OnSight
Tradeshows are the ultimate sales and marketing stand-off. Although they are marketed as a great way to meet new clients, anyone who has attended a tradeshow knows how brutal they can get. Competing with multiple companies with different product offerings for a limited number of customers can get intense really quickly.
With all other companies fighting for the attention of people as soon as they walk into the venue, it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Without a carefully curated and executed strategy, attending a tradeshow can appear like a waste of resources and time.
Think of it like the Hunger Games. The organizers help you gather the attendees but converting them to buying customers is a free-for-all.
In this article, we will be exploring how you can stage a great show at your next tradeshow.
Do some pre-event marketing.
For most of the brands attending a tradeshow, the event starts and ends that day. You can gain the upper hand over your fellow brands by thinking a bit differently about the event.
Yes, it is the organizer’s job to get attendees for the event, but ultimately what you are concerned about is how to maximize your time and booth fee. Something as little as a social media post to let your customers know that you will be in the tradeshow can impact your fortunes.
Members of your customer-base who are already aware of the event can show up to purchase or offer support which can work out for you very well. People, despite all their development, are driven by curiosity, and there are not many things more curious than a crowded stall at a trade show.
If you can guarantee a small crowd at your stall with some pre-event marketing, you’re likely to attract even more people as the event goes on.
Come with a great display.
People are very much visually driven, and that is why a lot of marketing relies on visuals to pass their message. Tradeshows are often a battle of who has the best visuals.
Even if you get your own customers to the event scene, they can get distracted if other brands come with better visual designs than you.
When creating visual designs for a tradeshow display, you should keep a few things in mind. The first is simplicity. People are often overwhelmed with a lot of marketing info at tradeshows. Being able to make sense of your business’ offering in the shortest possible time can help them come to a decision quickly.
Secondly, you can create a theme around your marketing message. Tradeshows often speak to a particular audience. Finding how that audience relates to your solution is a great first step in crafting a brand image.
Finally, it is important to use timeless messaging. If you are investing in a really good display, it is likely to cost more than a buck. From a budgetary angle, it only makes sense to ensure that the design is reusable.
If the branding materials contain things like dates and other time-sensitive material, it can make them useless for future engagements.
Do giveaways
One thing people love more than working products is free items. It doesn’t even matter whether they serve a functional purpose. As long as there are free items, people will gather around to receive them.
Giveaways give tradeshow attendees an extra incentive to check out your stall and perhaps purchase what you are buying.
Use this to your advantage by giving out branded swags that help people remember your company.
Common giveaway items at tradeshows include pens, shirts, and mugs. However, you can also offer items that are contextual to your business. You could even offer people the opportunity to try out your product for a limited period.
You can also give out big reusable bags for them to carry their items with. Since the bags are reusable, there’s a significant chance that they help you increase your brand recognition with the customer.
Offer a fun experience.
People are used to being sold to at tradeshows. And if you’ve been sold to, you can clearly remember how tiring it gets.
Change things up by looking for ways to entertain the people that visit your store during the tradeshow. If your stall provides entertainment value for attendees, they are likely to spend more time there and, by extension, make more purchases.
Little things like AR/VR headsets can provide a more immersive and fun experience for everyone who visits your stand.
To cap it up, you can also host an after-party for people who came to your stall during the tradeshow. It doesn’t have to be a rave. In fact, it can just be a drinks and snacks event that allows you to get closer to your potential customers.
Always follow-up on prospective customers
Even when the tradeshow has ended, your task as a salesperson/marketer has not. Following-up on the people who visit your stall during the tradeshow is as important as showing up for the event.
Outside of sales, tradeshows allow businesses to meet with and educate a lot of people on their products and offerings. They are an effective method of getting people into your customer funnel.
Regardless of whether the person makes a purchase or not during the tradeshow, it is important to follow-up on them to answer further questions and possibly close more purchase deals.
Conclusion
Tradeshows are a battle of the best marketing minds. If you’re a small company just starting out, they can be an effective way to introduce yourself to a new audience.
Research has shown that people who go to trade shows are typically open to trying new products. That makes it the ideal place to test new products.
However, you have to be extremely creative if you are going to outwit the big guns. They have the budget and team strength to put on a good show. To succeed on a budget at any tradeshow, you’ll have to play the role of the skilled underdog.
