Planning for a tradeshow as a company can be a large feat. You need to make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row and that you, your staff and your soon to be clients are set up for success in the before and after moments of the tradeshow. Making sure that you have all the elements of successful time marketing and promoting your company is a very simple and straightforward way of doing business….with yourself.
Establish Event Objectives
This is good for both you and your team to define what your goals are for the trip. This way there is a clear straightforward understanding of what you need to accomplish and you and your team can work together to make a set of rock-stars. Define your objectives that you would like to accomplish in order to have a successful show. Things like product sales, leads generated, image defined and publicity.
Define a Realistic Budget
Define not only what you are willing to spend on the show, but also what kind of return you would like to have from the show. This way you can break down each day in accordance to what you need to make, or even by the hour.
Sales Message: Reel them in!
As you have probably seen, there is the person sitting in their booth saying nothing waiting for you to come to them and ask what they are about. Don’t be this booth! Make sure that you have a clear message (one sentence or statement) that is boiled down to what you do as a company. Convey this with banners, photos posted, and promotional products and of course, your staff.
Marketing Plan
You don’t only market while you’re at the show; you are marketing before, during and after the show. Before the show, look for radio shows, TV stations, websites or even just plain posting of your company’s information will do fabulous. At the show, you need to be doing your marketing by engaging, talking to and providing information to all potential clients and customers. After the show, make sure to follow up with potential prospects!
Create a Show Stopping Exhibit
This is what makes people stop. Do you have fun music playing that makes people dance and smile? Do you have a game that people can interact with? Or maybe you have killer promotional products that cause a line to form at your booth. Whatever your WOW element is, you need to define it and put it into action.
Travel Arrangements
The last thing you need is staff that won’t able to show up because of negligent travel mistakes. Assure that you, your staff and all of your belongings are going to arrive with ample time to rest, prepare and set up for a successful show.
Post Mortem
You and your staff should meet and assure that you met your objectives set for the show. Also, this is a great platform to formulate new ideas and changes needed to make for successful future show.