A fresh look at trade shows.

Let’s talk for a minute about trade show selling. If you
find yourself questioning the funds you spend on trade shows and how you plan to
participate, you are not alone. Budgets are tight and trade show expenses can
add up. How do you decide if you should still attend that show that has been a
part of your budget as long as you can remember? If you answer yes to the
following criteria regarding show participation, the show could be worth your time.

1. You can actively meet and engage prospective
   decision makers (not just influencers or window shoppers) for your product or
   service.
2. You can meet and engage current customers of
   your product or service.
3. You can gather information and leads for valuable
   future communication opportunities.
4. Your cost of show participation is offset by the
   value of customer acquisition. In other words, you know how many customers you
   need to acquire to offset your cost.
5. You have an opportunity to introduce something
   new or differentiate yourself with the audiences noted above.

Once you have decided to attend, resist the temptation to
use the same booth and the same panels. Consider the following ideas to spice
up how your trade show engages customers and prospects.

• Start with a good story – have a show story in
  place before you attend. Meet with your entire team to ensure everyone is on
  the same page. Identify a key message. Be clear as to how you are going to
  position that message relative to competition and reinforce the strategy over
  each day of the show.
• Be interactive – technology is a way to create
  an interactive teaching opportunity in trade show selling situations. Use touch
  screen technology and web interfaces to build an environment where you teach within
  the process of selling. Also, be thinking ahead as to how VR (virtual reality)
  experiences can immerse your customer in your messages.
• Offer engaging visuals – the visuals on your
  booth should tell a story. Allow info graphics to capture message points and
  take visitors on a journey of discovery. Map out a path to what you would like
  the audience to understand and create graphics that support that cognitive
  experience.
• Capture customer insights – conduct surveys or
  ask questions of your audiences and learn as much as you can. Be interested in
  where they are coming from and what questions are in play. Gather all of that
  data and make future show adjustments based on what you learn.

Trade show opportunities are still important components of a
marketing plan. How you use those opportunities to sell is open to creative
possibilities. Take a fresh look at the story you are trying to tell and how
that story is introduced to build long-lasting connections with your audiences.