If your goal is to have a successful trade show that brings in plenty of leads – then you need to start with research.
Catering to the interests of your trade show audience is one of the first things to consider as a presenter. Confused about where to start? We have some simple and straightforward points to consider when defining your audience for an upcoming trade show.
1. Know your Audience
Your demographic is important to establish to get to know your audience before you even get there. This will help you to establish how to plan the information and materials that you want to present for the event. You likely already know your own demographic for your service or business, but do you know the demographic for this specific trade show event?
Who is this event targeted towards and what will you need to capture that audience? Is it Homeowners? Industry Professionals? Students? Families? or Retirees? When defining your event demographics be sure to include age, gender, location, income, and anything else relevant to your business. The coordinator of the trade show should have event history and some general details to provide to you about previous attendees – Don’t be afraid to ask questions to help you narrow your target.
2. Younger demographic?
If the trade show audience draws a tech-savvy crowd, be sure to use that to your advantage! Consider setting up Live Tweeting, a photo booth OR try to make your booth a Pokemon Go stop! with custom hashtag(#AWSOME) at your vendor table.
Social Media Marketing is a powerful part of business that the majority of the younger generation participate in. You could offer a contest if they share a photo to social media using your hashtag and tagging your business profile or a contest for tweeting about their interaction with you at your booth. If you haven’t yet established Social Media accounts for your business, consider reaching out to an industry professional to help you get started! Social Media Managers can assist in pre-show marketing and promotions on a contract basis.
3. Older Audience?
If the particular trade show you are attending tends to draw an older crowd, find out how to create a space that will target their needs. Offer a comfortable place for attendees to visit during the trade show. Many venues are large with hundreds of people and booths – Make yours unique! Perhaps partner with a local coffee supplier and a local furniture company to fill your booth and create a comfortable atmosphere for attendees to take a load off while learning about your product/service. Make your booth a retreat for attendees, a place where they are restful to stay around a chat awhile.
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4. What is your target market interested in?
Research some general guidelines about your target audience and the event you are attending. Get a feel for the other types of vendors attending and connect with past vendors to learn about the demographic of the event itself. If you are attending an outdoor lifestyle show vs. a holiday gift buying expo your target audience interests are going to be different. Making your audience comfortable enough to stick around, offering beneficial products and learn about your service is the key objective.
5. Does your target market have kids?
If your target market is made up of families or parents, consider adding some child friendly activities to your booth. Bring (or rent!) a small table with chairs and include simple activities such as colouring, stickers, games and puzzles. Parents, grandparents, and guardians will appreciate the effort you have made to include their children. Plus, with the children occupied it will give you extra time to market your products/service to your perfect target market.
6. What can you bring for products or giveaways to attract them
Now that you have established your target audience think about what products they would like to see. Consider whether you are marketing to higher or lower income brackets to ensure you have a variety of products available in a wide range of prices. Many vendors offer a show special price, which is a great way to make some on the spot sales or gain some bookings for services. For example, think: regular price vs. show price on products or book your appointment today and receive a 10% discount.
7. Would your audience want games/give-aways at your booth?
Games and give-aways can be a great way to draw in a crowd and collect lead information.
A ballot with a skill testing question, a cash or service give-away or even a nomination of a friend or family member to win a prize is a great way to encourage attendees to visit your booth.
Announcing any give-away or game on your various social media channels gives attendees the upper hand and can increase the traffic to your booth before the event even begins. Be sure that each ballot asks for pertinent information, such as Name, Email, Phone Number and Business website (if applicable).
8. What message do you want them to leave with?
Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what you would like your experience to be like. Standing out from the crowd is especially important at a trade show due to the fact there may be other vendors marketing a similar service or selling a similar product. How are you going to stand out?
There are your typical print materials including business cards, flyers, or catalogues or unique ideas such as a catalogue uploaded on a branded flash drive. Setting a trade show budget can help you establish how you want to stand out and what you can afford.
9. Have you pre-ordered all of your essentials?
The last thing you want is to run out of your amazing and creative stand out materials! In our Essential Must Have Checklist for Pre-Trade Show Planning we talked about research.
Ensure you order enough branded materials and product stock to cover the expected attendees and then some! Ordering in advance saves you fast track shipping fees and gives you leeway in case of any errors.
10. Preparation is Key!
While it seems like the preparation for a trade show contains a lot of steps, rest assured, the more prepared you are the more successful you will be.
Next up in our blog series is: Preparing Amazing Marketing Materials - so stay tuned!
