Trade shows and exhibitions can be great places to turn for entrepreneurs who’re interested in advertising their businesses. If you are somebody who’s recently started a business (or plans to) then you might have heard about trade shows before.
So that you can begin attending them, this post will tell you what you need to do to prepare yourself. Preparation is essential if you plan on showcasing your business’s products and services at trade shows, as without it you’ll appear disorganised and won’t be able to sell your business to people.
Designing Your Trade Booth
If you plan on attending trade shows, you will need to design a booth. There are lots of exhibition booth designs you can browse and check out online. Looking at other people’s designs can help you pick one for yours. Alternatively, you can hire a company to do all of the work for you. In truth hiring a company to do the work for you is probably your best option. By hiring an experienced booth design firm you won’t have to worry about making mistakes or getting things wrong.
Entrepreneurs who are planning on hiring booth design companies need to make sure that they conduct extensive research prior to deciding upon a company. If you don’t conduct extensive research then you won’t be able to ensure that you are getting the best company. If you don’t ensure that you are getting the best company then you won’t get the best value for money. A good way to tell that a company’s worth working with is to read its reviews. If a company’s reviews are good across the board, it is a clear indication that you can trust them and that the service they offer is unparalleled in quality.
Organising Your Entry
You have to pay to get into trade shows. You cannot just turn up and expect to be given a seat. Organising entry is something you should begin doing a few months prior to the event. The reason for this is that trade shows generally sell out pretty fast, due to the fact that they provide entrepreneurs the perfect avenue for marketing their products. You can book your tickets online and may get a discount for doing so. Alternatively, you can call the event planning company’s office and book a place for yourself over the phone.
If you do not book your tickets early then you could end up being turned away or could have to pay a late booking premium. Late booking premiums can be excessive. In addition to booking your tickets for the trade show, make sure that you also book a comfortable hotel room in the area. You don’t have to book a hotel room if the event is in your town or city though. A comfortable hotel room will give you somewhere to base yourself from for the duration of the trade show (as sometimes, they go on for two or three days).
Researching Competition
Before going to a trade show, you need to make sure that you research the other businesses and entrepreneurs that are going to be there. If you do not take the time to learn about the other businesses that are going to be present then you will not know what your competition is going to be like. When you attend trade shows, the purpose is usually to sell products and get your business’s name out there. If you are unable to do this because other businesses are overshadowing you, attending will be a wasted effort.
So that you were totally prepared, prior to visiting make sure that you researched businesses that are going to be in attendance besides you. You can usually do this by getting in touch with the event planner and asking them for a full itinerary and map of the venue. On this map you should see all of the different businesses in attendance marked according to where their booths are. Make sure that you learn as much as you can about your competition so that you can ensure your booth looks better than theirs. As long as you prepare and plan this shouldn’t be hard to do.
Consider Giveaways
At your booth, if you want to attract people then one of the best things you can do is to give them free items. Giving people free items is one of the best ways to get people to approach you and see what you are offering. You should not give them anything of any real value though. Most businesses just give away T-shirts and other cheap items like this. Make sure that when you are planning your free giveaways you have your business’s name printed on each item. This is so that people remember you.
If you do not print your business’s name on the items that you are giving away for free, you won’t be able to ensure that they do remember you. If they do not remember you then it’s a waste of time and money giving them things. If you are unsure what to give out for free, hire a booth design company and they’ll be able to help you. Those companies are very effective when it comes to executing successful trade booths. They’ll be able to ensure you have the most desirable, interesting items at the trade show.
Having Patience
Trade shows can be stressful. You may have days where you are at them when nobody comes to your booth and talks to you. You might have others when they do. Make sure that you are patient and ensure you invest as much time and money as you can into ensuring that your booth is properly designed. By designing your booth properly you’ll be able to ensure that you get interest. Your main focus as an entrepreneur attending a trade show, as stressed several times already, should be generating interest among the people who’re attending the trade show.
Trade shows can be great places to build relationships with potential clients. If you do not prepare for your appearance at one though, you won’t get as much benefit out of attending them as you perhaps could. Take this post’s guidance and follow the advice given here.
