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By Edward Bryce
Small, medium and big businesses benefit so much from making
their products and services known to the public through
different events, stalls and stores they establish in malls.
One of the events that proved to be beneficial to these
businesses is trade shows. The primary goal is to showcase
products or services to various markets that may be interested
in availing the services or the products. Moreover, other
benefits can be acquired as well from participating in a trade
show.
A businessman should not be afraid even if he is new in the
field because of the amount of exposure he would get through
these kinds of events. Trade shows are a continuing trend in
the business sector. Malls have always been open to hold such
shows and be a venue. Therefore, trade show will continue to
exist in every corner of shopping malls. It is not only
appropriate because people who are visiting malls are in a
shopping mode so most likely they will drop by your booth and
have time to listen and view your products and services. Who
knows, you might have a handful or a number of leads by the
time the show ends and close a number of sales. You do not
want
to miss that opportunity, right!
But participating in a trade show is not a piece of cake. You
would need fresh and innovative marketing ways to catch the
attention of potential customers and you should be financially
able to participate. A trade show is not a one- man show but
tendency is all your competitors will be present, so be very
creative in your marketing ploy.
There are some great tips for you to guide you in achieving
success in trade shows.
1. Identify the purpose of your participation in the trade
show. Aside from increasing your sales and collecting possible
leads or customers, trade shows are opportunities for you to
observe the trends in your area or field of business. You may
learn the newest products or services that your competitors
may
offer. Through these, you can assess how your business is
catching up in the industry you are involved in and you can
think of ways to improve or plan out your next step. Trade
shows can also help in your networking efforts with colleagues
that are not competitors and suppliers. Therefore, be sure
that
your products and services are cut for the trade show you have
participated in. You do not want to be out of place, would
you?
2. Plan out your budget. Every wise businessman should include
participation in trade shows as a part of his marketing plan
because it can cut off costs on his part. In case you have a
series of trade shows to participate in, be sure to inform the
proper people who can help you, pose a partnership with them
and in the end share the expenses. Most likely, these are your
show sponsors, suppliers, previous attendees, vendors and your
customers. Do not forget to register early for the trade show
because usually they have early bird discounts.
3. Get organized. Once you have registered, you should keep
papers and pertinent documents that you can refer to in the
future or when the show is near. Be sure that all documents
such as registration form, booth and floor plans, invoices and
notes are all intact in one folder. You might need all these
to
confirm your participation and to submit to the organizers
your
booth floor plan and design so they can make the necessary
adjustments.
4. Identify the goals you want to achieve during the trade
show. It will be an extra effort if you would research on who
is going to participate and who will be attending but it will
be worth your while. Set a plan and identify a number of high
quality leads to achieve within the period of the show so that
you have something to look forward to.
5. Make your customer know that you are participating in a
trade show by marketing it. Publish print ads in different
publications especially in the trade show publication. Send
out
invites to your prospects through direct mails. Ask these
prospects and other long time customers to drop by your booth
and try out some of the new products or services you have.
6. Your participation does not stop from just stalling a booth
in a trade show and wait for customers to drop by. It is
important for you to create an appealing atmosphere by being
creative in the manner of your presentation and how you make
your booth striking and a level higher than the other booths.
You can include value- added services inside your booth and
make use of technology such as LCD projectors and DVD players
to present your product or services to customers. Make sure
that you assign staff in the booth who is knowledgeable about
your products and services. This way, you can take a rest in
manning the booth but still be confident of the person you
will
leave behind. Also, prepare your materials like brochures,
flyers and giveaways. These are necessary point of sales
materials that the customers can refer to after dropping by
your booth. Be sure to have your contact details on all of
these materials.
7. During the trade show, focus and get your acts together.
Try
to plan out your work by focusing on your set goals and the
number of prospects you will have to follow- up. Make sure to
keep some notes of the promises you made to prospects like a
follow- up call, a presentation of your products in the
prospects office, a quotation for your services or products or
even a visit.
8. After gathering some quality prospects after the show, be
sure to keep their interest high by following them up with
letters, thank you cards, an email or phone call.
9. After the show, it is best to make an evaluation of how
well
you did by determining if you have reached your identified
goals
before the show, if you have executed your plans well and
whether you did an immediate follow- up to an interested
customer.
10.Keep in touch with the shows organizers, sponsors and
interested prospects and customers. Be sure to actively
participate in the next show. You can even volunteer.
Additional task, yes but it will be all worth it.
There you have it! All the recipes for a trade show success
served in a silver platter. Be sure to keep them all in mind
until your next serving.
About The Author: For more great trade show related articles
and resources check out weknowtradeshows.info
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