There are things everyone should do before their tradeshow to find success. Here, we discuss what they are and how to do them.
Preparing for a trade show is an important part of finding success. While it may seem like you’re in fertile territory—leads everywhere the eye can see—you’re also neck to neck with all the other booths vying for attention! Opportunity still abounds for those who know how to seize upon it, but preparation is necessary if you want to seize the moment.
Below, we look at what to do before your trade show.
Preparing for a trade show is an important part of finding success. While it may seem like you’re in fertile territory—leads everywhere the eye can see—you’re also neck to neck with all the other booths vying for attention!
Research
Naturally, there are more trade shows out there than you will ever be able to get to. They cost time, money, and they take you away from your business. You can’t go to all of them.
The need for selectivity necessitates a keen emphasis on good, high-quality research. Of course, there are many things that go into selecting the right trade show.
Consider what it will take to get there. How expensive will the travel and setup be? Do the costs balance out compared to the opportunities you will be given? It’s also important to weigh the merits of each show that you come across. How many people show up? What’s the overall makeup of the event?
It’s great to find shows that are highly trafficked, but you also want to think about what other businesses are setting up shop there.
Go for the Goldilocks standard. The trade show you pick should have just the right number of people, and be a good market fit for the product or service you sell.
Set a Budget
There is an associated cost with trade shows—primarily in the form of travel, lodging, and booth rental, but also in what it takes to stand out. You will need to fill your booth with reasons for people to come over and talk to you.
This can be accomplished in the form of giveaways, through fun games, or both in the case of the Duelbox Spin Wheel!
Whatever the case, there will be a degree of expense that goes into getting people to your booth. You should plan it out to make sure that your expenditures are balanced with the value of the potential leads and the event itself.
Establish Goals Before Your Trade Show
What do you hope to achieve during your time at this event? Brand awareness? Lead generation? Finding new products or services for your company to use? By starting things out with a list of clear goals, it becomes much easier to craft a strategy that will be most conducive toward what you are trying to achieve.
Promote Yourself
Get the word out that you will be attending this show through as many ways as you can. This should include, but not be limited to, newsletters, social media posts, and sponsorships. Trade shows are filled with competition, and if you expect to generate any traffic people first need to know you’ll be there!
Trade shows are what you make of them. If you go with low energy, a half-baked pitch, and no promotional materials, you aren’t going to get anywhere. You can always find a vendor or two who just decided to wing it; don’t be that vendor.
Instead, look at these events as both an opportunity and marketing investment. When done right, trade shows aren’t a shot in the dark. They are a concrete, highly effective way to draw in leads, make sales, and strengthen your brand.
Duelbox has created a Spin Wheel specifically for trade shows. It’s one of many games we offer that can help your booth stand out. Register for free to try out our games for yourself!
