Trade shows are a fantastic way for businesses to showcase their latest products and services to a large group of people—with plenty of opportunity for new business partnerships and sales.

However, participating in a trade show can be a huge investment. Exhibits are expensive and substantial amounts of company time and resources can be spent during the process. While expectations for new business and opportunities are always high, many companies fall short in meeting their goals.

At BVS Film Productions, we have over 40 years combined experience in trade show management across almost every industry. We’ve seen the best (and the worst) while helping our client’s make tradeshows one of their biggest returns on investment each year.

Trade shows are huge events for a reason. They are meant to drive new business and showcase your brand. How can you maximize your impact and make trade shows a successful driver of revenue for your company?

How to maximize you impact at your company next trade showThe Secret to Maximizing Your Impact

Trade show marketing should be broken down into three major categories: pre-, during-, and post-show marketing. Developing an
individualized plan for each area of the show, including objectives, goals, and measurement is the secret to setting up your event for success.

1. Pre-Show Plan:

Pre-show marketing is by far the most important part of your marketing plan. While the show itself is the main event, careful consideration in planning each detail must be done to ensure the event runs seamlessly.

Establishing clarity amongst your staff and fine tuning the booth layout will help the event run like a well-oiled machine. And to get there, here are some questions to consider:

Have you defined your objectives for the show and how they will be measured? Is the layout of your booth conducive to interactive conversations? Does the design invite people in or does it appear closed off? Does each member of your staff understand their role? Have they been trained with a pre-written sales script?

Successful pre-show promotion is also critical to create buzz and excitement around the show. Has your marketing team done their research on important industry and media attendees? What kind of outreach has been done to schedule booth appointments or meetings? Have you created video commercials to promote your involvement in the show on social media or do an advertisement in trade publications months ahead of time? Catchy and creative pre-show marketing will put you a step ahead of your competition.

2. During the Show:

If you’ve nailed your pre-show plan, the event itself should be a breeze. Your time in the booth should be used to do what you and your staff do best: showcase your product.

Thanks to social media and some incredible technology that can be used in the booth, live streaming demos or customer testimonials can make a huge impact. Think about it, if you were a member of the media or potential buyer, wouldn’t you be checking out the booth doing Facebook live videos talking about an awesome giveaway.

Thanks to your pre-show plan, all your pieces are in place, so your team knows exactly who to talk to and what kind of information to gather so you can focus on selling your product.

3. Post-Show Plan:

Now that the show is over, you may be feeling a sigh of relief that your work done. Well, think again! There is still much to do.

Do you have a timeline for how quickly leads should be followed up with? What about a post-show video marketing campaign to keep those leads interested in your product? What system of measurement and reporting do you have in place? Just because your show is over doesn’t mean your marketing should be. A really cool thing about capturing video footage or professional photography from your event is that it can be re-purposed and used in your follow up sales efforts and future promotions for other events.

Successful trade shows can elevate your marketing and sales while taking your business to the next level. If you’re planning your next event, reach out to us here and learn how we can help you plan a killer show.