Guide to Tradeshow Exhibiting Tips & Best Practices

How to Get the Best Results from Your Investment in Tradeshows

By Howard Friedman

Summary: Tradeshows can be a powerful marketing and sales tool that enable companies of all sizes to compete cost-effectively against any organization. Here are a few tips can help you get the best results from your investment in tradeshow marketing.

Set Goals:

Here are most common top 5 reasons exhibitors participate in tradeshows:

- Collect qualified leads from prospective customers.

- Launch new products or relaunch existing products.

- Meet with current customers, build relationships and/or write orders.

- Conduct research among your target audience.

- Find partner organizations.

Exhibit at only the “Right Shows”

Make sure your marketing team asks the right questions of show organizers before your sign a contract.

- Describe the event to me and what makes it different?

- Request buyer demographics from the prior show.

- Which industry magazines and online partners participate as sponsors - Identify marketing tools included as part of the basic exhibit package or at low cost.

Conduct pre-show activities:

- Make sure your booth graphics are very clear.

- Train booth team on products relevant to the show’s target market.

- Conduct “booth selling” skills session.

- Empower a “booth leader”.

- Encourage daily team meetings

- Provide incentives for achieving your goals

- Schedule rest breaks to keep your booth team fresh.

- Banish cell phones from your booth.

- Never break down your booth before the show ends.

- Record all qualified leads and specific follow-up action items required.

Critical Post-Show Follow-up:

- Create a database of all qualified leads.

- Follow-up with qualified leads within 48 hours of show closing.

- Hold a post-show team meeting to identify how to improve future shows.