Building Your Business at Tradeshows

by Kathleen Gage

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Published on this site: January 2004 - See more articles from this month

A few months ago I went to a home show to talk to vendors about their services and the needs I had with a recent home purchase. I talked to at least a dozen vendors, gave them my contact information and requested they call me. All assured me that they would. Surprisingly, only two did.

Recently, I went to yet another home show. As with the previous show, I gave my contact information to several vendors who had products and services I wanted or needed. It is said that history repeats itself, and in my case, it did. Similar to the first show, 90% of the vendors never followed up with me. Having talked to other people with similar experiences at shows, I have to wonder how companies plan out their marketing strategies. Why in the world would they invest money in a marketing campaign without doing all they can to gain the greatest return on their investment?

Sadly, a great many companies don't know how to gain the greatest benefit from their investment in a trade show. Many seem to think all they need to do is show up and the rest takes care of itself. When I asked one business owner why she didn't follow up on the stack of names she got at a show her comment was, "I thought once they saw us at the show, they would automatically come to our store." This business owner missed a great opportunity to promote her business.

Tradeshows can be an incredible way to build your business. Or they can quickly take your company into financial straits. Before you invest in a show do your homework.

Consider your time and money. How big will your booth be? Who will design it? How much time do you have to complete the project? Do you have the manpower? How will you let your customers know you are at the show?

What is your goal? Are you there to increase sales, have a presence in the marketplace, introduce new products, and/or enhance or solidify your image? Decide why you are at a show before you are there. Unfortunately, many companies decide while they are at the show and then management feels they have wasted their investment.

Be specific. Determine specific goals in order to create a successful experience. Limit the number of reasons why you will be there. Align your goals with your overall company objectives. It is a good idea to have a team work on the goals and then make sure everyone involved in the show knows what the goals are. This includes everyone from the employees at the exhibit to the support staff in the office.

Is this the right show? Make sure the show you are planning on attending will accommodate your goals. How big is the product show? Who will be in attendance? Will decision makers be there? Who else will be exhibiting? The answers can usually be obtained from the show organizers. If the answers to these questions make it difficult to reach your objectives, and you determine that there are probably only a handful of members from your target audience attending, you may want to reconsider participation. It could be a complete waste of your time, money and resources. You may still want to attend the show, but as an attendee rather than an exhibitor.

Develop a good working relationship with show organizers. Most organizers are more than willing to help you in any way they can. They want you to succeed. When you succeed, they succeed. Ask them for past and present exhibitors list, attendance figures and profiles on attendees. Find out about pre-show promotion and advertising. How this is done will tell you a lot about who will be attending the show.

Be prepared. Another area many companies put little, if any, effort into is preparing the employees who will be in the booth. A great deal of how an exhibit is remembered is based upon the personal contact made with representatives of the vendor or business. Many companies fail to realize how important it is to have the demonstrators and sales staff trained for the show. There are plenty of consultants who can give you the training you need to gain full benefit at a show. The investment can pay off handsomely.

Tradeshows and home shows can be very effective marketing strategies.
With proper planning you don't have to be one of those who contribute to history repeating itself.

Kathleen Gage: Works with individuals and organizations to increase their visibility and occupy space in their customer's mind. Call 801. 619.1514 or E-mail [email protected] . Get Gage's FREE E-Book "Keys To Creating Profitable Events" by visiting www.kathleengage.com. Click on marketing resources.