August 8, 2019 Expert Hacks for a Trade Show Newbie

A few hacks and tricks to ensure you are well-prepared for success when attending a trade show.

August 8, 2019

It’s one of the most nerve-wracking experiences attending a trade show as a newbie, but it’s something that must be considered if you’re looking to get your business off the ground running. Trade shows don’t guarantee success, which is why so many business owners overlook them. However, if you’re well-prepared and you understand what it takes to have the best chance of success, you’re not going to be far off meeting your targets. A few hacks and tricks to give you the best fighting chance of being success are outlined below.

Free Handouts

Everybody likes a free handout at a trade – it’s seen as a perk of attending a show Therefore, it’s absolutely important you pick the right freebie (something that’s memorable). Otherwise, your display visitors will take it home and throw it in the bin (if it gets that far). There’s plenty you can do here to ensure you’re not handing out rubbish. Firstly, research your audience to see the type of people that attend. Secondly, invest some money in good inventory so your business looks professional. Cheap pens and beer mats probably won’t do you any justice and, if you’re taking the trade show seriously.

Pile Money into an Attractive Exhibition Stand

If you’re spending a few quid on a new exhibition stand, then you’re doing it all wrong. If you’re attending a trade show, then you should already know about some of the costs involved – hiring/buying a new exhibition stand is one of the many. Your stand is one of the most important points to consider when going to a trade show, so it should be something you invest heavily in. Take a look at some of the professional exhibition stands available on the Marler Haley website – they specialise in professional exhibition stands for various industries for varies budgets. In general exhibition stands aren’t cheap, but it’s something that could be the difference between making your business look average, or something unique and up and coming. If you buy the right one it can be used many times.

Know Your Products

A lot of participating in trade shows is explaining your products and what your business is about. It may sound unheard of, but business owners do attend without knowing their products. They end up looking unprofessional and they regret not learning about their products inside out beforehand. Don’t be that business owner, study your products and try to picture your business in 10 years’ time. These are the sort of questions you’ll be up against, so don’t be left off-guard.

Implement Social Media

Social media is a huge benefit to businesses these days, and you should be taking advantage of its features. One good one is the “live video” feed. If you have hundreds of followers who are not attending the trade show, why not bring the trade show to them? It will give your business a bit of human appeal and you’ll look different from many of the other businesses out there who are just too serious. It’s all well and good being serious, but showing off your funny side and getting your online following involved could play into your hands. Almost all social media platforms have such features available, so it could be wise to take advantage of the feature on all of the platforms you’re active on so you’re not leaving anyone out.

Just because you’re a tradeshow newbie, doesn’t mean you can’t be just as successful, if not more successful, than the other businesses that participate. All it takes from your end is a little bit of confidence, the right display stand, some detailed research, and the motivation to succeed. If you have all the ingredients, you’ll find that it’s easy to cook up a plan and walk away with more leads than all the other businesses in attendance.

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