Here are some things you can do using social media to attract and inform your potential customers;

1. Create a ‘Facebook’ page for your business then email your customers or prospective customers and invite them to become a ‘fan’. You can then post updates directly on to your page and reach several people at once. You could even post some kind of special offer to be claimed at the show if people sign up as ‘fans’.
2. Open a ‘Twitter’ account and again invite your prospects to follow you, You can keep people updated with the lead up to the show and even “Twitter” during the show so that people who may not be able to attend will still be able to keep up with any exciting new product releases or special events.
3. Start a company ‘blog’. It’s all about keeping your customers in the loop and providing information. With a blog site you can educate your customers a bit more as to who you are and what you can offer. You can write brief but detailed articles on individual products and provide clients with a link direct to the product which interests them.
4. Leave comment on other blog sites and articles which are aligned with your company or product in some way. You may be able to use the platform of a larger, more well-known company to plug a new product release or event. Be careful not to blatantly advertise though – it has to be of general interest to readers of the blog.
5. Film some product demonstrations or staff interviews explaining your product or service. You can use AV equipment on your stand to play these back. You can also upload the video to ‘You Tube’, post it on your blog site,  your ‘Facebook’ page and your own company web-site. Maybe take some video at the show itself.

Using Audio/Visual Equipment
In order to keep a competitive edge, you need to be up on all of the latest technology, and know how to take advantage of it at trade shows. A great audio/visual display will definitely bring in plenty of potential customers to your display, because they will want to see what is going on. You have loads of options when it comes to audio/video displays, including:

• Powerpoint slide shows on a screen
• DVD’s played on big screen televisions
• Films

By using an exhibition rental company, you can get all of your audio/visual needs included in your trade show display package.

Signage
Just like your store front, you need great signage to attract potential customers to your trade show display. Many small business owners who can’t afford such luxuries, you can still have wonderful signage created by your exhibition hire experts. Not only do they provide great trade show furnishings, they also have graphic designers who can take care of all of your signage requirements.

Display
If your customers cannot see your product, why should they purchase from you? Talk with the exhibition design company experts to come up with a display plan that will definitely attract customers to the stand. You can use eye-catching devices such as a pop-up display stand, a rotating display stand, or shelving that puts your product right at eye level as people wander around the trade show.

There are all kinds of things you can do to create an effective, eye-catching trade show display that people will want to visit. To get the most out of your trade show experience, you should take advantage of the services offered by exhibition hire experts. They know exactly what it takes to create the best trade show displays, and how to do it within your budget.

1) Bring lots of literature with you. As you are working your display, you can hand out brochures, pamphlets and other items to passersby, introducing yourself and your business as you do so. This way, you can talk to people about your business and product/service, and show them what you are all about. They will have been able to speak to you personally, and ask any questions they may have, and they will also have the literature to take home with them. They may even holler over to their friends, and get them to come and listen to your pitch.

2) Leave your display as often as possible, and take your literature with you. Approach visitors and other displays, introduce yourself, and let them know what you are doing at the trade show or exhibition. Talk with people, and find out their needs. Then, find a way to let them know how they can benefit from your product or service, and tell them where to find your display. More often than not, they will stop by and visit to learn more.

3) Walk around without literature too. Visit other trade show displays, and talk with the staff and management at the various booths. Get to know them, and their products and services. Talk to them about possible ways to do business together to increase profits for all of you, or how you can combine promotions to save money on advertising. Basically, you want to get out there and work the room!

4) If you have staff at your trade show display, make sure they get out and network themselves. They may be able to better target specific market groups. For instance, if you are selling a product that is aimed toward teenagers, you should have one of your younger employees (or a friend or family member) talk to people about the product. Or, if you own an antique furniture restoration business, have one of your carpenters talk to people about the processes involved. This is a great form of networking, and you don’t even have to do anything yourself.

5) You can even start your networking before the trade show begins. If you use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, you can put out the message to everyone that you will be at the trade show. Have online chats with other business owners who are planning to attend as well, and talk with them about your individual strategies. This is a great way to get advice before the trade show, especially if this is your first.

When you are attending trade shows, you have the opportunity to network with possibly hundreds, even thousands of people in just a few days, and you need to take advantage of this opportunity. This is one of the best ways that you can advertise for a relatively low price, and be able to reach a mass audience in one small place.

Sanofi - Exhibition Stand, Dec 2009

Over time, trade shows have become a leading way to conduct business-to-business marketing with higher numbers of businesses attending shows each year. Offering a venue unlike no other, trade shows cater to the needs of many business owners. However, for a sales campaign to be effective and profitable at a trade show, you must first have a fail proof marketing strategy.

Know the Numbers
According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR),
• 88% of attendees have not been seen by a member of your company’s sales staff in the preceding 12 months;
• 7 out of 10 attendees plan to buy one or more products;
• 76% asked for quotes and 26% signed purchase orders (average all shows);
• 72% of show visitors say the show influenced their buying decision;
• 87% of attendees will share some of the information obtained at an exhibition;
• 64% of attendees tell at least 6 other people about the event;
• 58% attend only the show in which you are exhibiting;
• 40% are first-time attendees; and
• It costs 22% less to contact a potential buyer at a show than it does through traditional field sales calls.

Trade shows are a win-win situation; however, exhibiting at a trade show can require lots of hard work and preparation. Without a proper marketing strategy, all of your hard work could go down the drain. Effectively plan your time at the show and you can ensure residual success long after the show is over. Cover all the bases with a full-scale three step marketing strategy, which consists of before, during, and after show marketing.

Before – Pre-Show Marketing
Marketing before the trade show is all about getting the word out that
(a) you are attending the show,
(b) where your booth will be located, and
(c) what your incentives are for people visiting your exhibition stand.

Advertise your incentives. This will make current and or potential customers seek you out once they arrive at the show but do not forget to include your booth location. If your customers cannot find you, it will not matter how good your incentives are. The best way to gain attention and guarantee people will show up at your booth is to offer discounts, issue coupons, and advertise drawings and or giveaways. In today’s economy, everyone is looking to save money.

Examples of incentives include a certain percentage for example 20% off on a certain day or a higher percentage off for a certain number of hours or for the first 100 orders placed. Coupons work much the same way as discounts; be creative, it is all about driving traffic to your booth. Free giveaways are always an attractant such as free t-shirts, hats or perhaps a drawing for a free briefcase or weekend vacation. The possibilities are limitless.

During – Marketing at the Show
Marketing at the show is all about your booth. Your booth should be designed in a way that it is irresistible drawing people in for a closer look. The most effective way to have a dazzling booth is to appeal to the senses using proper lighting, color combinations, motion techniques, sound, and smell. Pay close attention to the detail of smell for your booth. Even though the trade show floor may be crowded and not everyone can see your booth, with tempting aromas emanating from your booth, they will follow their nose and find you.

In addition, take time to properly train attending staff prior to the show and make sure they show up properly dressed. Nothing looks worse than someone who does not know what he or she is doing, what he or she is talking about, or who looks unprofessional. Your product may be great, your booth may look great, but the wrong impression could kill a potential sale.

After – Post Show Marketing
The show is over, now what? You must remember to keep marketing your business even after the show is complete. Following up with contacts gathered at the show is crucial for continued sales. You received their contact information because they were interested in your products and or services. After the show is over, make sure to follow up with these people. It is best to wait approximately one week after the show is over and begin calling those people back, which will likely result in additional sales.

Marketing your business at a trade show or exhibition can be a terrific step in building your business. Plan your three point marketing strategy with care to ensure your success at the trade show.

It can take a lot of work to create the right image of your product, but speaking to an expert in the exhibition design industry can help you to come up with a theme for your stand and marketing products.

An exhibition stand typically consists of a presentation podium, back ground exhibit and usually some furniture. Many exhibition stands often have accessories like lighting and self-serve brochure holders built on to them. You can furnish your exhibition stand with audio-visual features such as interactive touch screens, high impact graphics, and plasma screens showing visual scenes that will peak visitor curiosity.

The pop-up exhibition stand is the cost efficient, lightest weight and is the easiest to assemble making them the most popular of all types. There are a lot portable display stands available, including banners and stands, table top display, pop up display, and pull-up banners.

There are different and large ranges of things to consider for the design of a trade show exhibition stand. The exhibition stand should instantly deliver and update a targeted message to the viewer. The graphics, banners and the text should be straight forward and attention grabbing. The displays should highlight the main benefits a customer would enjoy by purchasing your product. Everything should be accented with smart lightning and layout. Match the colour scheme to the marketing theme you have selected.

The exhibition designers must understand the maintenance and importance of exhibition design. The designer must remember that art work is only a tool of portraying products but not for the purpose of exhibition. Exhibition design is coupled with many factors such as outreach planes, exhibits, colour, charts, layout, and lighting. The design of a good exhibition is always the integration of all these factors.

The exhibition must have a specific theme to leave a long lasting impression on the viewers and to give desired message. The exhibition booth should be designed from viewer’s perspective, target viewers taste; response should be researched before selecting the booth design. A professional and certified booth designer can guide to plan an attracting booth design.

The products and finishes of the exhibition booth should be carefully accomplished as it reflects the brand value and business identity of the exhibiting company. The booth design can be made more attractive by incorporating audiovisual features such as interactive touch screens, attractive lighting, high impact graphics and plasma screen in the exhibition booth design. Creative discipline in the interior design, architecture and product development of the exhibition booth is a must check.

By taking time to plan, exhibition design can be made appealing and attractive. You can dramatically improve the business by marketing effectively at a trade show using a themed, well designed exhibition stand and complete marketing strategy.

Make sure you have well trained, well presented, professional sales people manning your exhibition stand. Your product specialists may well know their product inside out but if they have no people skills or sales training they are not likely to be able to create a lead or make the sale. On the flip side, your sales people must know their product and be well informed. A good team working on your stand is ultimately far more important on the day than a great looking exhibition stand.

Try and find out before attending the exhibition or trade show where your bigger competitors are in the hall. It could be to your advantage to get an allocated space closer to a company which is selling a similar product to your own, especially if they are a large well-known company, as they will attract your target audience into your vicinity for you.

Make sure you have all information you’ll need at the ready on your exhibition stand. Have printed brochures at the ready and displayed clearly. If someone shows an interest in your brochures, ask them straight out what they are looking for. You’ll know from their answer if they are a real prospect or just collecting info. Either way, it is good for you to get your company’s name out there but just don’t spend precious man time on someone who is just browsing. You may miss out on the one who is there to buy!

If your product/s warrant it, have a selection of printed material. Have specific handouts for each product you are selling. If someone is interested in a certain product, they want to feel that you have exactly what they need and will want that specific information without having to plough through lots of other stuff. 

Use AV where possible. Even if you are doubling up on info you already have in your printed material, a video display is far more direct and immediate. In an exhibition hall environment there are so many things going on that you need to use whatever devices you can to attract attention. Anything with light and noise will attract a crowd far easier than a nice glossy brochure!

Once people are on your stand, have some basic rules in place with your staff as to their sales pitch. If someone is ‘just looking’ make sure you get their details anyway.  Maybe have a competition barrel where people can drop their business card or fill in their details to win a prize. That way you have all their contact details to follow up after the show.

Don’t waste time with potential customers if they are not looking to buy now. Get their details, give them some info but move on. Obviously you don’t need to be rude, but do be firm. You can work on them later. You are there to do a job. Don’t waste the time you have on your stand. If someone is looking to buy now, have a ‘meeting area’ ready with seating and privacy where you can make them feel comfortable. Have coffee/drink/food on hand which will ensure they stay at least for a short while.

Exhibiting at a trade show is not cheap. Every minute is precious and should be accounted for, but with a great sales team on your stand coupled with a good product and an experienced exhibition company working behind the scenes, you will find that exhibiting at a trade show can be a very profitable exercise.

Building relationships with other exhibitors that have complementary products to your own can increase lead generation at the trade show. Set up a complementary system where those who visit one exhibition stand will receive a discount or bonus if visiting the other one too. Even without offering a discount, encouraging the staff to mention the other exhibition stand to potential customers can help generate leads.

Finding the Other Vendors BEFORE the Trade Show
Networking with the other vendors at the Sydney trade show can start weeks before the show. Building strong relationships with business partners, who will also be exhibiting and offer complementary products to your company, is not difficult and is well worth the effort. These relationships could even build referral systems that are mutually beneficial in the long term, aside from the benefits from one trade show.

Although the trade show organisers may give you a list of exhibitors close to the day of the trade show opening, you may be able to find your networking targets sooner. Use your networking skills within the industry to discover if other companies you know of in the industry also plan to attend the trade show in Sydney. Ask your exhibition booth designer and exhibition furniture hire company who else is building exhibition stands for that trade show.

You can start building the relationships with other exhibitors in the weeks before the trade show. Since complementary products often cater to the same customer base, you may even ask your current customers if they know of other companies who are also attending the upcoming trade show in Sydney. Simply by showing the logo of the trade show on your front counter could generate some conversations about the upcoming exhibition and can give you the networking leads you are looking for. It also lets your customers know about the trade show, as they may attend and bring new customers to the show too.

When networking with other vendors, look for opportunities to refer customers to their stands. Learn their products and long term goals and offer a mutually beneficial proposal for referrals at the trade show.

Contacting Vendors at the Trade Show
Arrive as early as possible to set up your exhibition stand at the trade show. The sooner your exhibition stand is set up, the more time you have for networking with other vendors before the customers arrive. In Sydney, most of the exhibition centres will open for several hours or even a day before the trade show is open to the public, for the exhibitors to set up. Some exhibitors will simply set up and go home, but smart exhibitors will use the entire set up time available for networking as well as setting up the exhibition stand.

Take a walk around the exhibition centre, looking for companies that offer complementary products to you own. Introduce yourself and explain the referral system you propose. If you have made contact previously to the exhibition, this is even easier. Otherwise, you may even like to invite the staff to your exhibition stand to show your products and explain the advantages of referring your stand to their customers and how you will return the favour.

Networking with other Sydney based vendors at the trade show can really increase the marketing value of the exhibition stand by setting up mutually beneficial referral programs and building long term relationships with companies catering to the same customer base with complementary products.

When planning the trade show exhibition, make sure you do not neglect to consider how the marketing strategy will continue AFTER the trade show. You need to plan how to gather prospective leads during the show. A trade show exhibition is not successful marketing, if you do not have a way of generating contact details for the prospective clients you meet.

Even if the company’s exhibition at the show attracts lots of attention with brilliant banner signs, an interactive product demonstration and interesting pop up displays within your custom made exhibition stand, it will mean absolutely nothing, if there is no follow up with those potential customers.

Do not waste the effort in designing an attractive exhibition stand by throwing away the opportunity to genuinely keep the customers enthused about the product you are selling.

If you want to make the most of your trade show exhibition, follow these rules to continue the impact of marketing the company at the trade show.

1 – Collect the contact details at the trade show
Plan for the best way to collect the contact details while at the trade show. Do not rely on people calling your business from the business cards or brochures handed out at the exhibition stand. A big glass bowl to collect business cards is one way to collect contact details. Some trade shows now have individual passes as the tickets which register the contact details when scanned.

2 – Call two days after the trade show
Make the initial follow up call two days after the trade show. This capitalises on the event, as individuals will remember meeting your staff at the exhibition stand. You may want to mention some feature of the exhibition stand design to encourage memory placement in the minds of the customers.

3 – Follow up with a brochure or catalogue one week after the trade show
Send a brochure or catalogue to the prospective leads generated from the trade show, especially those who were interested during the phone call. In these days of technological advancements, sending an email with a brochure attached as a PDF document is a cheap and easy way to follow up the momentum from the trade show.

4 – Call one month after the trade show
Most businesses take advantage of the trade show by following up with the generated leads within one week of exhibition. However, many customers need more time to make a decision on the product and if you neglect to maintain the marketing momentum at this time, you may not convert the leads into sales.

5 – Make further contact six months after the trade show
Continue the marketing effort with at least one further contact effort to all the leads generated six months after the trade show exhibition. This brings the company back into the minds of the potential customers and can change the lead to a sale. You can even invite the customer back to the next trade show your company is exhibiting at within the next few months.

Keeping up the momentum with the prospective leads generated from the trade show will help to ensure that your trade show exhibition is an overwhelming marketing success for your company.

Obviously, one of the best measurements to evaluate the success of your exhibition is the number of new customers who have come to the business directly from the trade show. Collecting business cards from prospective customers at your exhibition stand does not necessarily turn these people into customers.

Following up with the prospective customers is essential to convert the prospect into a sale. People will visit a trade show for information, not necessarily to buy on the day. A follow up phone call or email could make the difference between trade show success and exhibition failure, especially if the evaluation method focuses on how many new customers, or new sales, the business makes within a month of the trade show.

Ensure all contact details gathered from the trade show are entered into a database, with the trade show name and dates as the meeting point. Even if these contacts become customers in the months following the trade show, the exhibition was a success.

Debriefing the trained staff who manned the store after the exhibition has closed may render further contacts than first thought. After all, these people actually spoke with the prospective customers and can give opinions on how interested individual people were at the trade show. This can give a good indication as to whether the passers by were attracted into the stand by the banners, signage, product displays, and pop up displays, or whether the majority of people just kept walking past the stand. If this is the case, better attention to the design of the stand may improve the success rate of future trade show exhibitions.

Other ways to evaluate the success of a trade show exhibition may include how many samples, products, or brochures the staff manning the stand gave out. If you catered for 1000 brochures to go to customers, but came back with 700 of these, then the trade show exhibition was probably not a success. Training of staff will ensure brochures or samples were given only to those customers showing a genuine interest, otherwise this measure may not provide an accurate evaluation.

You may even measure how many in depth conversations the staff have with prospective customers about the product, as opposed to people who simply pocket a brochure and move on to the next exhibition stand.

An evaluation of the trade show success should also consider how well organised the trade show was overall, ease of setting up the exhibition stand to meet your business’ custom design needs, and importantly, how many people came through the doors of the trade show. If there were 50,000 people at the trade show, this will give you an indication of your ‘hit rate’ at the exhibition, by comparing how many customers were attracted to your stand.

Whatever methods you choose to evaluate the success of the trade show and the exhibition stand, you should plan to evaluate the success at intervals following the trade show. Some measures of success will be taken directly at the trade show itself, but others, such as total number of customers from the trade show, may take several months to gather the data.

Your goal as exhibitor is not only to steer as many people to your stand as possible but also, once there, you need to make their experience a memorable one so that when they are back in their offices with a bag full of brochures and business cards, you will stand out in their memory.

Many exhibitors find that a giveaway is a good way to ensure that people will remember them. Something more than just a business card can be the difference between yourself and your competitor.

Here are some ‘giveaway’ ideas you may want to consider:

If you have a café or seating area for clients you may want to think about designing your own labels for the food or beverages. For instance, takeaway coffee cups or bottled water with your name, logo and even short message printed on. Your visitor will then not only remember you but also act as a portable advertising banner as he/she walks around the hall. Even discarded bottles will still be advertising your name.

Check on-line for any specialised printers in your area. You will find printers can offer such things as drink coasters, drink coolers, fridge magnets, calendars, badges, mugs to name a few.

Another idea could be a canvas bag printed with your logo. People tend to collect brochures and cards usually in the plastic bag they pick up on entry. If you can offer a better carrier, once again you can use your visitors as a mobile billboard for your company.

Although no the most creative idea, pens are always good as people like to make notes as they walk around and will probably take the pen back to their office. When they are going over what they’ve seen, your logo will be on their desk or in their hand!

For the same reasons – sticky note pads or calendars are a cheap and good way for your advertising to follow your prospective customers back to their offices or workplace.

Depending on your business you can maybe find something of significance. For example, a food and wine show, you may giveaway bottle openers, corkscrews or beer coolers. Computers and software, a memory stick. Construction trades, a hard hat or tape measure. All these things can be bought in bulk and personalized.