3 Simple Tips To Hit Trade Shows With A Bang in Singapore!

Trade shows, exhibitions, trade fairs, face-to-face or in-person marketing, however you may brand it, is vetted by marketers to be the most effective and beneficial marketing tactic (69 (B2B Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends Report)

Smartinsights stressed: “From visibility to credibility, exhibiting at a trade show has hundreds of benefits for your business. Establishing a presence, whether big or small, for your company at a trade show gives you a powerful platform for meeting new customers, reaching out to your existing clientèle, and building a more established and reliable brand.” Good point.

However, getting to the trade fair’s venue on time and having a nice purple booth is not enough to expect a good number of customers to stop by and ask interesting questions about your product or service. There’s more to than just participation and product demo that will make an event successful..

As Skyline noted: “If you show up at a marketing event or trade show and no one visits your booth, you probably won’t consider it a success. With so many platforms and companies fighting for attendees’ attention, it’s not enough just to show up, you should be promoting your trade show presence early and often.”

Below are three simple tips on how to hit tradeshows, in and out of the booth, with a bang!

Plan and Prep

3-6 months, or even a year. The long planning and preparation checklist of budget and measurement, booth staffing, exhibit design and marketing, promotions and social media to show selection, should give a well-defined plan of your goals and target results. Encourage social media awareness like getting customers to like your event page, or take selfies with them and post those on facebook or twitter.

What needs to be worked on before the event, what is expected to happen during the event, and the post-event to do’s should be outlined in your team’s shared event template.

See a checklist from TradeShowBuddy

Project and Speak

Build a trade show booth that sends a message to attendees of who you are and what you can do best for them. Choose the coolest graphics and features that will let them visualize and experience how beneficial your products and services would be for them or their business, and will leave a picture of your booth in their subconscious for awhile.

Related: Like Dimsums in Hawker Centers: How to Make your IT Products noticeable in Trade Shows

Hosts and booth staff should be subject-matter-experts who are able to engage customers in substantial, reciprocal conversations. Such engagement may be used as content to nurture leads and prospects. See some tips from skyline.com.

Integrate fun and interactive gimmicks like passing on freebies like cookies, or drinks like cup of coffee, having Wi-fi or a charging station.

Use props to turn heads like game boards or roulette, that most people enjoy playing with; or maybe your product’s miniatures or blow ups would attract more visitors.

Debrief and Follow Up

Conduct a debrief with your team on things that have transpired during the show. Have a two-column checklist of successes and failures (if there’s any) as a reference of which would work best for the next event. List down highlights as well as downtimes and refer to the factors from the planning and preparing period that have affected these moments.

Find out how to craft yourself the best event telemarketing script!

More importantly, review and gauge your customers’ interest. Prioritize warm leads for follow up meetings, and keep the others worth nurturing in view. Get in touch via email and send them follow up collaterals to keep a steady contact. See notes from Trade Show Stuff.

If you’ve got a good list of customers scheduled for meetings soon, thumbs up! You’ve successfully hit that trade show, in and out of your exhibition booth, with a bang!