Best tradeshow marketing tips and case studies. Call 800-654-6946.
Best tradeshow marketing tips and case studies. Call 800-654-6946.

Tradeshow marketing

11 Signs You’re a Tradeshow Prep Expert

tradeshow prep expert

Sure, millions of people head off to tradeshows worldwide every year, but are they really tradeshow prep experts? Are they ready, I mean really ready for the tradeshow? Let’s take a look at what the average tradeshow manager should be doing to show they’re truly a tradeshow prep expert.

  1. You plan a whole year in advance. Yes, the show is over, but did you already book next year’s space and check to see if you could upgrade to a better space?
  2. You reach out to your exhibit house at least 3 – 4 months ahead of the show if you have minor graphic upgrades on your schedule. Reach out 6 months in advance if you’re planning to create a new exhibit or are anticipating major upgrades to your current booth. Sure, the exhibit house can turn around graphic upgrades in just a short time, but the further in advance you are of the delivery date, the better for all parties concerned.
  3. You know what messaging you’re going to send to your potential booth visitors at least a few months prior to the show. Some folks will get emails, some may get a nice snail mail package, others will get a personal phone call. This means prioritizing your prospects and doing your best to set appointments with the hot prospects and getting warm and cool leads to at least come by the booth for a chat.
  4. You’ve downloaded or otherwise saved the show manual or information at least a couple of months prior to the show, and know what it takes to coordinate shipping, I&D and other logistics.
  5. You have your housing booked the day it opens or shortly thereafter. Depending on the show, the housing can go quickly.
  6. You book your flights and rental car about 6 weeks out. I’m told that this is the optimum time for best pricing for book flights. If you book a car, this is also a good time to do that.
  7. You’ve coordinated with other parts of the company to make sure you have products and/or services ready for launch prior to the show.
  8. You have shift schedules prepped and distributed at least a week ahead of time.
  9. If your booth staff is wearing special colored and branded clothing, it’s been ordered at least a couple of months prior to the show.
  10. You know exactly what you’re going to wear at least a week before the show – and it’s packed a day or two ahead of time.
  11. You especially know what shoes you’re going to wear!

Okay, you may have more – but if you’re doing all of this and more, you’re definitely a tradeshow prep expert!

TradeshowGuy Exhibits: Exhibitor Magazine Find-It Marketplace Video

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half,” said John Wanamaker (1838-1922). No doubt good old John spent a lot of money on advertising. That’s not something that we do here at TradeshowGuy Exhibits, but on occasion, we invest in various marketing efforts, including advertising.

As a result, we decided that appearing in the popular Find-It Marketplace on Exhibitor Magazine’s website was worth a try this year. Our listing will appear under Exhibit Producers, a crowded but well-trafficked segment of the online tradeshow resources.  As one of the options, we’ve produced a video that articulates our pitch to potential clients:

What do you think? Let us know!

10 Best Pinterest Boards about Tradeshow Marketing

Yes, I have a Pinterest account. No, I don’t spend a lot of time there. Something about not having enough bandwidth and so on. However, when I do get over there, I find a lot of things to like. Such as these boards on tradeshow marketing which are standouts!

Kimb T. Williams‘ board on Tradeshow Marketing Items features a variety of eye-catching items which make it a worthwhile stop.

best pinterest boards on tradeshow marketing

Nyche Marketing’s Tradeshow Marketing board has a bunch of infographics, exhibits and more.

Yes, it’s a corporate account, but Staples Promo board on Tradeshow Items has a lot of ideas.

From Danielle McDonald comes Tradeshows and Markets – tons of ideas-starters here.

Carl Phelps’ Exhibit Installation Ideas doesn’t have a lot of content, but what is there is inspiring.

Here’s Tradeshow Booth Design from April Holle. Banners, infographics, creations and more.

A lot of the images in Libby Hale’s Tradeshow Design board don’t strictly fall under the tradeshow design umbrella, but lots of great images to view here.

Teri Springer’s Tradeshow Design board is short on images, but long on inspiration. Wavy ceilings, tilted walls and hanging letters area ll eye-catching.

10×20 inline tradeshow exhibits are very popular, and Display Jay has gathered a collection of over a hundred images in 10×20′ Tradeshow Displays.

Let’s finish off our list of ten best Pinterest boards about tradeshow marketing with Anna Kammarman’s lively (and long-winded) Business – Tradeshow Tips and Tricks; For Exhibitors: Tips for Creating a Profitable #eventprofs #tradeshow.

5 Most Common Mistakes People Make with Tradeshow Post-Show Follow-Up

Tradeshow post-show follow-up is one of the critical keys to your tradeshow marketing success. In recent conversations with exhibitors, there often seems to be some hedging around the concept of complete follow-up. In other words, there are some missing pieces and the leads that are generated at a tradeshow – at great expense – are not always followed up in a timely manner, if they’re followed up at all. So let’s look at some of the most common mistakes people make with post-show follow-up.

  1. Not grading or evaluating the leads. If a sales person that is tasked to follow-up on the leads can’t tell the difference between a HOT lead and a COOL lead, it makes the task of follow-up that much harder.
  2. post-show follow-up

    Not being specific about the details of the follow-up. Some prospects want a sample sent next week. Others just want a sales sheet PDF forwarded in a month. Others want an in-person meeting in two weeks. Whatever the follow-up is, it should be noted on the lead sheet so that the person doing the follow-up understands exactly what is needed.

  3. Not tracking the response from the follow-up. Whether you use Salesforce, and Excel spread sheet or a custom CRM, once the follow-up is initially made, notes on what happened during that follow-up should be entered in detail. Most follow-ups require more than one step. In fact, if it’s a bigger sale, the process may involve several steps and more than one or two people. Keeping detailed notes along the way will ensure a better chance at success. With NO formal system in place to track the follow-up process, your chances of success drop drastically!
  4. Not following up in a timely manner. This mistake usually comes from not asking the prospect the question: when would you like us to follow up? If both parties understand when the follow-up is expected – and it actually happens at the right time – chances of closing a sale increase. In the event that no timeframe was addressed, it’s safe to say that the sooner you follow up the better your chances of making a sale. Some experts say do an initial follow-up via email within 24 hours. Others say that making a phone call within 48 – 72 hours after the show shows the prospect that you have a genuine interest in them. I realize that some people are just impossible to reach in a week, or two, or three, or more. In that case (which has happened to me), keep trying.
  5. Giving up. Even if you can’t get in touch with someone right away, keep in mind that you have no idea why they’re unreachable or unresponsive. It could be they’re suddenly wearing three hats at work and simply don’t have the time – or a personal issue may be preventing them from even working. Who knows? Don’t assume they don’t want to talk to you until you actually hear that from their own lips. I’ve made sales to people that were hard to reach for months – but when I finally did reach them, we made something work.

One of the first things I heard when I entered the tradeshow industry in 2002 was that “80% of leads are never followed up on!”  It astonished me then and it astonishes me now. It’s one of the most fixable mistakes that tradeshow marketers have. Do yourself and your company a favor and do your best to not be a part of that statistic. Make the effort and follow-up!

8 Ways to Completely Sabotage Your Tradeshow Appearance

While it’s great to know all of the things you should do at a tradeshow, it’s also enlightening to flip the coin and figure out ways to sabotage your tradeshow appearance. Y’know, to hopefully avoid doing so.

  1. Take any person from the office who’s willing to come. So what if they are new, or don’t know the products well, and are young and well-known partiers? You only need them to show up at the booth during show hours, no doubt.
    sabotage your tradeshow appearance
  2. Don’t tell anyone, such as potential or current clients that you’re going to the show. They’ll find you there anyway.
  3. Bring a notebook to write down the name of anyone that might be interested in your products or services. Low tech is best.
  4. Grab a handful of old product sell sheets. If there are any changes, you can jot them in the margins. Don’t want to let them go to waste.
  5. Plan on setting up the booth yourself. Even though you’ve never done that. After all, you’re an Ikea pro.
  6. Don’t bother to check out last year’s (or the year before’s) graphics. A picture is a picture.
  7. Wait until the last minute. Hey, the show’s only next month, right?
  8. Do the same thing next year as you did this year.

Put your effort into doing at least half of the preceding tips, and no doubt you’ll sabotage your tradeshow marketing efforts. And plan on updating your resume soon!

13 Tradeshow and Event-Related Twitter Accounts to Follow

Hey, doesn’t everybody use Twitter? Okay, not everybody, but certainly a lot of folks do. It’s the go-to immediate social media platform to post quick-hitting comments, links and videos. You can track chatter about topics galore, and if you’re trying to keep up with social media interaction relating to a specific tradeshow, just plug in the show hashtag and you’re seeing dozens and dozens of tweets, photos and videos.

Frankly, it’s tough to find a tradeshow-related Twitter account that doesn’t commit one of the sins of tweeting: too much self-promotion, nothing but retweeting, or just ignoring the ability to personally relate by tweeting our photos or individual comments.

Let’s get highly subjective and track down a baker’s dozen of tradeshow and event-related Twitter accounts that you might take a look at:

Julius Solaris, Editor of Event Manager Blog, Author.

 

Melissa P. Michel, tradeshow and event specialist, and in case you didn’t notice, a softball fanatic!

 

ExpoStars: Team training, booth staff, effective engagement.

Sarah Michel, The Wonder Woman of Networking, VP of Connexity, CSP at Velvet Chainsaw.

 

Kyle Hillman, CMM, Hillman Events, wearer of all hats

 

Liz King. NYC based Event Planning Superhero

 

BizBash: Ideas, News and Resources for Event Planners & Experiental Marketers

 

EventBrite: The world’s largest event technology platform.

 

Shawna McKinley, Event Sustainability

 

Sparks Marketing: Brand experience agency.

 

Corbin Ball, CSP CMP, Event and Tradeshow Technology Analyst

 

Rachel Wimberly, TSNN,  Editor-in-Chief of the Tradeshow News Network

 

Adrian Segar, Conferences that work, consultant for interactive, innovative, attendee-driven events.

 

MelmWhite, Classic Exhibits, VP of Business Development for exhibit manufacturer Classic Exhibits

 

Anders Boulanger, Tradeshow Crowds: Infotainer that draws crowds

 

There you have it. Take a closer look. And let me know about other Twitter tradeshow and event activists that I should know about!

TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee: August 7, 2017 [video replay/podcast]

In this week’s TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee, I take a look at the various ways to create flowcharts and mindmaps for pinning down the aspects of a process, whether it’s complicated or not. Also, on this week’s tradeshow tip, the 7 signs you may be ready for tradeshow marketing.

 

 

Mentioned in the show:

Lucidchart

Microsoft Visio

And here’s a great mind-mapping software, XMind.

And for the ONE GOOD THING – Check out The Last Tycoon on Amazon.

2017 Tradeshow Exhibiting Trends

I’m the last guy to claim to be a trend-setter, but I do try to keep at least one half-open eye on tradeshow exhibiting trends. So I took a look at some of the things that are showing up on various 2017 tradeshow exhibit trends lists and added in a couple of things I’ve seen at shows this year. Yes, we’re into the second half of the year – so how did these trend article from earlier in the year predict what’s happening on the ground?

Virtual Reality: I’m still unconvinced this will really take off in the tradeshow world. The challenges are many: crowded floors, busy visitors, cost of creating custom content that not only engages but impresses and leaves people glad they spent the time. But it looks like the technology is there and will do nothing but improve. The few times I’ve seen it at shows, people did not seem all that interested, and several VR headsets sat unused for long periods of time. When they were used, visitors commented that it was nice, but no one I spoke with raved about the experience. Again, it comes down to getting the best and most engaging content possible.

tradeshow exhibit trends

According to this great article from Exhibitor Magazine, some other trends for the year include Artificial Intelligence (think Siri and Alexa), new ways of visitor engagement (digital games, for example), and Tradeshow Campaign Themes.

From Freeman comes an article that brings up sustainable materials as still trending (look for LED backlit smart fabric walls), immersive hubs from show organizers (activities, video content and more), and education that is customized to the level of expertise in the audience groups. There’s also a mention of one way that might be a good workaround on the prohibitive cost of shipping large engines and equipment around the world: 3D-printing that can replicate the machinery or equipment to a T.

Absolute Exhibits from Tustin, CA, offers a handful of tech trends for tradeshow exhibits this year, including digital lounges for recharging (figuratively and literally), brighter and more attractive signage, push notifications through the show’s mobile app, games and contests, and interactive video walls and touch screens.

Exhibit Concepts offers up trends including finding new ways to engage face-to-face, the wide incorporation of technology into every corner of a tradeshow exhibit (Bluetooth beacons that integrate with a client’s products), and the increasing use of custom exhibit rentals to keep costs down.

From my perspective, I see the growing use of backlit fabric graphics taking over much of the tradeshow floor. The cost is coming down (still), and the quality of the fabric printing is nearly indistinguishable from high-quality paper printing, as long as you’re using the latest generation of printers (be sure to ask!)

Another item I see frequently is large-format, simple graphics that do a terrific job of grabbing eyeballs, either through the bold simple easy-to-read text, or bold images combined with sparse text.

When it comes to charging stations, I recently saw something a little different: lockable stations where you can plug in and leave your device. When you return just enter your code (that you came up with earlier), and retrieve the device. This charging unit was NOT in an exhibitor booth, but was instead provided by the show.

The last couple of shows I attended (Expo West in March and IFT in June) both had great, easy-to-use show apps. Quick to download, easy to navigate, and when you set up push notifications you really don’t miss a thing. Kudos to the various app designers that make them so friendly and good-looking.

These topics are echoed in many other posts throughout the tradeshow world, and now that we’re on the downward slide into 2018, it’ll be interesting to see what comes to the fore next year that everyone wants to be a part of.

TradeshowGuy Exhibits Launches New Tradeshow Display Products Website

For years, here at TradeshowGuy Exhibits, we’ve teamed up with great partners for various tradeshow display products: exhibit designers and producers, display products manufacturers, I&D labor teams and more. For example, our Exhibit Design Search website provided by Classic Exhibits is the standard-bearer of the branded exhibit search tool. We also work with the good folks at Orbus, a company that provides a wider range selection of exhibit graphics and accessories that tend to fall into a lower price category. They have an unbranded site of exhibits and accessories here.

Now we have another partner to show off. Creative Banner offers hundreds of products through our branded website here.

You’ll find banner stands and displays, accessories, banners and flags for indoors and outdoors, floor displays, retractable banners, signage, table covers, table top displays, event tents and total show packages. After working with them quietly for a couple of years and being impressed with their product quality and quick turnaround time, as well as flexibility on customizing some items, we decided it was time to have them fire up a branded site for us. So click on through to the other side: TradeshowGuy Exhibits – Tradeshow City USA and take a look! Let us know what you think!

tradeshowguy exhibits tradeshows city USA

14 Best Tradeshow Infographics on Pinterest

Infographics do a great job of quickly communicating information in a fun and effective way, especially if you’re like me (and 65% of the rest of the population) and are a visual learner. So let’s sift through some of the great tradeshow infographics floating around on Pinterest these days.Click through to the Pinterest posts, or browse the infographics below.

  1. Pipeliner Sales: 7 Keys to Getting Leads from Tradeshows
  2. Xibit Solutions: Anatomy of a Tradeshow Booth
  3. Inpex: Tradeshow Etiquette 101
  4. Media Mosaic: How to Boost Traffic at Your Tradeshow Booth
  5. Infographicality: Six Things to do Before Your Next Tradeshow
  6. Solutions Rendered: Creating a Successful Tradeshow Booth
  7. Skyline: Bad Booth Staffers
  8. Proj-X Design: How to Get the Most out of Tradeshows
  9. NWCI Displays: Tradeshow Booth Regulations
  10. Pardot: Marketing Automation for Tradeshows
  11. Bartizan Connects: Countdown to ROI: A Timeline to Plan for a Tradeshow
  12. Exponents: How to Get in to the Mindset of Attendees
  13. Skyline: 25 of the Most Common Tradeshow Mistakes
  14. Nimlok: Tradeshow Elements

© Copyright 2016 | Oregon Blue Rock, LLC
Tradeshow Guy Blog by Tim Patterson

Call 800-654-6946 for Prompt Service
Copyrighted.com Registered & Protected <br /> QA4E-AZFW-VWIR-5NYJ