As we have discussed throughout this week’s blog posts, trade shows are a great opportunity to engage with customers to build client lists and connect with current customers to build lasting relationships. But, when it comes to exhibiting at a trade show booth, some exhibitors are more effective than others. All sales and marketing objectives are important in order to create a successful trade show presence; however, there are noticeable elements of a trade show experience that certain exhibitors just do right.
What are the top 3 objectives the best trade show vendors do right?
Interaction. Trade show exhibitors compete for time with attendees. Exhibitors must use this time to effectively interact and engage with attendees. If you aren’t effectively interacting, attendees won’t notice your booth. Many opportunities exist throughout the entire trade show. You just need to seek out those opportunities. Interact with your target audience by taking a walk around the trade show floor or attend an informative session, and invite attendees to visit your booth. Prior to the show, send out pre-show postcard invitations to a targeted list of attendees asking them to visit your booth. On the invitation, offer attendees an incentive for visiting your booth. Example: “Follow this link to complete a short online survey. Print your submission confirmation page and bring it to our booth to be entered into a prize drawing to win an iPad.”
Giveaways. It is no secret that people like free “stuff.” Perhaps one of the most effective methods of driving exhibit booth traffic is by offering desirable giveaway items. Displaying creative giveaway items are an effective way to increase booth traffic by drawing attendees into your display. They are a great tool to cultivate interaction with potential customers, which gives your booth staff the opportunity to collect a number of sales leads.
Follow-ups. Like many trade show attendees, they gather a wealth of literature from trade show booths. When they return to the office, they set aside that big stack of literature and review it at a later time. To ensure attendees recall your products & services, and to turn those attendees into leads, top trade show exhibitors schedule follow-up calls or product demonstrations during the trade show. Seasoned exhibitors qualify their leads at the time the prospective customer visits their booth. It gives them an opportunity to conduct a leads qualification survey, gather additional information about their needs, engage with the contact, and schedule immediate follow-ups.
Exhibiting at trade shows is an excellent way to generate sales leads. Review your trade show sales and marketing objectives, and implement these 3 objectives into your plan. By implementing these 3 objectives, you’ll learn how to effectively connect with attendees to increase brand awareness, build relationships, and ultimately increase profits.
Visit this week’s other Snap Survey Software blog posts for tips on trade show exhibiting.
