will enable you to truly showcase your brand and what it has to offer. Once you have chosen your preferred booth size, ask the organizer the design and decor limitations so you can properly plan how you want to go about it without wasting time, energy, and resources. If you are an avid Brandboom blog reader and happened to chance upon one of our trade show marketing articles titled , then you will know that there are four basic booth sizes, and only one of those allow hanging signages. Having knowledge of the scope you are allowed to work with will enable you to come up with a more specific and creative way to build your trade show marketing booth.
4. Take advantage of the trade shows marketing
More often than not, registering to be part of an expo means having your brand or logo published on offline promotional materials like tarpaulins, posters, and flyers, as well as on their online assets like social media or email blasts. This is what we were talking about when we said you should find out what kind of other marketing efforts the trade show event organizer has to offer. Make sure your brand takes every opportunity to be included in the marketing material for the show itself.
5. Tell your buyers where your booth is located
Finally, make sure you have a detailed map of the trade show so you can effectively and accurately inform your buyers where your booth is through any of your online and offline promotional materials. Since some trade show have a program where speakers from various industry leaders and influencers will be invited to the stage to share their knowledge and experience, you might find it helpful as well to get a copy of the program. This way, you and your team can decide which parts of the program you want to attend and participate in to learn something new.
Let your buyers know you’ll be at the trade show
Now that you have all the information you need to prepare for your next trade show event, the next thing to decide on is how you will be telling your market about it. Right off the bat, here are five low-cost advertising channels that come to mind:
1. Via the trade show organizers
As we have mentioned earlier in this article, trade shows are great venues to market your brand and your products or services. This is not just because of how personal and physical the approach of the marketing tactic is, but also due to the fact that most trade show event organizers offer various marketing platforms to promote the expo and the brands that will be participating in it. So just like what we were saying before, make sure to ask your contact person on what kind of marketing and brand exposure you can get from and through the trade show event.
2. Via your website
If you have a strong search engine presence or a solid web traffic, then uploading a web banner or pop-up announce on your brand website can be a good way to update interested, potential, and existing clients about the upcoming trade show. Either add another web banner on your home page’s image slider, write a short blog post announcement, or configure your website to show an image ad when a visitor enters or exits the website.
3. Via Social Media
With social media being one of the most effective online platforms to reach your market, it only makes sense to utilize it to update them on an upcoming trade show you will be participating in. If the expo has an official hashtag for the event, then you better use that on your posts. Publish teasers two weeks before the event, share posts from the organizer’s page, and do not forget to upload a map of the trade show floor plan so your market will know exactly how to find and get to your booth. Here are other ways you can integrate social media on your next trade show event.
4. Via email blast
If you have a significant number of newsletter subscribers, then it would be a great idea to send an email blast to them. Remember to include details of the event such as the trade show event name, theme, date, time, place, and your booth location. If your marketing budget allows it, you can even include a discount coupon for those who will be attending the trade show and visiting your booth.
5. Via affiliate marketing
When it comes to marketing events like trade shows, it would not hurt to have partners. Whether it is from the media or some other affiliate companies, having partners can significantly increase market reach. Ask them to share your posts about the upcoming trade show or you can also come up with a discount coupon that the expo attendees can use not just in your store but also on the stores of your partners- that is added value for them!
Planning and preparing your trade show marketing materials
Of course, just like any other marketing event you will be participating in, you cannot come empty-handed. Remember how we mentioned that expos are battlefields? This is the part where we talk about your “weapons” or anything and everything you need to equip yourself with for a smooth day at the trade show event.
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