When you are designing a booth specifically for an event, it is easy to lose sight of the preparation that must be done beforehand. However, in order for any booth to have its maximum effect, the trade show marketing strategy that your company employs must consider much more than just the few days of the event itself. In order to get the best return from your smart investment, you will need to look at a time span starting weeks before the actual event.

Creating A Smart Trade Show Marketing Plan

In order for your trade show displays to be successful, you have to have a large audience. This becomes less of a problem if you are exhibiting at a widely attended show where you are guaranteed to get some people at your booth just because they plan to be at the show already. However, trusting the show's reputation to draw people to your exhibit is like trusting people to frequent a store just because it's on a popular corner; they're not guaranteed to come to your exhibit. In order to ensure that they seek you out, you'll need to do some work on your own.

Tricks To Drive Traffic Right To Your Trade Show Displays

The best way to promote yourself is to start advertising a few weeks ahead of time. As a baseline, you could send out printed ads or buy advertising time on local channels to notify visitors that your booth will be on display. However, the best way to drive traffic to your trade show displays is through a personalized invitation, by sending them a useful item, or by promising them some kind of gift for visiting. For example, send an invitation signed by your representative and written as a personal note. Those kinds of notes elicit a positive response in people who read it, increasing their likelihood to attend the show and visit your stand.

A useful item like a tote bag emblazoned with your company logo has two purposes. First, it's a great thing for people to use as they walk amongst the other trade show displays, meaning that they'll become a walking advertisement for your booth. In addition, the person carrying the bag will remember you because you were the one that provided the helpful item. With all the literature available at events, something to carry it in is a big help. Visitors won't forget that even after they've left the show.

Finally, the trade show marketing tactic of sending the visitors some kind of slip to redeem at your booth works wonders. It's less expensive than mailing the actual item, and it ensures that your visitors will come directly to your booth. This item can be anything, but should be more substantial than a simple pen. The gift should encourage visitors to walk past the other booths and go to yours first.

Any one of these techniques will provide a successful trade show marketing campaign. They are all effective, and some of them can be used in conjunction. However, even one of these will have a powerful impact. The key is to consider them early enough that you'll have sufficient time to plan, order any necessary materials, and then implement the strategy. Just don't plan it so early that your visitors will have forgotten the gesture by the time of the event. Generally, try to have anything mailed in the visitors' hands four to seven days before the event.