Tag: Trade show mistakes

Top 5 Reasons to Avoid Exhibiting at Trade Shows

Sure, trade shows are a great way to showcase your products and services to a wide audience; but, have you ever stopped to consider if trade shows are a good fit for your business?

Considering the money and time that goes into this kind of investment, it’s worth going over a few things before you decide on exhibiting at a trade show.

So, should I exhibit at a trade show?

Here are our top 5 reasons you should avoid exhibiting at a given trade show:

1. Audience Mismatch

Not every trade show is going to be filled with your target audience. For example, if your target audience is high-tech millennials, then old-school industry trade shows are generally not going to have the right attendees. Or, if you are only looking to franchise, then going to a non-franchise focused trade show is probably not going to yield the leads you desire.

2. COMPETITION COPYCAT

If you see your competition constantly going to a trade show, that does not necessarily mean trade shows are right for you (even if your business is slightly different). Before you invest thousands, do your research, look up the history of the trade show and its typical attendees, as well as how many leads or business deals can be expected. Think smarter than your competition.

3. Time Conflict

If the timing of a given trade show is in conflict with customer meetings, a pre-scheduled business function, or, even another trade show that’s more compatible with your line of business, you might be better off skipping that trade show.

4. Cost

If you are a startup or a small business with little budget for a trade show, maybe, wait a few years before you attend a trade show. Once you have the budget allocated, then foray into the trade show waters.

5. Lack of Preparation

Many times, businesses sign up for trade shows at the 11th hour. A lot goes into coordinating the booth, trade show displays, chairs, tables, marketing material, etc., which is why you do not want to rush it. If the show is in 2-weeks and you sign up today, you are going to be incredibly stressed.

We aren’t saying you should never exhibit at a trade show. Trade shows can offer value to every business, in every industry. But, if you feel like you are not ready, don’t rush it! Throwing money at the wall is often not a wise idea. Take your time, do your homework, and you’ll know when the time is right.

… and, when you are ready to exhibit at trade shows, use ExhibitDay to plan your trade shows and collaborate with your event team to get things done.

The Do’s and Don’ts Following a Trade Show

Once you’ve done all the hard work, set up a trade show booth, showcased your products and services to exhibit hall attendees and potential customers, and packed up for the day, there are a few after-the-show do’s and don’ts you should definitely consider.

We are going to share our top do’s that’ll help yield more sales, as well as the top don’ts, that could lose you the valuable leads you worked so hard for.

After-the-Show Do’s

1) Follow Up Email

Attending a conference or a trade show is usually an all-day event and it can get exhausting. The attendees absorb a lot of information and make many new connections; which is why they might not necessarily remember you or have your business card in their wallets when they get home. It’s up to you to send out a follow-up email that reminds them of their conversation with you. We recommend sending the follow-up email on the evening of the day of the show.

2) Virtual Connections

There’s nothing wrong with sending out a LinkedIn request or liking a Facebook page. It’s a great way to strengthen the lead without being overly obnoxious. Once you interact modestly online, follow up with a phone call to gauge their interest.

3) Measure Results

In order to assess and improve your trade show strategy, you need to be measuring the total cost, number of leads in relation to the cost, and the number of sales secured per trade show. Once you compile this data, you can determine which shows yield better returns on your investment.

4) Review and Adjust

What worked and what didn’t work that day? Think about everything from the set up until the booth dismantle and make sure to note what you can do better next time.

After-the-Show Don’ts

1) Be Annoying

No one wants to receive 4 emails per day following a trade show. One email is enough, and if you are afraid it went to spam, then sending a LinkedIn message as well is fair. Otherwise, let these people come to you. Don’t be annoying!

2) Forget Promises

If you promised an investor a whitepaper or a potential customer an answer to a technical question about your product, make sure you follow through with those promises.

3) Forget Prizes

If you had prizes or giveaways that day, do not forget to reward the winners and showcase it on your social media. You don’t want to look dishonest or cheap to your potential customers.

4) Forget Names

It’s really great etiquette to send a thank you note or some kind of indication that you appreciated everyone who showed up. It shows you are willing to go the extra mile. Also, do NOT forget names — generic emails don’t feel personal and will most likely not get read or end up in the trash.

Trade shows come with their own unique sets of etiquette and procedures, no doubt. If this is your first trade show, fear not — our list above is a good guideline to follow.

The Top 5 Trade Show Mistakes to Avoid as an Exhibitor

Every single year, thousands of trade shows and exhibitions take place in the U.S., allowing businesses, inventors, entrepreneurs, and startups to showcase their products or services to potential investors, partners, and consumers. It’s a great way to launch a new product or service (or a franchise) into international success. It all starts with an educational and interactive display that gets the exhibit hall attendees excited.

However, there is a lot that goes into trade show etiquette, which is why you want to ensure the next time you show up to an exhibit hall, you won’t make these mistakes.

Here are the top 5 trade show blunders to seriously avoid:

1) Lack of Sufficient Staff

Nothing is more unprofessional to conference attendees than your exhibit booth not having sufficient staff present. People have questions they want to ask, information they want to know, and demonstrations they want to see. If you send one person to represent your business and 2 or more people want to learn about it, the remaining bystanders are going to end up walking away and passing up your business. Remember: they want intimate, one-on-one attention.

2) Last-Second Preparedness

A lot goes into the coordination and presentation of a trade show exhibition, which is why it is not something you will want to put off until the 11th hour. From the banners and pop-up displays, to the digital tools and handouts, if you wait until the last second, you’re going to end up paying thousands in rush-order fees. It’s just not worth it!

3) Overwhelming Displays

People are inundated with information from the moment they wake up — they don’t want to show up to your exhibit booth and feel overwhelmed by the displays. If there is text everywhere, plastered all over every piece of content, where are they to focus their attention? What is the ultimate point of the product? Keep it on-point, on-message, and digestible for the average person.

4) Lack of Passion from Temp / For-Hire Staff

More businesses are considering outsourcing the representation of their trade show to a staffing company. However, one of the worst things you can do is have individuals with no industry experience or passion representing your product. Only you and your team can do that, and, yes — the people at these trade shows can spot passion (or lack-there-of).

5) Repeat Materials

Many trade show attendees attend a given trade show multiple years in a row. They will start to notice if you recycle your materials; not to mention, the styles and designs will begin to appear aged. You don’t want to come off as cheap, which is why it’s worth sprucing content up for each new trade show.

ExhibitDay: Trade Show Management

We know that preparing for a trade show, measuring its effectiveness, and organizing the whole event can be stressful. ExhibitDay provides the free tools you need to track and manage all of your exhibits, and focus on results.