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

All posts by: Tim Patterson

Tradeshow Marketing Expert & Dynamic Public Speaker/Trainer

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

TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee: July 24, 2017 [video replay/podcast]

I sat down with Jay Tokosch of Core-Apps on this week’s TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee. Jay’s been in the industry for about eight years, and is CEO of Core-Apps, which creates apps for show organizers, show management software, apps for exhibitors and more. Check out Core-Apps when you get a moment, and be sure to look at the ShowcaseXD app here. Fun and lively conversation – check it out:

ONE GOOD THING: I saw the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets over the weekend. Critics say it’s the standout movie of the summer, and I don’t disagree. It’s a gorgeous movie, a pretty good story led by a couple of unknowns, but supported by a notable cast including Clive Owens, Ethan Hawke, Rihanna and Herbie Hancock (!). Good stuff. See the trailer here.

Learn about

Tradeshow Blog Listings: A Short List

No doubt there are over a million tradeshow blogs dedicated to just the single topic of tradeshow marketing, wouldn’t you say? More? Less? No matter how you add them up, it seems like a lot. And now and then I peruse the Google machine to see what new listings show up. Not to brag, but what’s interesting to me is that this blog – the TradeshowGuyBlog – shows up on a few of these lists. Nice! Let’s review:

And a couple blogs that I land on frequently include:

So…go blog wild!

7 Signs You Should Invest in Tradeshow Marketing

Never done tradeshow marketing before, but wonder if it’s something to finally seriously consider? Let’s take a look at seven signs you might recognize in your business that could steer you towards opting for tradeshow marketing as one of your marketing tools.

  1. tradeshow marketing

    When your business has nearly maxed out its current marketing reach. One of the best and most cost-effective ways to reach new markets is through tradeshow marketing. You have access to buyers and decision makers far outside your local or regional markets if you set up an exhibit at a national tradeshow.

  2. When you’re selling enough product so that you’re banking a decent amount of change, giving you the option to spread your wings a little more in the marketing arena.
  3. When your product or service creates a buzz all on its own. Putting it on display at the right show can open even more doors.
  4. When you have a great partner that’s already exhibiting and is willing to bring you along for the ride. Let’s say they have a larger island booth but for a fraction of the price of exhibiting in that big of a space, they’ll bring you on as a complementary product or service.
  5. Your sales have plateaued, and you’re looking for a new source of prospects. Making the jump into tradeshow marketing is a great way to kick-start new sales and lead generation.
  6. You’re ready for a laser-focused marketing event. Putting all your skills and talents on display at a tradeshow means you’re ready to show off to a ton of potential customers. You’ll benefit in new leads and increased brand awareness.
  7. You’re ready to move from a small/local company to a regional or national company. If your product is ready for prime time (production and distribution), putting those wares on display at a tradeshow can open doors to new retailers and distributors that can help you achieve those higher goals.

No doubt there are other signs, but these 7 signals should alert you to the possibility that tradeshow marketing – if you haven’t done it yet – might be a good bet for your marketing dollars.

Download a free digital copy of my “Tradeshow Success” book – click here!

TradeshowGuy Monday Morning Coffee: July 17, 2017 [video/podcast]

TradeshowGuy Tim Patterson on his weekly podcast, looks at how to get out of a creative slump, whether it’s writer’s block or some other creative endeavor, using brainstorming and other techniques to come up with new ideas.

Today’s ONE GOOD THING: “So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley” by Roger Steffens.

Oh, I also mentioned that I do a reggae show every week on KMUZ.org. It’s Monday night at 6 pm and yes you can listen live at that link.

The Anatomy of Great Tradeshow Lead Generation

What does it take for great tradeshow lead generation? Success comes mainly from paying attention to details. For instance, you probably made the effort at your last tradeshow to either scan someone’s badge, or got a business card and made a few notes on the back. But to really go the distance for a great lead, know that the success comes in executing the follow-up.

tradeshow lead generation

Naturally, you’ve gotten the lead’s name, company and contact info. But to be thorough, make sure that you’ve also got:

What product or service they’re interested in: be specific

How best they prefer to get a sample, if desired. Is it email, snail mail, telephone call, in-person visit?

When do they prefer to be contacted for follow-up? Date and time of day that works best for their schedule.

Where? If you are meeting offsite, such as a coffee shop, confirm the address. If it’s at their place of business, make sure you have the right address and not a satellite office or production facility.

Who are you meeting with? Is it just the main contact, or will there be other people involved?

Why are you meeting? Is the meeting a preliminary discussion, or is it to close a sale, or something in between?

When I was in journalism class in high school, we were instructed to get the 5 W’s and the 1 H: who, what where, when, why and how. It’s the same with sales follow-up.

Finally, make sure that your prospect understands the method of follow-up, along with the other pieces so that there is no mutual mystification – make sure all parties understand what is going to happen and when.

Once you’ve done that, you’ve nailed down a good lead. You’ve done your job on tradeshow lead generation. Now go close the sale!

What Does a Tradeshow Manager Do?

It’s a good question: what does a tradeshow manager do? And frankly, you can come at this question from a few angles.

For instance, is the tradeshow manager (or coordinator, or project manager) employed by the company internally, to make sure the tradeshow appearance is as flawless and successful as possible? Does the tradeshow coordinator work for an exhibit house, tasked with making sure the new (or stored) exhibit is shipped to arrive on time, and get set up, dismantled and shipped back? Or does the company find a third party to coordinate the logistics from show to show on an as-needed basis?

TRADESHOW MANAGER

There are several things to determine, such as: what is the scope of work? What tasks are expected of the tradeshow coordinator? Is there a marketing department that makes decisions on which shows to attend? Who determines the budget and where does that money come from? And so on.

Wearing several hats is not uncommon for someone with the larger and somewhat vague title of tradeshow coordinator. Mainly, she is responsible for:

  • Determining what shows to go to (usually in coordination with a larger team that vets the various options)
  • Scheduling or securing the booth space and coordinating logistics such as electricity, internet, cleaning, badge scanner and more
  • Work with vendors such as exhibit houses or printers for any updates to the exhibit
  • Scheduling exhibit shipping, I&D (installation and dismantle), return shipping, storage
  • Booth staffer hiring, training, scheduling and coordination of any special clothing such as branded t-shirts; develop and/or coordinate any pre-conference training for staffers
  • Coordinate with sales and marketing for any special product demos, etc.
  • Hire in-booth presenters if needed
  • Track expenses as required
  • Coordinate lead generation activities, system and delivery of leads to sales post-show
  • Pre-show marketing: mailers, emails, any specific phone invitations
  • Post-show follow-up communication
  • Record keeping: maintain show schedules, project checklists, exhibit management, photos from each show, logistic and travel expenses show to show and year over year

Each individual position may include more or less from this list, but these are the main tasks on a tradeshow manager’s job description list.

And, just for fun, I looked at tradeshow manager job listings across the USA recently. There are a ton of openings. Just sayin.’

 

Let Freedom Ring

Here on the USA’s Fourth of July Independence Day, let’s let freedom ring and celebrate in the tradeshow world.

No matter your political, economic or social stripes, I have no doubt you could make the case that our freedoms are under fire from many directions. But in the USA we still have the freedom to make the best case we can for our products and services: things we have put our careers on the line for and our talents to the test.

Let Freedom Ring

So let’s celebrate.

Celebrate your ability to go anywhere for any reason in this country to promote your business, products and services.

Let freedom ring and celebrate the willingness of buyers to show up at your tradeshow booth and palaver about your products, perhaps placing an order or making arrangements for a future discussion.

Celebrate the freedom to pitch your products in retail stores, online and through industry-focused tradeshows.

Celebrate your ability to hire the best people you can find to create those products and help market them at the tradeshow of your choice.

With freedom comes responsibility: you have the freedom to exhibit as modestly or extravagantly as you can. You also have the responsibility to present the best image that you and your team can assemble based on your ability and resources. You have the responsibility to squeeze the most out of those talents and resources as you can muster.

As an American, I have the freedom (and responsibility) to quibble about the way our country is run, and no doubt if you and got together over a beer we’d find we disagreed on a lot. But I would be that we’d probably agree on more than we disagree on.

So let’s let freedom ring and celebrate our diversity – and what we have in common – today.

© 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