After the success of my previous blog post, five things you should never do at a trade show, I’ve received a lot of requests to list the five things I believe you should do at a trade show.
Limiting these suggestions to a ‘top five’ is challenging. There is no one-size-fits-all because what’s best for a small or medium sized company selling mobile phone accessories won’t be the most sophisticated option for a large corporation changing the world every day, and vice versa. We don’t want to compare apples to oranges but there are a few things which will work for every tech company, no matter their size or the budget.
- Get the media attention your company deserves! Send a media alert to the relevant journalists announcing your attendance at the show. Get the folks from your PR agency to schedule a few meetings for you. The reason for you being there is because there is something you want to say to the world, so use the loudspeaker and help those friendly journalists find something to write about. The more media attention you get, the more successful the trade show will be for you.
- If for some reason you do not get the desirable meetings confirmed upfront, try attending journalist events. They happen at nearly every major consumer technology trade show and are attended by prominent media representatives in a given region. There are even companies with very serious reputations, who refuse to attend trade shows and only attend for journalistic events such as ShowStoppers and Pepcom for example, where they can see all the professionally accredited journalists and industry analysts they want in one evening and reach millions?
- Engage with people on social media and join a discussion. Remember, if there are thousands of people at a show, there are tens of thousands who couldn’t make it. Don’t exclude them! Keep posting stories on your social media channels, engage with journalists and be as active as possible. The people who are not at the show will appreciate your efforts. They are your potential end buyers and are the ones who follow every step of yours online. Don’t disappoint them!
- Hire the right crew depending on the target audience you want to attract. Bring people that will attract positive attention when demonstrating your products. Hire the people according to the audience you want to engage with and remember, the more languages they speak, the better.
- Many people will promise you things, but those things won’t happen as easily as you might hope. Collect all the details of the people you’ve spoken with and start engaging with them immediately after the show. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that they will forget that they ever spoke to you. Also, take notes both during and after your meetings!
I hope you find this information useful. If you are wondering what NOT to do, check out my list of five things you should never do at a trade show.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you want to make the most out of your exhibition attendance. We can help.
