Trade Show 101

Trade shows are widely considered to be one of the best opportunities to get out in front of the masses to highlight your business’s offerings, showcase the latest products and services in your industry, and to gain valuable exposure for your company in general. It’s also the perfect opportunity to make connections and examine what’s going on in similar and different industries, depending on the show you choose. As such, it’s not only critical to assemble a booth that will help you stand out in the crowd but also to choose the shows are the most advantageous in meeting your specific goals.

First consider whether or not attendees are in your target market or are even likely to be future clientele.  Establishing direct contact with a smaller group that is specific to your target market can often times prove to be a far better investment of resources than exposure to thousands of generalized visitors. On the other hand, this might not be the case if branding and exposure is in fact your goal for the event. For example, a show hosted by your local Chamber of Commerce, such as the Western Douglas Chamber of Commerce’s West “O” Expo coming up on September 24th, will get you exposure to many visitors who live and work in the local market along with other local exhibitors to connect with. Overall, trade shows can be a powerful tool that when properly utilized will help you connect with potential customers, increase your visibility in the community, and even check out your competition.

In order to achieve a significant presence at a strategic or influential show you’ll want to set up a well-designed booth, whether on your own or even shared with a key partner who will complement your efforts and message.  Booth space is usually limited and must be reserved in advance, so you’ll want to keep your eye open for upcoming events.  There is most likely a fee for the space to plan for, as well as the square footage, location on the exhibition floor, an whether other items for the booth are included such as tables, chairs or dividers.  Developing a good design and a clear message for your booth are both key to the success of your presence at a trade show.  Your area should be inviting, easy to access, attract positive attention, and your logo should be big enough to see from a distance.  As the sky is the limit when it comes to trade show presentation, it’s important to work with professionals who have a great deal of experience with trade show displays and promotional materials. When deciding on the elements of your booth, you’ll need to work within the size of the space as well as getting creative with incorporating visual elements that will attract attendees so that you have the opportunity to establish a connection.

“The main objective at a trade show is to draw potential customers to your display, emphasizes Steve Roarty, owner of SignIT. “Depending on budget this can be accomplished for as little as a few hundred dollars.  On the lower end, a good place to start is a table covering with your company logo, and the next step could be a table top display with graphics or retractable banner stands.  Both of these options can be accomplished with a budget of less than $1,000. Pop-up displays with custom digital graphics can also make your area appeal to many.  The graphics should be eye-catching and without too much wording.  The pop-up display’s job is to draw attention to you and your product, so let brochures and company representatives further inform trade show attendees on your products and services. When planning your trade show display, it’s also important to consider ease in setting up the display and taking it down after the show. ”

He adds, “Trade shows allow your company to meet new potential customers along with staying in contact your current customers.  In today’s business world, emails, text messages and voicemails have replaced personal contact with customers.  Keeping your company name and key representatives in front of new and current customers is always a good thing. Trade shows are the only place where hundreds will come to you, so plan your display accordingly.  You only get one chance at a first impression.”

“Trade shows are a great way to meet prospects and partners,” agrees Joseph Frost of Frost Media Group (www.frostmediagroup.com). “Too many organizations focus on the prospecting and miss out on some of the partnering opportunities at a trade show. We have Partner Video Programs that take advantage of the trade show setting to enhance relationships and create mutually beneficial content for ongoing lead generation and conversion efforts. Reverse prospecting with video is another trade show trick we’ve discovered. We simply create a video that targets trade show exhibitors as prospects, and use the event to personalize the message. It’s truly a one of a kind product that has enormous ROI for the right exhibitors.

In addition to creating video that can be played at the trade show, we offer Trade Show Lead Generation and Trade Show Follow-Up Campaign Videos. These latter videos provide clients with a unique lead generation and conversion solution to optimize the trade show event. We’ve seen over 40% open rates from our videos compared to an industry average of less than 5%!”

Incorporating technology has given businesses many more options for a set-up that stands out among the crowds in today’s competitive trade show environment. “To be remembered should be your number one goal when exhibiting at trade shows,” emphasizes Michael Domgard, owner of Outpost12 Studios (www.outpost12studios.com) . “At Outpost12 studios we like to include interactive and engaging technologies when exhibiting at trade shows. We’ve won several awards for our efforts and have also won best exhibitor at several shows for our interactive experiences.  We are more than happy to lend our expertise in helping our clients out with their trade show presentations as well. Make sure to ask us how we can help generate a positive buzz for your company while at and after your next trade show.”

A nice touch of hospitality is another effective way to set your booth apart from the many others presenting at a trade show.  In addition to welcoming staff and promotional gift items for visitors to take with them, you may also consider providing snacks or beverages for everyone to enjoy. For a completely hassle-free way to serve delicious frozen beverages, look no further – Margarita Man is the perfect fit. “Whenever you have a larger crowd the ability to self-serve delicious frozen cocktails or drinks makes the event enjoyable for the guests as well as being much easier to enjoy as the host, and you’ll be able to focus on what is most important at a trade show—making connections and showcasing your business’s offerings,” says Matt Cover, owner of Margarita Man (www.themargman.com).  “It’s equally important at a trade show to stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression, so aside from simply offering your guests refreshments you could also choose to incorporate a fresh flavor, creative presentation or garnish, serve the beverages in a promotional cup that the guests can take with them, or tie the drinks into the overall theme of your booth.

At Margarita Man, we help our clients by doing as much as we can to ensure that the host has very little, if anything else, to do. We deliver, set up, pick up and clean the machines leaving our clients and their guests to simply enjoy whichever of the 22 gourmet flavors that the client decided on. Moreover, we provide cups and straws as well as different style of skirts to dress the carts with a particular theme or color of the booth.  We also provide extension cord(s) as well as making the first batch for our customers and leaving them with easy to follow instructions. All of this is included in the price of our rental packages. In addition to the popular Fiesta Package, we also offer a Grande Fiesta Package that includes rental of two machines, which is ideal for larger, high traffic events or for those who want to provide guests the option of traditional margaritas or non-alcoholic slushies. Our high capacity, commercial grade machines are sure to keep up with serving you and your guests until the last person leaves.

As each trade show is different, you’ll want to assess what you need for your booth to be functional.  If you’re incorporating our drink machines, you’ll need to know whether alcohol is allowed.  If it isn’t, that’s definitely not a problem as we offer non-alcoholic versions of all of our flavor mixes. You’ll also want to confirm that the fee for your booth includes a power source that will be able to run all of the components of your booth.  Aside from those two issues, there’s really nothing else that you’ll need to worry about!

Our team at Margarita Man would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the possibilities for your upcoming party with the 22 different gourmet mixes we have to offer; we can even make suggestions for different recipes to help make countless servings of your favorite cocktails or slushies. Above all, our goal is for your event to be a huge success with no stress!”

Along with adequately preparing for all aspects of your trade show presentation, promoting your presence at the event is an essential part of directing attendees to your booth.  It is easy to get distracted at trade shows with so much going on, but by creating interest and buzz ahead of time, guests will likely make it a point to specifically seek your business out among all of the others.  Mailers, social media, and word of mouth are all very powerful–promote, promote, promote!  Attracting attention with unique aspects of your booth and presentation, offering drawings and giveaways, or promoting special discounts are all excellent tools that can be utilized to get the most out of the trade show experience.

Finally, it is also advantageous to implement a specific way to measure each show’s success.  Whether this is handing out 2,000 brochures, obtaining contact information from 250 prospects, or having 500 people participate in a demo, having a goal or system in place will help you evaluate whether the show was worth the investment for future participation.  It is also incredibly valuable to your business to keep track of prospects and to follow up; adding prospects from trade shows to your company’s mailing list is a great idea too.

To ensure that you maximize your investment of time and resources to attain the goal of standing out in the crowd, connecting with potential clients, and effectively delivering your message, make sure to plan ahead and consult the local experts who have plenty of experience in trade show presentation.