As an entrepreneur, exhibiting your business at a trade show is something that can boost your audience and grow to reach overnight success if done properly. Many deals are made at trade shows every single year, but you need to ensure that you stand out from the crowd, as you will be amongst tons of competitors. How well your business does all depends on how much hard work and effort you put into it.
It’s essential that you know all of the best strategies so that you can be a success. Here are some of the best.
Start before the event begins.
One of the most important forms of marketing starts way before the big event. You will want to reach out to potential attendees from around four to six weeks before the show – sometimes even earlier. Try setting up a brief meeting with them all at your booth before the event starts. It’s about learning more about them, and vice versa – not trying to sell. Networking should never be confused with selling, because while this will always be in the back of your mind, collecting valuable data is just as important.
Invite your best clients.
Things will be made a lot easier to bring in someone who knows your business from a customers perspective, as well as employees. Someone that has bought from you, and has then come back multiple times after means that you are obviously doing something right, and potential customers will want to know what that is. So if your regular clients aren’t attending, buy them a ticket and invite them to come. One of the best forms of marketing is word of mouth, and whos better mouth to talk about your business than one that can relate to every other attendee?
First impressions mean everything.
The first impression goes a very long way in the overall long-term status of your relationship between yourself and the customer. But this means you don’t have a lot of time to perform perfectly in the initial meet. Studies say that first impressions are as quick as one-tenth of a second, so you need to make sure you start off correctly right off the bat. You want to bring in your creativity within the booth so that it has an edge at the event. Figure out how you can show off your brand before you even begin talking to anyone. Bring in the use of various banner flags that display your logo big and bold so people see this as soon as they turn in your direction.
They see it, they do it.
For example, you’re a tourist in France and are looking for the best wine stand. There are two different stands, but one has a much longer line than the other one. What does this tell you? – That one must be better because people are willing to wait longer for it. Social proof like this generates trust in people. So if you have engaged enough people to your booth and you have accumulated a group, others will pass by and stop because they will want to know what all the fuss is about.
Go one step further.
Creating promotional giveaways are a great way to extend your reach. Make stickers, bracelets, and stationary, and customize them with your logo printed on it. Things like this don’t cost too much to make as you’ll be buying them in bulk – you can do it all online and have them shipped to you before the event. Any wearables you have, make sure that you and your employees have them on and then hand them out to passers-by. Have a couple your team members branch out away from your booth and walk around the event handing out giveaways, letting them know where you are situated. Those who wear your promotional items could then be given the chance to win something big at the end of the event. This gets people excited, but also creates a new way to market your business without even having to pay anyone.
Create some healthy competition.
Get your best salespeople on the floor and create a fun competition between your team. You need to make sure that all your staff that come with you for the trade show are properly trained and know exactly how to go about talking to people. Make them aware of your business strategies as well as how they can use all the resources that have been provided. With the incentive of a prize at the end for the most sales or leads, your team will have that little extra drive to make them perform to the best of their abilities.
Be as hospitable as you can be.
Make sure you always have a smile on your face and give everyone a warm welcome when they approach. Offering out free tea and coffee is a great way of being inviting, as well as some comfortable seating for people who have been on their feet all day. Freshly baked cookies always go down well too, so if you’re up for going the extra mile, it may pay off rather well. You should look after your booth as if it were your own home. Always make sure that the place is clean and free from clutter, and ensure that there is always a nice scent around. If that means spritzing some perfume every hour to keep it smelling delicious – so be it.
Follow up fast.
It is so important that you follow up on all the leads that you have attained after the event is over with. You want to stay clear in the attendee’s minds so they remember why they gave you their details in the first place. The longer you wait around, the less chance you have of ever making a sale because they would’ve forgotten who you were and what you said – bear in mind they would have interacted with many different businesses, brands, products and services throughout the day. So never be afraid of reaching out quickly, there’s no such thing as being too keen under these circumstances.
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