Planning Your Trade Displays

Annette Piper has a post on her blog where she talks about planning to attend the upcoming Ironfest which got me thinking about expos.

Displays at expos and trade shows can be a great way to promote your business, products or services and to meet new customers and potential customers. They can also be a good way of meeting fellow industry professionals.

Many of these expos don’t come cheap so if you’re going to pay to be involved, you want to make sure you get the most for your dollar.

Before you start packing your display products, first decide what you want to achieve from the event. Do you want to sell lots of products? Maybe your aim is to gather contact details for leads… possible customers. Or do you want to educate the public about your products or industry? Knowing this will help you plan your display.

Here are a few tips for next time you have a display:

• If your main aim is to collect contact details of leads, consider holding a competition for people to enter, then ask if they would like to be added to your mailing list (always ask permission before adding people to your marketing list).
• Make sure your stand is clean, uncluttered and attractive to your target market.
• Have something on your stand to encourage people to come over to you – a bowl of lollies, giveaways, lots of colour and excitement.
• Don’t just sit behind your table and wait for people to come and speak with you… go to them, stand to the side of or in front of your display and smile while greeting people walking by.
• Check with the organisers as to whether they will supply quality covers for display tables. If not, make sure you take your own.
• Product samples or ‘Special Expo Discounts’ are a good idea too.
• Don’t forget to take a camera so you can get some great pics of your display – you never know when these might come in handy.
• HAVE FUN!

Here’s to your success in business…

Donna-Marie