Red Shoes is determined to walk a different path and is an expert at helping brands stand out in a crowd. We understand the importance of aligning all company assets to tell a brand story in a way that grabs attention and makes a splash at trade shows. Read on for recommended tactics to supercharge your trade show ROI.
1. Set Strategic Goals
Your first step is to create clear goals for what you hope to achieve at the trade show. Whether it’s lead generation, brand awareness or driving sales to a new product, having goals in mind will help you better prepare and set benchmarks. Make sure to allocate enough time to plan your company presence at the trade show. Keep in mind that trade shows can lead to plenty of potential for earned media coverage, especially if you’re launching a new product or service. Making company spokespeople available for interviews is a great way to take advantage of press attending the event.
2. Leverage Public Relations Opportunities
Determine if there are speaking opportunities that will position you or another company spokesperson as an expert. Look at the schedule to find if there are trade show sponsored valuable opportunities to network with potential customers or media. Depending on budget, determine if purchasing a paid sponsorship will help you meet your goals. It is also a great time to set up a press suite or area for editors attending the show so that you can connect with them about your products and brand. Don’t forget that a trade show is great time to distribute a news release about a new product. Also make sure to include your booth number or where to find your business on the news release. Contact Red Shoes if you want help planning your trade show public relations strategy.
3. Strengthen Your Brand with Cohesive Promotional Materials
One of the most critical aspects of attending a trade show is making a great first impression with cohesive, helpful promotional materials. Whether you’re handing out printed materials or directing customers to a digital landing page, it’s essential that all your marketing collateral and digital assets accurately reflect your brand. This is a great time to update printed materials and take the time to make sure that your brand is at the forefront. This means messaging, fonts and imagery are consistent across all channels to ensure brand recognition and customer trust. Red Shoes is happy to help with a brand audit to makes sure that all of your communication pieces are unified and on-brand.
4. Create a Landing Page on Your Website
Develop a landing page on your website that consolidates all relevant information to help current or new customers learn about your product or service easily and find your booth at the trade show. This is also a great way to track and measure unique visits to the page that can be used to gauge ROI for trade show participation. Keep in mind that your landing page is also a great way to generate leads so include ways to gather visitor information and provide them with relevant calls to action. You can also use social media to direct visitors to your trade show landing page.
5. Focus on Booth Graphics
If you’re creating a custom booth for your trade show, invest in attention-grabbing graphics to help your booth stand out from the competition. Signs, banners and digital ad designs need to convey your brand’s story and draw visitors to your booth. Red Shoes can help you design and create eye-catching visuals to give customers a better understanding of your brand, products or services.
6. Create an Effective Follow-Up Plan
One of the main benefits of attending a trade show is generating new leads by capturing names and contact information for booth visitors with an efficient and engaging system. Whether you choose to set up a booth visitor sign-in system, collect business cards or offer an enticing giveaway, it’s important to create a seamless process to gather the names of potential leads. Remember that now, before the event, is the ideal time to start planning your post-trade show follow-up. This step in your strategic communication plan will give you the perfect place to execute a targeted approach to follow up on leads and will help you stay top of mind with potential customers after the show.
With a communication plan and determined goals, you’ll be better positioned to succeed at your next trade show. Remember, through meticulous planning, seamless execution and appropriate follow-up, you’re not just optimizing your return on investment from trade show engagements, but also expanding your brand’s visibility and customer base. Contact Red Shoes for help creating a tradeshow engagement plan that will help your company stand out from the rest and make the most of your trade show participation.
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