Trade shows and exhibitions are a fantastic opportunity for small businesses and startups. They put you directly in front of your ideal customer, and can result in many new leads for your business. In short, it’s one big promotional tool that you can have a lot of success with. But, you have to do things the right way if you want any success for the big event. In today’s guide, we’re going to go through some of the things you need to look out for and explain how you can win at your next trade show. Let’s get started right away.
Preparation
First of all, you need to plan the event – and the process should start taking place a long time before the big day. You’ll need to come up with a team, so pick your chirpiest, friendliest personalities to give off the right first impression. You’ll also need to look into creating an eye-catching stand to show off your wares and ideas. Take a look here for some examples – http://www.nstands.com/las-vegas/. Finally, make sure that your message is clear, focused, and explains exactly what you do. It’s important for every member of the team to know this off by heart. It’s a one-liner that outlines everything you do from the top-down, and it’s going to be vital in your attempts to get customers.
Positioning
One problem you might encounter is your position in the arena. It’s not uncommon for a small business to get shunted off the main area and placed in a remote corner – or right beside the bathroom facilities. There isn’t much you can do about this, but organizers will let you know beforehand, and you will have the time to find a solution. It’s important, then, to have people around that can walk the floors for you.
Give them a uniform with your logo on it. They will also need some lanyards for ID purposes. Try here to give you a good idea of what to expect – http://www.lanyardsusa.com. You can also think about bringing a hi-fi system to make some noise from your stand. If you can create enough of a buzz, you will draw people over from the central areas.
Branded products
Everyone who visits a trade show sees a lot of different companies and ideas. So, how are you going to get them to remember you? Your first step is to make sure that you get contact details from everyone that visits your stand. Every single person is a potential lead, and you should get in touch with them as soon as you get back to work. However, you should also prompt them to get in touch with you — which is where branded products, more commonly known as promotional products, come in. Pens, USB drives, booklets and guides – use anything that you can think of that will prompt them to remember you. It might only take a couple of sales to cover your costs – so it’s worth trying.
OK, so there you have it. Follow these three principles and you should help make your next trade show event go off with a bang. Any more tips to share? Please feel free to leave them in the comments section below!
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