Richard Kearsey examines some ways to build an effective brand strategy for your next trade show.
Set a goal
The first thing that you need to understand is the purpose of your trade show. Once you know your goal, you can plan your entire strategy around it.
A goal can be anything from increasing brand awareness to improving sales by targeting customers directly. You should set goals that are measurable. Instead of just vaguely setting goals, make sure your goals are SMART— Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result-oriented and Time-bound.
When you have a goal, you know what you are aiming for. With a defined purpose, all staff members work together efficiently to achieve a common goal.
Find the perfect trade show
After setting your goals, it is now time to choose an event to conduct a trade show. There are certain things you need to get straight before choosing a location. Here is a checklist:
- The number of people that you want to attract to your trade show.
- The number of leads that you want to generate from your trade show. Set a conversion rate.
- Whether you are going to sell products directly to the customers at the show.
- The supplies like forms, contracts, etc., that you need to bring along.
- The revenue estimates that you want to generate from the show to determine the net acceptable Return on Investments (ROI).
- The overall budget for the show
- Money for the expenses
- Choose a trade show event that is related to your industry and target market.
Market the trade show
It is important to do some marketing for your event. Normally, only people already attending an event come to visit a trade show. This way, a lot of customers and potential buyers miss the opportunity to attend a trade show they are genuinely interested in.
Whether the trade show’s aim is to launch a product, increase brand awareness or just gain some customers and increase sales, trade show marketing plays an important role in determining its success.
You can create a blog section on your website about your upcoming trade show and tell people about the things that would convince them to visit your trade show. You can attract people’s attention through:
- Infographics or informative sessions
- Promoting new and unique products as per the interests of your target audience
- Free products
- Replacing used products with new products
Use your website as a platform to answer different customer queries about the trade show that they might have. Create a friendly one-on-one interactive session with your audience during the trade show.
Conduct post-event follow up
All your efforts will go in vain if you do not conduct a follow up session with all your potential customers once your trade show is over.
You can follow up by offering them early bird discounts. You can also send them an email asking them to subscribe to all your newsletters and product launches. Those who are going to subscribe will become your potential buyers in the future.
Trade shows are a unique and creative way to market your products to your customers. The size of your trade show does not matter. It can be the largest or the smallest unit. What matters the most is how you keep a check on your activities during the trade show and after the trade show. Just take ample time to develop a solid strategy and your trade show will help you achieve your purpose.
About Author:
Richard Kearsey is a digital designer at Emerald Color – a company that is specialised in offering website design services in London. Along with that, they are also recognised as one of the top brand design agencies in London. Richard loves creativity and enjoys experimenting with various design techniques for both web and print. He also enjoys sharing his thought on latest design trends and upcoming marketing ideas.
