4 Trade Show Mistakes You Should Avoid

Trade shows are ideal for businesses looking to harness the power of face-to-face marketing. They help you sell a product or service, generate potential leads, and understand the latest advancements in your industry. However, trade shows can be expensive. If you’re looking to recoup the money you’ve invested, we list a few costly mistakes to avoid.

1. Not Paying Attention to Display:

People are attracted to shiny objects. We are subconsciously tuned to look at things that are visually attractive or stand out from their surroundings. This is called visual saliency, and it has been used by marketing professionals to attract customers with visual representation within the first few seconds. They can tap into the part of the brain that triggers rewards and pleasure. Visual saliency is one of the many reasons why businesses love trade show displays. Spending time and money on a high-quality attention getting trade show display will help attract attendees in your direction. Use overhead signage, colorful trade show banners, and branding them with your catchy slogans will help attract potential clients to your booth.

2. Not Choosing the Right Staff:

The success of your trade show participation may hinge on the performance of your exhibit staff. Well-trained staff can interact confidently with visitors and keep them engaged within the booth. They can pitch your products/services and even collect data on qualified leads. Your booth staff should have experience, expertise, and the right personality to shine through the campaign. Create a team and assign responsibility to each of these members to make sure visitors have every resource they need when visiting your booth. Balance the team well to handle the areas they specialize in. For example, people with good interpersonal skills can be chosen to gather leads, while those good at presentations can be used to educate visitors about your product or service.

3. Not Leveraging Social Media:

Trade shows and digital marketing don’t need to conflict. You can use digital marketing to strengthen your trade show campaign. Create a special page on your website to discuss your participation in an industry event, write a press release about the event, or run a contest on your website or social media pages to drum up interest. Encourage a social influencer to tweet about your booth and promote your booth number on twitter by requesting attendees to stop by. Create your own hashtag or use the event’s hashtag in your tweets. Bottom line: don’t miss out on opportunities to use digital media to promote the event.

4. Not Following up on Leads:

Ideally, you must reach out to leads within 2-3 days after the event to increase your chances of closing sales and maximizing return on investment (ROI). This helps your brand stay relevant and leverage any positive impact you may have created in their minds.

How do you make the most of your trade show investment? Share your experiences with us!