The time has come. You have had countless meetings with sales, product management, growth leaders, and executives – each one with their own opinions – to “finally” decide on the perfect combination of shows to help increase brand awareness and meet prospects. Your brand has a lot riding on these events and the pressure is on to deliver.
Where should you begin? No matter the size of your team and the amount of time between events, you should start planning and procuring all your trade show materials together as early as possible. Follow along as we walk you through how to get this done.
Determining Success, First
Once you have selected your trade shows, immediately start listing your goals and indicators for success for each show (KPIs). These lists will help to keep your team’s expectations on the same page before, during and after the event. After each trade show, these KPIs will be critical in helping you measure your level of success and the impact of your investment. Was it worth it? This is the question you will need to answer.
Sync Your Teams a.k.a. Herding the Cats
Exhibiting at trade shows involves a lot of organization and coordination amongst different teams – from marketing and sales to finance and procurement – each one with their own different agendas…enter the cats.
Start out by building your trade show team by selecting your team leaders and supporting staff for each event. Decide who will be on-site versus off-site to help determine your framework for optimal communication, collaboration and decision-making. Alignment is key.
Optimize Your Footprint
Trade shows are not cheap. As soon as possible, sign up for email communications at each trade show to be notified of early registration that often offer discounts for attendees and exhibitors.
If you are planning to own more than one style of trade show booth, try to bulk purchase these items from one vendor that may offer discounts on higher order totals. Consider purchasing modular componentry that will be useful for any configuration: pop-up counter opportunities, 10x10 booth spaces, 20x20 booth spaces, and beyond.
Depending on your lead time, consider finding a marketing execution partner to help you source and procure your trade show booth and other furnishings offshore, which could result in greater cost savings due to more competitive pricing, currency exchange rates, etc.
Engage with Swag
For those events that are more than a couple of days, don’t forget to come up with activities to host in your booth during the trade show. Think about how you will attract folks to visit you, hang around, ask questions. You could host product demos, quick Q&As, live social media streams, raffle prizes, and memorable giveaways.
Speaking of giveaways, leverage your brand tagline or booth theme to develop promo items that are fun and memorable. These could be mixed in with your handouts such as sell sheets, fact sheets, brochures, look books, etc. that focus on your product or service – your reason for being at the trade show in the first place.
Keep Up the Energy
Now that your brand has exhibited, capitalize on the post-show euphoria. For your prospects or clients that didn’t attend, think about sending them a post-show “swag bag” of all the stuff you would have handed them at the trade show along with a personalized new product promotion or invitation to your next event. Capturing the momentum of a successful trade show in a timely and thoughtful manner can help enhance the connection consumers have with your brand.
We'll Take It From Here
While these best practices sound easy enough, it can still be overwhelming for companies with teams whose core competencies, skill sets or general focus lie in other services. Kodi Collective, a marketing execution services provider, has trade show experts and experiential marketing professionals who can handle the heavy lifting for you.
From sourcing your trade show booths and printing your booth materials to developing and delivering your post-show “swag” with a personal touch, we can help you capitalize on opportunities for new and existing customers to build brand affinity, influence their networks, and amplify your brand organically.
