Where should you focus your trade show marketing efforts?

A start in your strategic trade show marketing plan is to determine WHICH trade show events you should attend. If you already have a trade show exhibit - you need to make sure your investment in that hardware is put to good use. You should be generating leads and meeting the objectives set for your company. Trade shows should be a valuable asset in your toolkit of marketing efforts - make sure you take advantage of them as a source of leads.

choosing a tradeshow event Choose the right venue. Your first and most important decision is which shows to attend. Sending your exhibit around the world in 80 days will likely result in few qualified leads for a huge expense. It’s more important to focus on the audience than expense, and the more you focus on your buying audience the better. Geographic location, timing, and competitive attendance will help you focus your selections further. Being one of the smallest vendors at the largest shows is often not the best strategy, and your money is better spent on an impressive effort at one or two influential shows, rather than on many. Trade show promoters will tell you that a majority of their audience are C-level executives from the top companies in your target audience. Believe that, and you will fail at meeting your objectives at the show.

If your company is established and has been in the business for years, most likely your more senior people have a good feel for which shows are really worthwhile and which are not. To dig deeper, ask the promoter for the prior year’s attendee and vendor lists, and review the names and titles yourself. If you see a customer, call them and ask if they felt the show was worthwhile and if they will return. If you see non-competitive vendors, call and ask them the same questions. If they’re not returning, find out why.

These are all the steps and due diligence you should take before committing to sending your trade show booth around the world. DO IT! Take a look at our RESOURCE PAGE on our website for trade show event resources and research the events that might be beneficial for you.