Do you believe your company can get more bang for its trade show marketing dollars if you employed a different strategy?  If so, the next step is to convince your boss that you need a new approach.  But be warned; no one is going to be at all interested in hearing that there is a problem with the status quo unless you are able to present an alternative.  Here are some steps you can take to make certain you find the best strategy for your next show.

Analyze Your Choice of Shows 

            One major factor is an effective marketing strategy is choosing the best trade shows that attract your target audience.  What kind of trade shows has your company attended in the past?  Do you market in industry specific shows, general shows or a combination of both?  Gather the statistical data from the events you have attended and see which shows have been most effective in garnering new business.  Part of your strategy may include recommendations regarding increasing or changing your venues.

Scope out the Competition

            The next step is to find out what your competition is doing.  The goal is not to imitate, but to determine what the current presentation trends are and which ones draw the largest crowds.  Spend some time visiting the booths that command the most interest and analyze their strategies.  Do they use interactive media?  What kind of lighting is employed?  Is there a video feed?  How are their graphics arranged and displayed?  Do they have demonstrations or is product available for the customers to handle?  Are these booths run by a single vendor or are they a co-op between complimentary businesses?  Take notes and look for any factors these booths have in common.

Apply the Data 

            After you have gathered your information apply the concepts and techniques you have observed to your particular company and products.  Try to employ strategies that will reach your visitors through sight, sound and touch if possible.  Map a layout of your proposed display and make drafts of any new handouts, graphics, or other marketing materials.

Prepare a Budget & Project Payoff

            Every company has limits on marketing funds, and your new strategy will not make it off the boss’s desk if it cannot be accomplished within the budget constraints with higher results.  Find out how much money is available and then determine how to project results. When I work with St. Louis trade show display marketers, I provide them with my Trade Show Measurement Made Easy software that helps them to report trade show results.

Take all of this data and put it into a business proposal format.  Present the new strategy along with the reasons why they changes will improve the visibility and effectiveness of your trade show exhibits.  This information, combined with a workable budget, should be all of the persuasion you need!

A trade show takes a significant amount of a company’s marketing budget so it’s important to make the most of the opportunity. The payoff can be higher and quicker than many other marketing channels.  Winning at trade shows depends greatly upon the work done in advance.

• Investigate the Show.  When you are choosing which trade shows to attend do a little homework.  Find out how long the show has been in existence, the past attendance numbers, the number of vendors, and the advertising planned by the show management.  If possible, talk with other companies who have participated in the past and get their reviews.

• Picking the Exhibit.  Ask early for a floor plan so you can see which booths are available along the center of the show floor.  You can have the best displays and products in the world, but if you are tucked away in a corner you may become the show’s best kept secret.  Don’t wait until the last minute to reserve your space; the best locations will go quickly.

• Advance Marketing.  Take advantage of advertising opportunities offered by the show management, but don’t leave all of the advertising up to them.  Make certain you let all customers & prospects know of your plans to exhibit at the show by pre-show marketing. A drip campaign is often successful, using several channels, such as e-mail, direct mail,personal invites from sales staff & more. 

• Get the List.  Most shows provide an advance list of registered attendees for the show.  Cross-check the list with your own database to find which customers are attending. Then segment the list by company size, geographic location or assigned sales rep. Use the list in your pre-show marketing efforts to drive booth traffic. 

• Strategically Plan Your Exhibit.  Don’t try to cram every product detail on your trade show graphics – your brochures should contain all of that information.  Any trade show exhibit should quickly tell a prospective customer 1.) who you are, 2.) what you do and 3.) how you can help them. Consider what needs to happen in the space to meet & exceed your trade show goals. For more ideas on designing a trade show exhibit, check out my blog posts on “What Transforms a Trade Show Exhibit into an Experience” and “How to Get the Most Value from Your Trade Show Display Purchase”.  

• Use Technology to Enhance Your Presentation.  Light, motion and color attract attention, so use this to your benefit.  Depending on your product or service, you may want to include interactive presentations, videos or live demonstrations.  The more involved your visitors are, the more likely they will be to remember you later.

• Collect Information.  Have a system in place to get the names and email addresses of all your guests and follow up with every guest after the event. There are many technologies available which collect more information than a traditional badge scanner. At least get a clipboard to handwrite notes!

• Follow-thru! When the show ends, your marketing campaign isn’t over. 79% of leads generated at trade shows are not followed up afterwards (ceir.org) — what a waste! Follow-thru by continuing the marketing campaign and ensure that sales reps keep in contact with prospects they’ve met at the show.

Too many companies are under the impression that flashy trade show booths sell product. While this can be true depending on the industry you’re in, it’s usually a better idea to keep it simple. Keeping your trade show exhibits’ designs simple can actually help highlight your product, your service and your people. Simple doesn’t have to be boring though, so talk to a company that creates professionally designed trade show booths to get ideas on a great design.

Trade Show Booths Don’t Need To Be Flashy: Let Your Employees Shine

Flashy trade show exhibits certainly attract interest, but that’s not the only way to get attention. Instead of loud music and flashing strobe lights, let your employees generate interest. If you have professional employees working your display, they’ll bring in the customers all on their own. Make sure the employees working your booth are knowledgeable about your products, your company’s history, what makes you different from your competition and what kinds of things your customers are looking for.

There’s no reason that you can’t take advantage of lighting and music to enhance your display. Just take care to keep the volume at a reasonable level and use lighting to highlight portions of your display. Avoid flashing lights because some people are sensitive to them and they could cause headaches or worse.

Trade Show Exhibits Should Be Uncluttered

Creating an uncluttered, clean looking display design should be the ultimate goal. You want your booth to be inviting and open. Take care to have your I&D staff place supplemental display pieces like banner stands and literature racks out of the main walkways and angle the exhibit so that each section is easily accessible. After all, customers won’t visit your display if it’s inconvenient.

Keep Your Exhibit Organized

Chances are good that you’ve packed a lot of extra promotional materials. Things like lead cards, business cards, customer brochures and additional materials are necessary parts of any event. The problem is that no one knows exactly how many of these materials you’ll need. You may go through thousands at one exhibition and then struggle to give away a hundred at another. Because of this, it’s always a good idea to over pack. The cost of shipping extra materials to and from an event is well worth it. If you find yourself without materials for your customers, it can give them a very negative opinion of your disorganized business.

This is where your I&D staff is a big help. The I&D staff often have two storage sections, one for your display cases that can’t be accessed throughout the event and another called ‘accessible storage.’ Accessible storage is just what it sounds like — it’s a storage area where the I&D staff will stash things that exhibitors need access to during the event. If you’re not sure where this is, ask the I&D staff that assembled your booth. Your business will likely have its own dedicated space.

Creating effective trade show booths shouldn’t be a hassle. Think about the type of message you want to convey and work with a company that designs functional displays. You’ll end up with a professional design that’s sure to attract attention.

Article Source: http://www.easyarticlesubmit.com

Chris Harmen is a writer for TradeShowResults.net, a company that helps customers with trade show exhibits in St. Louis. The company can design custom trade show booths in Saint Louis for clients.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_A._Harmen

Whenever you make a substantial business investment, you want to know you’re getting a deal with the highest possible ROI. Buying a trade show display is no exception. You’ll want to ensure that you get a quality unit.

Hallmarks Of A Good Trade Show Exhibit

The key to getting a great deal is being able to identify a quality trade show booth when you see one. Many buyers are surprised to learn that a wide variety of materials can be used when constructing convention units, and that the material used in construction really matters. An inexpensive unit may appear to be a better deal in the short term, but in the long run it may require replacement years earlier than a slightly more expensive unit.

A high quality unit will be made of durable materials. Fiberglass composites, like the Skyline Mirage display, are an increasingly popular material, which is lightweight yet very strong. Be wary of overly heavy frames, which may make it difficult to move your exhibit, or frames which are too light and will become easily dented. While it is important that your graphics be high quality as well, they are not part of the long-term durability of the piece.

Choose A Trade Show Booth With A Neutral Design

Having a very specific design scheme for your display may be a benefit for your next convention, but in the future it can actually prevent your booth from maintaining its value. As with almost any other industry, conventions have trends that come and go. They may be trends promoting a certain type of marketing, but often they are actually design trends which can reach deep into the structure of an exhibit. If you choose to design with an eye toward these trends, you might benefit from a temporary surge of interest, but your stand can become dated once that trend passes. To get the most out of your stand, you should create a classic, trend-neutral display that will always appeal to visitors. Rely on classic elements of convention design, like bold graphics and targeted text.

Chris Harmen writes for St. Louis trade show exhibit expert, TradeShowResults.net. As a leading provider of St. Louis trade show booth designs and expertise, we build phenomenal displays on virtually any budget.

At first glance, social media might seem fairly incompatible with trade show displays. After all, connecting with your visitors through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn requires an internet connection, and WiFi isn’t usually available at the exhibit. Computers or laptops are generally in short supply, and face-to-face interaction is emphasized. Despite these apparent drawbacks, innovative companies are incorporating social media marketing with amazing success – and not just in tech industries where online interaction is the norm.

Social Media Basics.
In order to successfully incorporate new media into your trade show displays, you need to understand how it fits in with your overall marketing strategy. The entire purpose of these new forms of connection is to maintain a dialog with your customers. Instead of communication being limited to isolated press releases and the occasional TV or radio advertisement, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer interaction whenever you (or your clients) want it. The key to successfully leverage this new technology is to balance frequent communication with the risk of overloading your clients. If you post too much, people will tune you out – but if you don’t post enough, you risk not getting the strongest return on your investment.

Social Media Is The Ultimate Post-Trade Show Stand Follow Up
The old way of following up on leads gathered from a booth was a call or a mailing which might not arrive until a week or more later. These methods were very time consuming and often failed to cultivate the expected leads. In contrast, Facebook and Twitter provide a way that feels personalized but requires much less time and money investment from the marketing department. In addition, people tend to pay more attention to a short message, like a post on Twitter or a link on Facebook. They don’t run the risk of being ignored like a long email or, even worse, snail mail.

Smartphones Keep Everyone Connected, Even At A Trade Show Booth
Connecting your trade show stand to social media doesn’t require the internet. Today’s trade show booth visitor is carrying a smartphone, with connection to the internet available 24/7. The new generation of consumers is very tech savvy and won’t hesitate to connect if they like what you are offering. To help facilitate this connection, you should prominently advertise that your companyis on Facebook, Twitter, and any other major social media sites. Providing your company’s Twitter name is helpful, but your Facebook information isn’t mandatory as most visitors will find it through the on-site search feature.
Depending on what your booth is intended to promote, you might still choose to install computer terminals in your trade show displays. They can be very effective if you intend to offer demonstrations of software, but might otherwise be a waste of money. There is rarely a penalty for using computers if they are available, but you probably don’t need to go out of your way to obtain them. You can use social marketingquite effectively by simply letting your visitors know it’s available and allowing them to connect themselves.

Article Tags: Trade Show Displays, Social Media, Media Into, Trade Show, Show Displays

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About the Author

Many companies have been turning away from trade shows during the recession because they feel that they can no longer get the results that they used to. However, this does not have to be the case. It is still possible to get good trade show results and a satisfactory ROI. Exhibiting can be an expensive initial investment, but it can turn out to be profitable in the long run if you know what you are doing.  

Use Pre-Owned Booths And Equipment

To have a positive ROI, the end profit must be more than the initial investment. This can be accomplished in two different ways: either the sales need to amount to a higher figure than the capital invested, or the initial capital investment needs to be lower in the first place. One big area to cut down on an initial cost is in the area of booths. These are often one of the most costly expenses involved in trade show marketing, and now is a better time than ever to take advantage of used displays and booths.

The recession has indeed forced many companies out of exhibiting at these events. Consequently, there are tons of unused displays just waiting to be used. Companies can get great deals on these stands for a fraction of the original price. The low initial investment means that your trade show ROI will ultimately increase.

Consider Renting

Along the same lines, it sometimes makes more financial sense to rent booth equipment, especially if you only plan on attending a couple of exhibits. Instead of having to pay for your own display up front, find a rental company. This is a particularly good idea for those who are new to the world of trade exhibits.

Choose Wisely And Act Early

There are many different trade events to choose from. Exhibitors should take lots of time to decide on the best shows to attend and participate in. Find out who the most profitable leads will be and what shows they go to. This will significantly help your trade show results and increase your profits.

Also, it pays to do things ahead of time. If certain paperwork and orders are completed well in advance of the deadline, you may be able to score discounts. You may also be able to order lots of things at once, for the entire show season, to get bulk discounts and boost your trade show ROI.

Make Giveaway Selections With Care

So often, giveaways from these events end up going unused or even become trashed. Don\’t let that happen to your giveaways. Tote bags are an inexpensive and useful giveaway that also serve as a marketing tool throughout the whole show. ROI will ultimately increase because more and more people will become familiar with your company.

Also consider giveaways that are smaller and useful. People always need to use post-it notes or notepads, for instance. Your company will get better trade show results by constantly reminding attendees of your brand long after the show, and they don\’t require a huge investment.

With pre-owned booths, renting equipment, doing research on shows and giveaways, and taking advantage of early discounts, companies will enjoy an increased trade show ROI.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/how-to-increase-the-roi-at-trade-show-exhibits-2692369.html

About the Author

Chris Harmen writes for Trade Show Results, your leading internet resource to help businesses increase their trade show ROI.

The 10′x10′ booth space is the most common size in the United States (source: my unscientific survey of recent show floor plans). Starting small might be a good idea because of limited marketing budgets or based on the number of attendees at a trade show. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet and become satisfied with the lead generation and business growth potential, you’ll understand that it might be time to move up to a bigger trade show booth. Here are a few factors to consider when choosing the ideal trade show exhibit size, from TradeShowResults.net, a Saint Louis trade show displays company.

1. Venue Considerations: Location and audience. What is the expected total number of attendees? Is this a trade show that highlights your particular industry or is it more generalized (vertical vs. horizontal)? A larger booth will attract more attention, but it’s a good idea to compare all costs to lead potential (ROI). Take a critical look at the floor plan as well. Larger booths are typically located in the center of the trade show hall and in the main walkways where most of the traffic takes place.

2. Demonstrations and workstations. Would attendees benefit from product demonstrations? If so, you’ll need a booth big enough for to highlight the product, visible from all sides & comfortable for a large group of attendees. If you expect to meet privately with individual clients, you’ll need a comfortable conference room or space.

3. Staffers. Once you’ve set a goal of how many leads to generate, you’ll know how many attendees booth staffers will need to speak with in order to produce those leads. Then you can decide how many staffers it will take to speak with all of those attendees — rule of thumb average: 8-15 per hour for good qualification and depending on the time of day. So, consider the size of space in order to hold this number of staffers & attendees. Remember, for a 10′x10′ booth, you’re typically max’ed out of space with 2 staffers and 2 attendees (25 sq. ft. each).

4. Invest for Less. If #1, 2 or 3 above apply to your situation or, if your current size booth is too crowded you will not be as effective in attracting attendees, conversing, presenting and generating leads. But, cost can be a barrier to increasing your size, however the payoff to your bottom line can be huge. Make a smaller investment by designing a Custom-Modular Exhibit or consider a Custom-Rental solution. Learn more by requesting a copy of The Trend to Custom Modular Exhibits.

For a complimentary phone call to discuss more about your potential Trade Show Results, give me a call or contact me by e-mail.