Trade Show Items

You can make your trade show experience much easier by using a portable exhibit. Since you control everything related to transporting it and setting it up, you won’t have to hire firms to for those things for you.

In contrast, a large exhibit requires you to rely on others to ship it and set it up - during which any number of problems can arise. For example, your exhibit could arrive late at the trade show, or not arrive at all.

Budget Guidelines for Trade Show Marketing

B’techa didn’t know - Trade shows are the second largest expenditure of corporate marketing dollars in the US. Only the field salesperson costs a company more.

How much of that money is wasted? Oodles - if you don’t know what you’re doing and how to track it.

Most people who consider trade show planning think of it in terms of logistics planning. In other words planning for details like finding an exhibit, producing graphics, shipping the exhibit to the show, ordering services, etc.

But seeing the full potential of a trade show program for your company requires a different type of planning. It requires setting objectives for show participation for your company, and short-range goals for each show you plan to attend. This show plan should be a written document that drives show participation decisions from show selection to exhibit design, to evaluation and measurement tools.

Let’s face it. It’s tough to stand out at most trade shows. Your competitor might have a wall of flat-screen TVs showing some slickly-produced promotional video. Or maybe they’ve hired a fleet of silicone-enhanced spokesmodels to help hawk their business. Who can compete with that?

Well, autumn is upon us and with the onset of this season comes cleaner air and colourful outdoor scenery and, it is also prime season for trade shows. Sure, trade shows happen all throughout the year but, with many areas recognizing small business month/week, there is a greater opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their products or services to their target markets.

You must constantly bear in mind the real function of your exhibit at a trade show and weigh each idea to see how it contributes to reaching your goal. Look at the function of your exhibit. What is it trying to do? What are you trying to achieve through its use? It makes a difference in your design thinking whether you wish to demonstrate a machine in operation to the widest possible audience, or if you expect to limit attendance in your booth to a very few important customers. Will you be doing a hard sell to anybody who stops by?