It can be a big decision for a business to attend a trade show. Although it might seem like it's an effortless investment where plenty of new customers are going to traipse into your booth and buy your products or services, there is a lot of planning and promotion that needs to happen to ensure your trade show experience is a business success. You need to have a marketing strategy, make sure your booth and personnel have visual appeal, know how to interact with your customers, and provide an incentive for them to visit you.
Plan Ahead
You need to have clear answers as to why you are attending a particular trade show, who your audience is, how to attract them, and what your end goal is. Once you have the answers to these questions, you can start planning how you will present your business in your booth
Visual Appeal
There are going to be many competitors at your trade show, so your booth needs to have visual appeal in order to draw in customers. Trade show attendees are more likely to wander over to attractive booths. Use lighting, stands, accessories and fixtures to draw people in. Make sure you have plenty of signs that can be easily read from a distance. Your employees in the booth should also be approachable without seeming pushy or fake. You should also make sure your employees are dressed well, visible, and ready to impart their knowledge to customers.
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Interact With Customers
Make sure your booth and everyone in it is ready to interact with customers. Learn how to effectively strike up a conversation or connect with customers on a personal level to get them talking and learning about your product. If you're not actively reaching out to your customers at your booth through interaction, they may just walk on by.
Provide Incentives
Many trade show attendees need some sort of incentive to come and visit your booth. There are so many other businesses to look at, you need to give them a good reason to come see you. Provide incentives such as useful promotional items with your company logo and contact information on it. Do prize drawings, have an employee show off a talent, and add a prize with your company info on it to a drawing held by the trade show itself. Even offering snacks or drinks with your company contact information is a great way to get attendees, who may likely be tired, thirsty, and hungry, to stop by and chat for a bit.
Plan, Plan, Plan
It's a great idea to attend an industry trade show. However, if you really want it to provide you with successful customer leads, you need to have a sound plan for your visit. Use these tips to help increase traffic to your next trade show booth.
