Ten Ways to Rock Your Trade Shows

Here it is, only the middle of February and already I have one trade show under my belt. It was a great show and I have nothing but respect for anyone who bets the farm on a show in January in Canada.  But sadly I don’t see hopeful signs that marketers and sales people are getting any better at these things.  In fact, since my series of rants almost two years ago, I think things might actually be getting worse.

So just in time for the Q2 show planning cycle, let’s recap Bizmarketer’s Top Ten Trade Show Tips.

1. Pick the right shows
Are you going to the same events year after year? Do you know why? When was the last time you tried a new event or skipped an old one just to see what happens? Make sure you get input from product managers, sales people and PR about leveraging events. Here are some things to ask about.

2. Rough up the event rep a little
Not to the point where you’ll need to hide any evidence, of course.  I think that where companies are complacent about taking show space, it follows that the event companies themselves are pretty complacent in filling it. When was the last time you pushed a show organizer to update the lead system or to turn around the attendee list a little faster? For that matter, when was the last time you pitched a hissy until you got the attendee list at all? Have you ever challenged the (usually fictional) “attendee profile” offered up by the show organizer? Ask them how they know. Ask them how many people register but never show up. Make them work for your money.  And if they won’t, take your money someplace else.  Comdex learned this the hard way, as Robert X. Cringely deliciously reminds us in this recent post.

3. Figure out why you are going
Step away from the zip banner and drop that tape gun. Trade shows are widely perceived by your organization as money-wasting marketing boondoggles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but sometimes if we look a little deeper we find other valuable reasons to attend a show. Like learning something (these are those sessions you sponsor and don’t bother attending) or selling something or getting your Corporate Overlords a playdate with their counterparts at other companies. Click here for more on figuring that bit out.

4. Send the right people
Now that you know why you’re going, you need to make sure the right people are going to be there. Too many companies fill their booths with marketing people or, heaven help us, junior sales staff. Why you’d spend tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours on a booth only to put your corporate version of The Chipmunks in it, is beyond me. Here is why you need your top Sales Squirrels on the job.

5. Give good booth
Everything from how close your booth is to the toilets to the carpeting you choose plays a role. Click here for five other ideas to make your booth less sucky.

6. Don’t give bad booth
It’s much easier than you think to give bad booth, and it isn’t the opposite of giving good booth. Try ignoring your customers or not knowing anything about your products — that’s bad booth. Here are some more ideas on messing things up.

7. Drive booth traffic before the event starts
This requires more than a poorly written email from the sales team letting your list know that you’ll be, gasp, at a trade show. That’s not news, folks. Make your prospects an offer that will get them into the booth. Make your customers an even better offer to get them to your booth. Click here for some ideas on things that work.

8. Channel your inner carny
Do you know why midway barkers are so obnoxious? That’s right: they are frustrated direct marketers who have only a few seconds to separate you and your common sense on a crowded fairground. You need a few barkers on your booth. Maybe a little more buttoned-down than the guy at the gerbil toss, but with the same single-minded intensity of purpose. This is about putting the right sales people in place as much as it is about having a great booth. Here are some ideas that don’t involve disappointing giant stuffed animals.

9. Marshmallows are for Blue Man Group:
They have no place in your booth (though Blue Man Group might). Here are other things that sound like good ideas but probably aren’t.

10. For God’s Sake Follow Up
I can’t believe I have to tell anybody this but it’s always, always, always the weakest part of any event. Marketers almost never plan for it and sales can’t seem to be bothered to do it. Which is just weird because, gentle friends, if you don’t follow up, nobody will give you money.

Bizmarketer is Elizabeth Williams
Follow me on Twitter @bizmkter
or email escwilliams@gmail.com