Tradeshows Still Work

Trade shows are still a very vital form of marketing. Despite the growth of social media, there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face with your customers. It’s networking in its purest form.

What’s Your Hook?

Frankly, very few people really care about your business. You need to make them care. If

you decide that a particular tradeshow is the right place to reach your audience, then ask yourself this: Why should someone care about your company? Are you introducing your company to the market for the first time? Are you launching a new product? Are you announcing a strategic partnership?

No Hook? Consider Other Strategies

If your company is exhibiting with no real hook, you may be better served considering other strategies. Send your sales force to walk the floor. Set up meetings off-site. Work with a partner. Throw a happy hour at a local bar. But don’t spend the money on a booth and all the effort that goes into it.

Set a Goal

Unlike some forms of marketing, tradeshows are measureable. When thinking about the show, ask yourself how you will measure success. Is it in names or qualified leads collected? Is it in demo CDs you’ve handed out, or the number of people that showed up at your speaking event? Whatever it is, make sure you can measure it. (I know some of you will disagree, but the number of drinks served at your happy hour isn’t a form of measurement.)

Package Your Message

Once you’ve decided internally that you have something to say, it’s time to start thinking about how to say it. Or, put another way, how to package it into a campaign. The campaign does not have to be ground breaking, although ground breaking is nice. Short of that, clear and memorable is just fine. Think about it this way: If your customers could walk away with one message, what would it be and how do I make it stick in their heads?

Fund Your Idea

At the same time, you should be weighing your campaign ideas against your budget. You may have big news, but only a small budget to communicate it. If that’s the case, your campaign may have to be more guerilla than you originally intended. Better to know that going in than to have your campaign fall flat due to budget.

Start Focusing on the Details

If done well, your message (and the campaign you build around it) should provide you with a general roadmap for the tactics you need to employ at the show. In my next few posts, I’ll take a closer look at many of those tactics, including what to think about pre-show, at the show, and post-show.