March 13, 2023
“Much like any other advertising medium, a trade show lets people know who you are and what you do.” - Richard Wheeler.
Trade shows and events are regarded as one of the best ways of lead generation. That’s why even in the age of digital marketing, you’ll find numerous well-established brands hosting or participating in trade exhibitions or expos to promote their products or services.
In addition to brand awareness and product promotions, trade shows provide opportunities to the companies to catch the big fish and take their business game up a notch. Here are the top 3 ways businesses can generate leads at a trade show.
To begin with, you need to identify the people who are likely to attend the show. It will help you formulate the strategy to attract them to your booth and generate potential leads. Understand that using giveaways, hosting contests, or providing gift cards are effective ways to promote your brand. However, they do not guarantee lead generation.
On the contrary, knowing whom to pitch your product has more chances to become a potential lead. It will also help save resources and time. Learn about the details of the shows, participants, and sponsors. Accordingly, create a list of potential attendees. It may include people:
Focus on the quality of the attendees and not quantity.
Once you have identified the attendees, create or develop the display of your Trade show exhibits accordingly. There are numerous trade show display options available for the brands to work with, such as banners, backlit, 10 x 10 displays, counters, and many more. You also take the help of professionals to create vibrant display graphics that’ll help grab the target audience’s attention.
You should make sure that you hire someone knowledgeable about exhibition stands to assist you with making your display more organised and memorable. This is all you need to stand out and get the attention you need from attendees. The last thing you want is for there to be problems with viewing what you have on offer. A great display prevents this from happening.
Apart from this, make sure that the overall theme of your show matches the company motto or product. It will help the audience better understand your brand and connect with you.
After attracting the foot traffic to your booth, make sure to collect their business cards, contact information and connect with them on platforms like LinkedIn.
Trade shows only offer you a medium to connect with potential leads and inform them about your products and services. After the show or event ends, you need to do a follow-up. Use the information or contact details collected during the show and pitch your ideas to them all over again.
Even so, make sure to do your homework and learn about the businesses and clients in detail. Make sure that your email for outreach is unique and doesn’t get lost between the hundreds of emails clients receive.
Trade shows can help make or break your business. To catch the big fish in the market, it is essential that you take into consideration the measures mentioned above and make the most out of your collected leads. Focus on your booth display, product presentation, and post-show outreach to get associated with the clients and customers.
