Business deals worth billions of dollars are made at marketing events and trade shows every year. Success at a trade show depends on your goals. Proper planning is required; after all, you invest a huge amount of time, effort, and money to exhibit at the trade show. If not executed well, your participation could be a huge flop. Focus on implementing these tactics to your marketing strategies and ensure a successful trade show.
Utilize Tech to Attract Tech-Savvy Visitors
Technology is an important element of trade show marketing. Use technology to your advantage by utilizing interactive display screens with pre-programmed content about your products and services. Design a digital lounge with comfortable chairs and café tables; include built-in chargers as well. Replace traditional printed signage with digital signage, like a large video wall, so that your messages can be seen from any location in the trade show hall. Also use bright and attractive fabric banner stands made from aluminum—these are great for displaying your marketing message. Incorporate virtual and augmented reality to share your company’s information and demonstrate products in a more engaging and interactive way. Use videos to amplify your brand with booth visitors. Make use of mobile technology and engage with your attendees through social media.
Get Your People Ready
Regardless of how cool your booth is or how fancy your giveaways are, a dynamic booth staff can easily engage the crowd in minutes. Recruit the right people and train them thoroughly; explain about your goals and the stakes involved. Bring your best team to the trade show as they are the biggest representation of your brand. Give them targets that when completed will earn them incentives. Run a quick training session so that they are well informed about your products and company details. Train them to handle difficult situations and pain points, and manage customer leads either by writing notes or entering informationinto a database system.
Reach out on Social Media
Social media is a popular way to engage your customers at events, conferences, and trade shows. Direct and inspire social media discussion if you want your customers to last beyond the show. Email marketing, Facebook marketing, and Twitter feeds can help you show off your trade show presence online, thereby driving traffic and building brand awareness. You can also participate in Twitter chats, create LinkedIn groups, and communicate directly using Google+ Hangouts for lead generation. Use LinkedIn InMail to send an alert message about your event to any LinkedIn user. Create a separate landing page on your official website to create a trade show hub. These help online users find more information about your exhibits and the location of the convention center. Write a blog post about the exhibition and the conversations that you had with your trade show booth visitors.
Are you ready to rock the floor at an upcoming event? With clear goals and the right strategies, you can easily convert aisle-walkers into potential customers while maximizing your return on investment.