Thanks

April

Hello April,

We have seen smaller companies grow their business because of their trade show marketing strategies.  I actually just read the following information pertaining to CES in Las Vegas -

The 2009 International CES runs January 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will feature 2,700 exhibitors, including more than 300 companies exhibiting for the first time. These companies will unveil their
latest CE S products on more than 1.7 million net square feet of exhibit space.

More than 300 companies exhibiting for the first time, that’s quite impressive.  With such a huge market place and stiff competition in the electronic industry, many of the smaller companies are branching out and taking advantage of trade shows and going after their potential buyers and customers on the trade show floors.

It is necessary to do your research to find out where similar companies are exhibiting and what shows they attend on an annual basis.

Finding an exhibit house that can assist with every facet of your trade show display and exhibit program is one of the best solutions, especially if you are new to trade show marketing.  Being able to show the value of your trade show program is an absolute must.  Having a system in place for budgeting, analysis, follow up and reporting will help you immensely when it comes to planning your trade show.   Here is a unique offering for not only a trade show display but a comprehensive exhibit program management tool, this may be a great place to start.

What are some of the steps to think about when you begin your exhibit design and your strategy for trade shows?

When you begin the process of designing your trade show exhibit, you need to ask yourself some basic questions.

1. What kind of image do you want to convey with your trade show exhibit?

Your exhibit booth should project your company’s personality, this will create an emotional reaction with your prospects, and people do buy for emotional reasons. If your trade show exhibit is inviting and comfortable, prospects are more at ease, and more likely to approach you with their questions.

2. Decide early on what you want your trade show exhibit to accomplish.

The goals you set can dictate the size of your trade show exhibit. With an open and inviting trade show exhibit, you can generate leads and boost your traffic. If you are more focused on building stronger relationships with key individuals, you should dedicate more of your trade show exhibit to conference rooms. If you are trying to build brand awareness, it is best to have big bold graphics in your trade show exhibit, creating a bigger impression.

3. What size booth is right for you?

If you are attending more than one trade show throughout the year, you can create several trade show exhibit sizes, with a custom modular exhibits rental. With proper trade show planning, creating a larger trade show exhibit for your national shows, and keeping in mind that these trade show rental exhibits can be customized and re-configured for smaller regional shows, saving you money and still presenting a consistent look and feel.

4. How can you stretch your exhibiting budget?

Using compact, lightweight trade show exhibit components will help alleviate costs of shipping. An effective trade show exhibit that is reconfigurable will allow exhibitors the ability to create many exhibit solutions from one exhibit. Working closely with your trade show exhibit designer and discussing your long term goals will allow them to plan accordingly and offer solutions.

5. What matters to your target audience?

Answer this question, then make sure that’s what you’re showing on your exhibit. You’ll get to what matters by determining the benefits your clients are seeking and then what your key advantages are. It can take a lot of discussion to arrive at this, starting with what your products are, moving to their features, then the benefits of these features, until you distill the message down to the key benefits that drive your buyers purchasing decisions.

6. What message do you want your visitors to get in the first three seconds? And what do you want them to remember after visiting your trade show booth?

Do you want them to remember your new products, your competitive advantage or your company’s brand image? Don’t flood your trade show exhibit with to much information. Your trade show exhibit should not overload your prospects, by focusing on specific product areas; you are allowing them to gravitate to the part of your trade show exhibit that will give them the solutions they are looking for.

7. What functional needs do you have?

In creating a trade show exhibit display, you are also creating a temporary workspace for your booth staffers. What are their needs? You may need to create areas for demos, presentations, conferences, and storage. And still balance that with your need to create an accessible trade show exhibit with graphic messages.

Jennifer

Thanks for your question Jennifer – A lot of people believe that the option for trade show exhibit rental was for the smaller start up comings that were less stable and had smaller marketing budgets.  This is not the case any longer, the value of trade show exhibit rental has grown.

With cost savings & the vast amount of flexibility, trade show exhibit rental allows a company to change their mind when it comes to Product Displays, Demo Stations, Graphics, Kiosks, and branding messages, depending on your marketing objective for any given trade show.

Many companies find that attending several trade shows annually works best for them.  With the flexibility in exhibit rentals, you can add specific accessories to your trade show exhibit for each convention or event you are planning on exhibiting at.  Targeting and tailoring to different audiences with different products and services throughout different markets.

A good question to ask yourself is; What happens when you have decided to exhibit at back to back trade shows or two events happen simultaneously?

This is where trade show rentals can open up several possibilities.  This also gives you the ability to change the basic look of your exhibit, with out the ship, store & refurbishing that you would face with a custom purchased exhibit.

When you own a trade show exhibit, you are responsible for the trade show services, having to store it, have it maintained, ship it to the various venue’s, have it installed and dismantled.  With trade show exhibit rental, that responsibility is taken away from you, allowing you more time for trade show planning, training and strategies.

What are your suggestions for smaller exhibit spaces?

Carol

Thanks

Jenny