TIPS & IDEAS highlight
Trade Show Suggestions

Tips for planning a successful Event:

With tradeshow season in full gear, it’s time to take stock of your exhibit materials and identify ways to improve.  The first thing to note is that when you exhibit at a tradeshow, it is an extension of your branding, your public face, so your message must be professional and concise. Tradeshow Graphics should capture attention and be more like a billboard and less like a bulletin board.  A good tradeshow graphic should state:

• Who you are
• What you do
• What you have to offer

Promotional Products can be used for many reasons during a tradeshow. They can be used for brand awareness to get your name out there, to draw people into your booth, and as executive gifts – the ones that you keep in the back for the larger clients.

When we sit with clients in planning a tradeshow, we first start with their space and how to best fill that space.  A lot depends on the budget.  It does not have to cost a fortune to establish a nice presence.  More and more companies are going to lighter weight popups, that are easy to store, or rental equipment and furniture.

Planning a Successful Tradeshow:

• Develop a marketing plan. How will you reach your potential attendees? What is the most cost-effective way to reach them? Does the image portray your message? Should you use more than one marketing medium (direct mail, advertising, PR partnerships with other organizations)?
• Have a realistic planning time line.
• Set a realistic budget.
• Get all tradeshow staff to buy into the marketing efforts, the time line, the financial risks, and the expectations of them as a planning tradeshow member.
• Have the foresight to know when you need to hire professional help in planning all aspects or a portion of the tradeshow – or at least to assist you with it.

When looking at results after a tradeshow, it’s time to look at your return on investment (ROI) One way of measuring your success is your total investment divided by your total number of QUALIFIED leads. Qualified Leads can be classified into three groups:

• A Leads: Ready to buy
• B Leads: May buy later; or
• C Leads: Keep on mailing list for future.

This information should be broken down and shared with your management within two weeks of the tradeshow.

Tradeshows are all about building relationships, as any other good networking event.  It is usually as successful as the team you have working it and how knowledgeable they are on your objectives.

Measuring Results from Your Tradeshow - article by Connie Gray, president of C-Ray Media, Inc. - with inserts from Skyline Exhibits and Exhibitor Magazine

Tradeshow Suggestions - article by Connie Gray, president of C-Ray Media, Inc.