Trade show tips that can help your business stand out from your competitors

Every entrepreneur knows that trade shows represent a great opportunity to expand their network and gain exposure for their business. However, not all entrepreneurs know how to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s not enough to take part in a trade show to make things happen. There will probably be hundreds of other businesses fighting to catch attendees’ attention, many of which might have more experience than you under their belt. Besides, the place will be crowded with people, booths and flashy displays, making it all the more difficult for you to reach your objective. 

Therefore, you need to prepare thoroughly if you want to get the right people to notice you. But how do you do that if you’re the new kid on the block and you feel a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation? It’s definitely going to be challenging, but there are a few tips and tricks that can help you get off on the right foot and make the most of trade shows. 

Prepare in advance

So, you’ve never been to a trade show before and you don’t know how things go down at these types of events. Fortunately, you have plenty of resources at your disposal that can teach you everything you need to know about trade shows, exhibitions, expositions, fairs and other similar events where companies and professionals in a specific industry gather to showcase their products/services and connect with each other and their customers.

If you’re planning to attend a trade show, you probably know the date of the event weeks or even months before it takes place. That gives you more than enough time to study the problem and prepare for it. Proper planning and organising can give you a competitive advantage long before the competition even begins. Once you’ve registered for the event, you can start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, which often implies: 

• deciding on a budget 

• setting our goals 

• developing a marketing strategy 

• deciding what materials you’ll be using

• creating a presentation 

• training your team members

• prompting the event on all your channels 

Advertise  

At the trade show, you’ll have the chance to meet and connect with all sorts of people, but it wouldn’t hurt to give everyone a heads-up and let them know you’ll be attending the event. Sometimes, people need a bit of encouragement to take action, so you can make the first move and invite your contacts to the trade show. If there’s still plenty of time to go until the event date, sending a few reminders could also help.

You have numerous channels at your disposal to do that. Social media platforms are great venues for business announcements as they can spread the word about the event to all your clients and followers. Make sure to tag the trade show to ensure your post receives the attention it deserves. Similarly, you can head to the official page of the event and share one of their posts on your account or announce your attendance there. 

Sending out emails to your customer and leads, or to a specific group of confirmed attendees is also a great way to promote your trade show presence and keep everyone in the loop. You should only email people for whom the event is relevant if you don’t want the message to fall on deaf ears. Then you can also announce the event on your website and on your blog to make sure the news reaches as many people as possible. 

Design a unique trade show display 

Some of the people you’ll come across at the trade show will already know of your existence and might even have a rough idea of what you do. However, for many attendees, this will be the first point of contact with your business, and since you only get one chance to make a great first impression, you better make it worth it. 

If you want to catch people’s attention and attract them to your booth, it’s important to create a visually appealing display. Instead of a standard booth that organisers usually provide for attendees, try to use your creativity and imagination and come up with a booth design that reflects your brand’s identity and makes you stand out from the crowd. Bright colours, a well-thought layout, ingenious lighting and displays are the elements that can help you achieve that. An inviting space that looks interesting and engaging will draw people in like a magnet, making it a lot easier for you to create break the ice and create connections. 

Study your competition 

There’s certainly going to be a lot of competition at the trade show, so you should have a clear idea of who they are. This doesn’t mean just making a list with their names and field of activity. You should also do a bit of research and find out exactly what they’re offering and what their strong and weak points are. 

You can learn from other companies' successes and mistakes, and use the information you’ve gathered on them to position yourself as a strong competitor. You can draw inspiration from what other companies in your industry have been doing, but don’t be a copycat. The whole point of attending a trade show is to demonstrate your uniqueness and originality. If you try to mimic other businesses, you risk losing yourself in the crowd. 

A great way to distinguish yourself from other participants is to include elements that are unique to your brand. Sharing your company’s story and mission through a catchy video presentation, having an interactive booth that includes games and innovative displays, handing out free branded items, or throwing an after-party are some of the tricks you can use to get people to notice you.  

Attending a trade show can be both a daunting and an exciting experience for newcomers, but most importantly, it can be a great popularity booster for your business, so make sure you don’t miss out on the amazing opportunity these vents offer.