Practical Strategies to Maximize your Trade Show ROI

You probably attend trade shows to generate new sales leads, keep up to date on what's going on in your industry or build awareness for your company.

Planning is the key to trade show success

The success or failure of your trade show efforts depends on whether you make the necessary preparations to maximize your return on investment.

With that in mind, here are 5 tactics for your next trade show.

1. Have a marketing plan

Among other things, a comprehensive marketing plan should include a review of all marketing tactics used by your firm in the past year and those you plan to use in the coming year. If exhibiting at a trade show makes sense in this context, it's likely worth the expense.

2. Select the right show

There are two key questions you should ask when determining which trade shows and events to attend. How many of the people I really want to meet will be at the show? Are there other ways (online marketing, advertising, cold calls) to reach them and achieve this goal more efficiently? Once you've decided which shows to attend, outline clear business development objectives, like how many sales leads or outright sales do you want to generate?

3. Target high-value visitors before the show

You can attract more top sales prospects to your booth by reaching out to them before the show. Promote your presence at the show on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, and use your email contact list to invite prospects and other potential business partners to visit your booth.

4. Give them a reason to say hello

Investing in an engaging display will boost your chances of snagging the right type of attendees. Both the design of your booth and the information and gifts you give away should drive home your company's value proposition and competitive advantage.

5. Prepare to follow up

Designate a team member to enter contact information into a database, and then following up according to the contact's preference (via social media channels, email or telephone). Be sure to track the progress of the lead so you can make improvements to your business development process in the future.