6 Important Tips for Trade Show Marketing

1. Do a giveaway.

Have a reason to collect people's emails and information and spam them for all it's worth. At least they got a pen and a chance to win an iPad. People will give you a ton of information just to spin a wheel.

Think promotions are too expensive for your company? Hire a prize insurance company to cover a majority of the cost of winning. With one of these plans, you can play a minimal cost amount and give away a much bigger prize, without the risk of having to pay out that large prize.


2. Keep your booth clean.

Do one wants to see all of you and your company's belongings, bags, cameras, dirty laundry, and general crap lying around your booth. Put it somewhere hidden and keep your booth tidy. It says a lot about your company if you cannot keep a small space organized.

Clean up your stuff! Keeping your booth professional keeps your brand professional.


3. Hire promotions people that know what they're talking about.

Promo girls are great. They're personable, friendly, and good at handing out flyers. But if they don't know what they are talking about, they are doing more harm than good for your company. There is no bigger turn off to a company than asking "So, what do you guys do?" and not getting a good, succinct, and easily understandable answer.

It is not a small mistake to forget to train promotional people, men, women, and interns on how to talk to attendees at trade shows - talking and making connections to potential clients is a huge part of successfully marketing your company. Here are some steps to take before your promotions team takes to the trade show floor.

• Train every promotional person on a thirty second company pitch. 
• Train your promotional team to answer any questions that attendees may have.
• Give your team a cheat sheet for prices, technical details, and any other important facts about your products or services.

4. Stay at your booth.

There is simply no point to your booth unless there is someone there to run your promotions and answer questions. Empty booths are like empty stores: you are losing money and decreasing your marketing ROI for every minute spent absent from your booth.
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5. Don't eat at your booth.

Have a schedule that allows the team to take food breaks, and avoids people scarfing down food. Booths that contain people eating their lunch, dinner, or snack are much less inviting... Plus, how can you have a conversation with someone while they are eating?

And no, you are not hiding your food. When you're on the trade show floor, you represent your company, and everyone is watching you while they peruse the exhibits.


6. Follow up with ALL leads.

No matter who the person is, what their title happens to be, or what company they work for - follow up with them. You will be surprised at what connections will help you out in the long run. Don't judge a connection by it's title.

See some more advice from Elizabeth Warren's Blog.

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