Exhibiting at a trade show should only be the start of the marketing strategy. It is essential to keep up the momentum and continue marketing to the leads generated from the exhibition to make the trade show worthwhile.

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.

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Holding a successful exhibition at a trade show takes careful planning, trained staff, and good exhibition design. Even if you have allowed for every element in the design of your trade show stand, you will not know if the show has been a success, unless you can effectively evaluate the success for your business.

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.

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Exhibition Halls are a hub of activity. If you’re lucky, there will be thousands of potential customers coming through the doors every day. Some people will come with a definite idea of what they’re looking for, others will come to get ideas, others will have money to spend – but not sure which is their best option.

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.

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Have you ever been to an exhibition and seen some stands continually passed by, while potential customers flock to other stands? If you want your stand to be the one the potential customers gather around, you need to ensure you are offering something the others aren’t.

Particularly at a trade show, or an exhibition where many of your competitors are also exhibiting, it is essential that your stand and product is remembered, when people go back to their business.  Here are six simple ideas to attract potential customers to your stand.

1 – Visual Display
A visual display will always attract attention. You need to ensure your exhibition stand is designed in such a way to allow you to place appropriate visual material that will attract people. Posters can be effective, if they are large, well-designed and humourous.

Sometimes, a model dressed in the product can be appropriate, especially if you are selling clothing, personal safety equipment, or anything that can be worn.
If your stand has the capacity to show a large flat screen television, you can display short 30 second videos of your product in use, or a two minute Powerpoint presentation on repeat. This is also a moving display.

2 – Moving Display
Static visual displays are good, but anything that moves will catch someone’s peripheral vision out of the corner of their eye as they walk past, and will make them stop to see what is moving. It is a natural human reaction to see why something is moving. If you can set up an automated display that moves, or changes, you will attract attention.

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