6 tips to get the most out of your next trade show

Defining a correct trade show marketing strategy is a fundamental step to maximize return on investment when participating in an industry event. At these venues, a direct meeting between supply and demand takes place, making it possible to gain greater sensitivity toward the needs of your target audience and receive valuable feedback on what your business offers. In addition, participating in a trade show allows you to closely analyze direct and indirect competitors, gathering information on new market trends.

In these situations, it is also possible to discover and learn about new developments that offer innovative solutions, as well as forge strategic business alliances. That is why participating in a trade show or event with adequate event marketing and communication materials, backed by a defined and structured strategy, is important for your business. Let's look at some tips to get the most out of your next trade show and maximize the results of your upcoming event.

80% of leads obtained from participating in trade shows stop receiving communications after the event.

Planning activities before and after the trade show will allow you to keep the memory of your brand alive.

6 Tips to make your company's participation in a trade show profitable

Exhibiting a trade show booth at an industry event is the best way to offer your products to a potentially interested audience and is also an opportunity to promote your corporate image, reinforcing brand penetration within the target market by introducing yourself to new potential customers. However, simply being present is not enough!

It is essential to improve the organization of the aspects that will help you achieve expected results, such as choosing the best trade show marketing material to distribute to visitors and secure new opportunities.

Here are some tips to promote your company at a trade show before, during, and after the event:

• Plan sufficiently in advance: One of the elements that contributes most to success at a trade show is the initial planning phase. From launching advertising activities, both online and offline, to supporting commercial development, to sending communications to contacts in your database, to printing all the necessary event display material to use during the event, being well prepared is essential. Give each of these activities the necessary time to express their potential, and give suppliers the time required to produce the necessary material.
• Prepare the necessary material: On the roadmap of activities to follow before the start of the event, preparing all the paper material that will allow you to offer a professional and captivating image of your company plays a fundamental role. The presence of informative material to distribute inside the booth, such as catalogs, flyers, customized corporate gadgets, and brochures, allows you to differentiate yourself from the competition. Business cards left with promotional material also allow potential customers to have the information they need to contact you and place a purchase order later. Preparing communication material for events and trade shows with the support of an expert graphic designer is essential to produce professional materials with a strong visual impact.
• Set clear goals for your sales force: Promoting the products and services most relevant to your company, along with capturing qualified business contacts, are some of the main objectives achieved by participating in a trade show: captured contacts can trigger negotiations, which can subsequently lead to sales, orders, or strategic partnerships. Therefore, it is essential that the entire sales team is aligned with the commercial goals to be achieved, offering potential customers a structured and coherent communication methodology, making the most of all available channels, both online and offline. One way to encourage commercial negotiations is to plan meetings with strategic potential customers at the booth, even before the event begins. This goal can be achieved by sending targeted newsletters to a selected contact database, or through phone outreach activities. The ultimate goal should be the creation of a meeting calendar shared with all collaborators, which also includes a measurable objective to be achieved: for example, a benchmark to evaluate the result obtained could be the results from the previous edition or the number of contacts collected during another event that later converted into real clients over the course of the following year.
• Attract attention to your booth: Customizing trade show spaces with high visual impact materials, such as flags, posters, and large banners, is an effective idea to spread your promotional message, boosting your business relative to your competitors. In fact, special events require original and innovative communication that manages to surprise the visitor by immediately conveying the strengths of your business offer. It is possible to draw attention to your booth with clearly visible, brightly colored adhesive stickers that highlight the logo and name of the business, capturing the interest of potential customers interested in buying your products or services.
• A gadget is forever: The investment reserved for personalized items, sampling, and corporate trade show merchandising can be a catalyst to attract visitor attention and leave a branded object that can trigger positive brand recall even after some time has passed. Promotional items are a practical and effective method to achieve business goals: in addition to informative material, which is essential to communicate the details of your commercial offer, customized gadgets such as pens, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and similar items can be given away. These objects are perfect for engaging customers who are less inclined to spend time evaluating the commercial offer on site, while keeping you present in a possible consideration phase after first contact. It is easy to imagine why these objects represent a good investment in these contexts: once the event or trade show has concluded, your company's services or products will remain physically present in the daily lives of potential buyers through the gadgets they will use daily and also share with their colleagues and company managers, increasing brand familiarity and improving the chances of future contacts.
• Personalized follow-up activities: To prevent your efforts from being frustrated, it is good practice to use available tools to increase the conversion rate of potential customers. In fact, according to reports from the CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research), nearly 80% of potential customers obtained through trade show participation are not followed up with after the conclusion of the event. Having a professional mail service to promote your products and follow up on acquired leads is one of the indispensable tools for an effective follow-up plan. Standing out from the competition by sending personalized brochures and envelopes containing catalogs, letters, and leaflets can be a winning strategy to re-propose the products and services visitors came into contact with during the event. For those running an online business, it is also possible to activate discounts, promotions, or other activities on e-commerce channels dedicated to contacts obtained offline.

Phased action plan for trade show marketing management

Harness all the opportunities of your next trade show with MBE

To take advantage of all the opportunities arising from participation in a trade show, it is essential to plan the best marketing and communication activities sufficiently in advance, preparing all the promotional material necessary to obtain the maximum benefits from the trade show or event.

MBE Centers offer a wide selection of support tools for trade shows and events: tailored materials to stand out from the competition with direct and effective communication. Get in touch with us to choose the best solution for your business.

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