Do all you can to stand out from the crowd
All the people and their businesses at the tradeshow you attend will be wanting to promote themselves, that’s why they’re there. So, you're going to have some stiff competition when it comes to promoting yourself and yours, there’s no doubt about that. But, there are ways to stand out from this crowd and grab attention.
The first thing that you should do is, quite surprisingly, refrain from pushing yourself upon customers or passers by at the show. Specifically, you should stop yourself and any employees you bring with you from harassing everybody that walks past your booth or stall. Yes, this might seem like a bit of bad advice. Yes, this might in fact sound like the complete opposite of what you should be doing. But, by refraining from getting in the faces of those that attend the trade show looking for business, you will instantly stand out from the crowd because that’s what all the other businesses will be doing. What’s more, you won't come across as annoying, needy and too desperate for business, either, which will then work in your favour as, generally, customers do not like to be disturbed too much.
Instead, you should go about the task of standing out from the crowd in other ways. Instead, you should be focussing your efforts on drawing the customers and passes by into your booth or stall, rather than focusing your efforts on actually going out to them. To do this, and to do it well, first try making your designated pitch look as vibrant and as colourful as can be. To do this you should bring some posters, props and maybe even a fancy dress costume for one of your employees (or you, of course!) to wear along with you. By doing so you will make your booth or stall look eye catching, no matter how big it is or where it is placed in regards to the show. When you do this, however, try to refrain from being too out there — you should stick to a theme, i.e. stick to one colour scheme, that represents your business. Also, consider bringing a big, elaborate sign along with you to the show, too, in order to ensure everybody that passes by your booth, whether they speak to your or not, knows your business’s name and its logo. If this sign is going to be used temporarily and only for your trade show then consider having it come on a Coreflute sheets; they are ideal when it comes to creating event signage posters and companies that make them, such as Eurotech who can be found at https://eurotechdisplays.com.au/, do not charge excessive amounts for doing so in relation to how much of a draw they can be. And that’s what it’s all about, using everything in your disposal to draw people in.
Capitalise on your success after the show
If you do find yourself to be successful at the tradeshow you attend and promote your business at (which you should do if you take the attention grabbing advice above) then, first of all, you should be proud of yourself and all the other people who helped to make it such a success. Second of all, you should know that the hard work starts now. Yes, to truly make the most out of the trade show you simply cannot rest on your laurels, even after you've packed up your booth and are back in your office. After the event, you must capitalise on any success you had, otherwise all the work you did in promoting your marketing your business at the show, and all the money you spent to do so too, will all be for nothing.
The first thing you should be doing is contacting each potential client that voluntarily handed you their contact information; you won't look needy by doing so, because they will expect you to do it. And if you don’t do it, or if you don’t strike whilst the iron is hot and contact them whilst your business is still fresh in their memory, then you make yourself liable to losing their custom before you've even got it. So, get emailing those leads, no matter how cold they may seem.
What you should also be thinking about doing, if you garnered a great amount of attention at the show and a whole phone book’s worth of contact details, is setting up and hosting your very own networking event. Seriously, by doing this and inviting each and every potential client that gave you their details, you will show your business to be both professional in the sense that it has the capabilities to host such an event, and professional in the sense that it is able to draw a lot of custom.
Trade shows are a great way to market your business. But, they only garner great results if you make the most of them in the sense that you attract potential clients when you’re there in the right way, and you make the most out of the contact details you are handed after the show has taken place.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
