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Lead-Generating Trade Show Success Tips
by Caryn Smith
More Business Skills Articles
Published on this site: August 22nd, 2007 - See
more articles from this month
Trade shows provide an incredible marketing opportunity. Where
else can you gather an entire arena or convention center full of
people interested in what you do? For a modest investment, you
can position yourself to rack up loads of leads. Why then do so
many trade show exhibitors fail? Most often the reason lies in
their lack of planning and creativity.
To help you overcome the
challenges that plague far too many exhibitors, here are five
tips designed to boost your success rate.
- Escape the Ordinary
When you're in an environment full of competitors,
differentiation becomes key. You have to make it easy for
customers to choose you over everyone else in the room. That
means you'll want to stand out visually (to attract passersby
and also to make it immediately apparent why you are better or
different than other options the customer has.
Bright colors, large posters, unusually shaped desks and tables,
special effects such as lighting, large displays including
inflatable mascots or product replicas, and other options
capture attention. Having a sheet or brochure handy that
outlines your unique selling points will keep visitors in your
booth longer.
- Have a Plan
If you walk into a trade show blindly, you'll most likely be met
with confusion. Think through the steps involved and develop a
plan of action before you arrive at the show. For instance,
where will visitors approach your booth from? Do you have a
corner location? Are you on an aisle? Do you need to have
multiple displays to grab their attention from different angles?
Why will they want to stop at your booth? Do you have something
visually attractive or unique (as discussed above)? Have they
been invited to come to your booth?
Once they stop, what will your process be? Do you have a way of
qualifying leads quickly? Can you immediately assess what step
in the buying process they're in? Do you have preprinted
materials to give them that are specific to their needs?
What will they leave with that will keep your company in their
memory?
- Pre-Promote Your Booth
As mentioned above, you might want to send a pre-promotional
mailing or emailing that invites leads to your booth. Give them
the date, time, location and your booth number. Let them know
in advance that you'll be giving something away that is of
interest to them -- then name the item.
Another way to take pre-promotion one step further is to include
a lapel pin on your mailing card. Inform your leads that, if
they visit your booth while wearing their lapel pin, they'll get
something special other attendees won't get. Maybe you could
enter their names into a drawing. Perhaps you could offer them
discount coupons for your products or services. These
techniques work extremely well because people love to be part of
an exclusive crowd.
- Make Memories
When visitors leave, you want them to remember who you are and
what you do. This also can be accomplished with lapel pins or
other promotional items such as buttons, ink pens, etc. If you
skipped the pre-promotion, you might want to use lapel pins or
the other items as your takeaway/giveaway.
- Follow Up!
Within 24 to 48 hours of the show's conclusion, you need to
follow up with the leads you collected. Just like bread, leads
go stale if not attended to quickly.
With a bit of planning and forethought, you can make your next
trade show the most successful one yet!
Caryn Smith: Is Manager of Lapel Pins R Us. When you need
affordable, memorable employee rewards with a high perceived
value, lapel pins are an excellent option. Visit http://www.lapelpinsrus.com today for custom lapel pins in just
10 days, guaranteed!
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