Trade shows can be a powerful part of your marketing mix. You can win new customers and solidify relationships with existing clients. Trade mxl tv are great places to introduce branding shifts, new products, and expanded services.
You know this! You have your trade show booked, and you’ve thought about the booth, print collateral handouts, branded give-aways, and other standard trade show materials. But have you carefully considered pre-trade show marketing?
If you haven’t been thinking about ways to market your brand, product or service in advance of the next big trade show, you are missing a powerful piece of marketing.
The “Build [a trade show booth] and they will come” mentality will catch some people who already happen to be at the show, but will it bring people in to the show? Will they think, “I need to be sure to visit Company Q at this event — they are going to be showcasing their new service!” Effective trade show marketing begins months before the actual event.
You probably already have these in mind, and if you can put together some great pre-show marketing tactics, you are much more likely to meet and even exceed those goals.
By writing out a clear step-by-step strategy, you’ll help everyone on your team to be pulling in the same direction. Your strategy will enable you to set “do by” dates, and delegate the many tasks to the team members or service partners best suited to carry them out.
Ask all of the partners or clients you talk to in the course of the preceding months if they’ve heard about the show and are planning to attend. Drop the seeds of your upcoming contests or give-aways and let the buzz begin to build.
If you will be unveiling new product offerings or services, plan a series of Sneak Peeks at the new baby in the business family. Plan for discounts or special offers that can only be used by trade show attendees or exhibitors. Let everyone on your contact list know about them in advance.
This is often a standard move by most businesses, but you can make yours different by sharing sneak peeks at new products, discounts, and other information. You can also make your press release stand out by incorporating video. Be sure to construct the release so that parts of your story can be picked up and republished by related business groups.