TIPS FOR NEW EXHIBITORS AT TRADE SHOWS
If you want to present your business in front of your audience properly, you need to attend trade show exhibitions. These will allow you to get more exposure, generate a lot of sales and you can also make a lasting impression in front of a new audience. However, trade shows are full of companies that want to do the same thing. So, what should you do in this regard, are there any solutions you can focus on? Here are some great ideas to keep in mind!
Make your exhibit stand out
Depending on your financial resources, you have a limited amount to invest in marketing. But no matter how much you want to invest in this, you want to make it count. You will need to make sure that the exhibit stands out. Try to bring in lots of visuals that pertain to your business, showcase your logo openly and make sure that you talk with your audience as much as you can. Plus, you can also rent some exhibit items that will make it easy to decorate your exhibit fast and easy. Visuals are everything.
Generate social buzz
If you are a new trade show exhibitor, you have to create some social buzz. Announce your presence at that event on social media, encourage people to share it and so on. The idea is to make sure that you make people interested in your trade show presence. The more buzz you can generate, the better it will be.
Create or purchase items to share with your audience
Promotional giveaways are offering you the perfect way of generating leads and conversions. Depending on your industry, you have thousands of options to focus on. From wearables to trinkets, stickers and many others, there are lots of great options you can pick from. Don’t rush, just try to find the one that suits your needs. As long as you take your time and bring in a healthy dose of creativity, you will find that results can be very good in the end. Just try to do that right away, invest in your business, and you will not be disappointed!
Attend the show a year prior to your exhibit
Before you have an exhibit, it’s important to attend the show as a regular visitor. This is the best way to get a feel for the show, and it will be a lot easier for you to handle the experience and enjoy it as you see fit. It shines, and that’s why you need to consider giving it a shot. Plus, you will get to research and optimize your exhibit for the next year.
Understand the overall costs
New trade show exhibitors don’t always have a good idea of how much it costs to have a trade show booth. Depending on where you are and what type of trade show you attend, prices can go anywhere from $500 to $20000 or even more. You also need to figure out where you need to rent items like floor mats, digital scanners for badges and any other items needed for proper trade show booth functioning.
Send a press kit
If you want to improve your reach further, make sure that you talk to the press beforehand. Announce your presence at that trade show and maybe even generate some buzz via a giveaway. After all, that’s what matters the most if you want to get a better exposure for your business. Media can be your friend here, so try to make sure that you address the situation in a proper manner.
Networking is very important
You can cut costs if you split your booth with other relevant business. Also, you can share some of your items with other company so they can promote you as well. The possibilities are limitless; you just have to promote yourself in a proper manner and results can indeed be second to none.
Create a backup plan
No matter how well things might be at this time, you have to make sure that your trade show presence does have a backup. Bring more product samples, put the high-resolution images for your products and services on your thumb drives and use a business card. If necessary, try to bring in your generator to ensure proper trade show booth functioning even if there are power surges.
Understand that you can always save costs
Yes, if you want to save money, you can do that with your exhibit. You should try to find what spot is less expensive because visitors will end up checking out the entire trade show. Also, it’s a good idea to rent a professional booth instead of using a permanent structure. It’s a much better option and one that will help you save costs quite a bit. You can also try to ask for a booth at the last minute and negotiate a price if possible. As we mentioned above, another solution that allows you to cut costs would be to share the booth with another vendor.
Try to put new products and services in front
A booth without goods and/or services that people can try out isn’t exactly appealing. Try to make sure that you showcase your latest products and services because that does pay off big time. It’s a delightful experience that does pay off very well, and results can indeed be very well worth it. Obviously, you can showcase some of your older products or services, but the new stuff should always be in front. It’s easy to see why that happens; you will get to have better exposure for the newer and more expensive offerings, while the remaining stuff will still be available and ready for testing (even if it costs less). This way you can generate more sales, and that’s incredibly rewarding.
In the end, being a new trade show exhibitor can be rather challenging, but these tips should offer you the help you need. Don’t hesitate and try out all these great ideas as they will help you acquire an incredible experience in the end!
