How to Make the Most of Your Next Tradeshow | Aker Ink

Large or small, tradeshows can be effective for connecting with potential customers and networking with others in your industry. Exhibiting or speaking at a tradeshow helps increase brand awareness and thought leadership, and it creates an opportunity to interact with potential customers who may not discover your products or services…

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How to Make the Most of Your Next Tradeshow

Large or small, tradeshows can be effective for connecting with potential customers and networking with others in your industry. Exhibiting or speaking at a tradeshow helps increase brand awareness and thought leadership, and it creates an opportunity to interact with potential customers who may not discover your products or services elsewhere.

Make the most of your next tradeshow with early planning, prompt follow-up and more.

Create an Eye-catching Booth & Hook

You only have a few seconds to engage attendees as they walk by your booth. Carefully think about how you can design and lay out the booth elements so that they help draw people in. Options may include:

 

Take Stock of Collateral, Swag & Incentives

Plan to hand out some sort of brochure, flier, coupon or other collateral to give attendees something to reference later on. This collateral should showcase your product or service’s value and competitive differentiators. If you sell a product, include high-quality images and/or samples.

If you plan to give out “swag” items, like pens, reusable water bottles or other trinkets, think about what would resonate most with your target audiences. Are they in front of the computer all day? Maybe a mouse pad makes sense. Are they mobile workers? Consider a USB charger. Some extra thought will help ensure your branded swag doesn’t end up in the trash or junk drawer.

Determine Process for Collecting Leads

Some tradeshows may include a lead capture service with booth registration and others may not, so it is important to ensure you have a system in place to collect contact information.

Lead capture services typically require you to scan a QR code on a person’s badge, either with your smartphone or another device, to collect their info. After the show, you will have access to your list of contacts for follow-up.

If you don’t have access to lead capture technology, set up a laptop or smartphone with a Google form or spreadsheet that collects attendees’ name, company, email address and phone number. Or, you could simply set out a clip board and invite people to write down their information or ask for a business card from people you’d like to stay in touch with.

Whatever you choose, be sure your team is on the same page with how contact information is to be collected.

Build Excitement Before the Event

One or two months before the tradeshow, start promoting your involvement. Create social media posts, publish an announcement on your website and send an eblast to key contacts to spread the word. Each of these communications should include the following details:

These communications should drive home why people should visit your booth or attend your workshop. Explain what you have to offer that competitors don’t.

Smooth Sailing During the Event

During the expo, ensure your booth is adequately staffed based on the projected attendee count for the event. They should be prepared to invite passers-by into the booth, engage with them, collect contact information and land a sale.

Additionally, plan to post regularly on social media throughout the event. Share photos of the team in action at the booth, encouraging attendees to stop by, pick up swag or receive exclusive access to an incentive. You can also post about workshops a team member is hosting, or informative sessions you attend. Aim to post at least once per day on all social channels.

Diligent Follow-up

No more than one week after the tradeshow, send an email follow-up to warm leads and reach out directly to hot leads. Offer an exclusive deal or provide an opportunity to keep the conversation going. Add these contacts to relevant email marketing lists, if applicable, to keep your brand top-of-mind. You can also create an email drip campaign to target attendees specifically.

Additionally, publish a blog and social media posts recapping the event, including highlights from workshops and your booth.

Tradeshows involve a lot of planning and attention to detail. It may take one or two big shows for you to work out all the kinks in pre-planning, set up and post-show follow-up, but you’ll soon find your sweet spot that maximizes your time and drives sales.

By Aker Ink | 2025-11-17T15:42:01-07:00 December 14th, 2018 | Strategy | Comments Off on How to Make the Most of Your Next Tradeshow