The prospect of handling & managing the details and logistics that go along with a trade show can be a huge challenge. It requires time and dedication, which are things that many people don’t have.
The following tips help you start and manage your trade show for success.
Post Contents
Have Goals
Before you can even choose what kind of trade show to attend, you need to come up with goals and take time to examine them. Have both broad and narrow goals so that you don’t end up wasting time, effort and money on the trade show.
Your goals can be anything from launching a new product to breaking into a new market. Another goal can be reconnecting with existing customers or expanding your reach to a new market. Whatever the case, you need to make the purpose of attending the trade show clear to all the people involved so that you focus on the end results.
Undertake Research
There are a lot of things to learn about the show in advance especially from a logistical standpoint. You should not just focus on the logistics, however; you need to understand the audience as well. This is vital before you even pay for the booth. Put a lot of time before the show so that you save yourself the blushes that come with lack of knowledge.
Make sure you have an idea of who your ideal customer is and go out to target them. Knowing your customer helps you come up with the right message targeted to them. This way you get to connect better with all clients.
Come Up With a Budget, and Stick to It
One way to get confused and lose focus is by working out of the confines of the budget that you have set. Preparing the ideal budget requires you to understand various aspects of the trade show so that you know how much you need for the whole process.
The budget should cater for everything right from transport to and from the show, accommodation, payment for the booth and more. However, it is good to be flexible so that you have room to wiggle when unexpected costs come up.
Have the Perfect Team
A trade show has so many tasks that need to be handled right from handling inventory, setting up the booth, advertising the products and talking to customers. You can’t do all this alone – you need a dedicated staff to help you.
Without the right people, all your efforts go to waste.
The first thing to do is to have a list of the tasks that need to be handled at the show. After you identify the tasks, you need to assign professionals to each task. Since you are going to achieve a goal that is vital to your business, you need to make sure you have the right kind of people assigned to each task. Some tasks might require the expertise of more than one person to make it a success.
Designing the Trade Show
This is the fun part! Now that you know what you want and how to get it, you need to design the booth to attract visitors. You also need to have collateral material ready for them. Remember, you have only one shot at making a great impression – don’t blow it, go ahead and put your full creativity to its test.
The aim of the design is to get traffic to your booth. With the fact that the showground will be competitive and busy, you need to make sure the design helps you to stand out. This is the reason you need to work with a company, such as Exhibit Portable, that deals in professional booth displays.
Working with a professional helps save time because everything is done for you. All you need to do is to communicate your needs in terms of the colour scheme and the items to use. Visit www.exhibeportable.com to start the process of getting the perfect display for an upcoming trade show.
Bonus Tip: Follow Up
Despite the time that you put into making your presence felt at the trade show, you lose a lot of ground when you fail to follow up on leads.
Make sure you follow up soon after the show ends.
