Tradeshow Marketing: Leveraging tradeshows to boost your marketing campaign

Tradeshow marketing can prove to be a cost-effective and efficient exercise for quality lead generation in companies. Besides generating brand awareness, the greatest advantage of tradeshow marketing is that it levels the playing field for small as well as big players who have more experience and might in the industry. At the same time, companies get a unified platform to update themselves of the latest industry trends and new opportunities in the market.

Objectives of tradeshow marketing

A well-planned and a well-executed tradeshow can help companies achieve specific goals, which can be:

• Direct interaction with customers and their needs
• Rise in online traffic to their websites
• Creating an effective social media presence
• Creating quality fans for their blogs and emailing campaigns
• Quality lead generation leading to increase in sales

A study reveals that 3 out of 4 people who generate an effective tradeshow were sure of whom they were going to reach out through these tradeshows and what would be the outcome of these meetings.

However, tradeshows require a huge investment in terms of money, personnel and efforts behind setting up the booth and engaging the customer at the booth. Because tradeshows are usually held out of town, they demand efficient logistics and accurate planning.

Here are a few tips for turning tradeshows into an effective, internal part of your marketing campaign strategy:

Pre-sell yourself to your target audience, prior to the event

Reach your audience even before the tradeshow begins by sending emailers, direct mails and making phone calls. Showcase your products in your invites to encourage them to visit your booth. Facebook, Twitter, your website, et al, can be effective avenues to intimate your potential customers about your presence at the event.

Interact with your potential customers during the event

Cut yourself out from the clutter and put your creative energies into making your booth stand out from the rest. Arrange games, attractive and memorable give-aways, an interactive short session to share knowledge about your product or service along with a well-prepared and welcoming staff who can promptly answer any queries from your potential customers. Be sure your give-aways carry your contact details.

Go back to those who visited you, after the event

It’s easy for your potential customers to forget about you and your company unless you follow up with them immediately after the event and convert leads into sales. Within a week after the event, send an emailer or a direct mail along with your company information. However, nothing works like a personalized phone call does, to solidify your relationship. And don’t forget those who didn’t turn up at your booth. Send a “sorry, we missed you” note along with your company information or presentation for a last-minute attempt at closing the deal.

Conclusion:

Tradeshow marketing helps companies reach a large base of potential customers under a single roof, and demonstrate their product or service to help them convert potential customers into convinced customers. Tradeshows remain a preferred traditional marketing tool for companies even when more advanced tools like social networking are available today. Build the right tradeshow marketing strategies before your next tradeshow and see your company enjoy a long-term, strong relationship with your target base.