Trade show participation is an important marketing investment for many companies. Yet it is often underestimated how much preparation is required to make a trade show truly successful.
From choosing the right booth builder, concept for your trade show booth to following up on leads afterwards, every step affects the outcome of your trade show participation. With this trade show participation checklist, make sure nothing is forgotten and that you start your next trade show optimally prepared.
A successful trade show participation starts with clear goals. Setting clear goals will also help you determine later whether your trade show participation was successful.
Ask yourself beforehand what you want to accomplish at the fair:
Not every trade show suits your target market. Therefore, research in advance which trade show best suits your market.
Note, for example:
Choosing the right trade show is an important foundation for successful participation.
The location of your booth on the trade show floor has a major impact on visibility.
Stand locations with high visibility include:
These locations often attract more visitors because they are visible from multiple directions.
A good booth design determines whether visitors walk into or pass by your booth.
An effective trade show booth:
Therefore, many companies opt for a custom trade show booth that fully reflects their brand and goals.
Successful trade show exhibits often begin months before the trade show.
You can inform visitors about your presence in advance via:
By marketing in advance, you ensure that visitors actively seek out your booth.
The team at the trade show booth plays an important role in the success of trade show participation and gathering the right leads.
A good trade show team:
A short training beforehand helps employees have more valuable conversations.
During a trade show, you often speak to many visitors. Without proper registration, valuable contacts are lost.
Therefore, use a system to capture leads, such as:
For each lead, also note the topic of interest so you can follow up more specifically later.
Visitors are more likely to be attracted to booths where something is happening.
Ways to create interaction include:
Interactive booths generate more attention and often more conversations with visitors.
Post-exhibition follow-up is crucial to the success of trade show participation. Prompt follow-up increases the likelihood that a lead will actually become a customer.
Preferably, send a follow-up email to leads you’ve spoken to within 48 hours of the trade show. A good follow-up includes:
After the fair, it is important to evaluate what went well and what could be improved. For example, look at:
By analyzing your trade show participation, you can make future trade shows even more successful.
Good preparation makes the difference between a trade show participation that yields little and a trade show that actually brings new customers and business opportunities.
With this trade show participation checklist, you’ll make sure all the important steps are included: from preparation and booth design to lead registration and follow-up.
Want to get more results from your next trade show event?
A strategically designed trade show booth can play a big role in attracting visitors and generating leads. Contact us today to spar about your next trade show participation.
For successful trade show participation, you need to arrange, among other things:
Good preparation often begins 6 to 12 months before the fair.
Most companies start preparing for trade show participation at least six months in advance. For large international trade shows, this can be as much as nine to 12 months.
A checklist helps companies not forget anything while preparing for a trade show. Because an exhibition participation consists of many different components, such as booth construction, marketing and lead follow-up, a checklist provides structure and overview.
