Mastering Trade Show Marketing: Strategies to Boost Traffic, Engagement & ROI
Trade Show Marketing: What Actually Works, What To Skip
Trade shows are one of the few remaining marketing channels where you can stand face-to-face with a qualified buyer for three uninterrupted minutes. For a lot of categories, that's still the single best conversion environment available — better than a webinar, better than a paid click, better than a cold email in the sales team's queue.
In fact, 52% of business leaders say they get better ROI on trade show events than any other form of marketing.
That being said, putting on an exhibition of your own can be a bit confusing if you’re new. That’s why we created this handy guide to trade show marketing and trade show games. We’ll walk you through the entire process, from planning to execution, while providing tons of tips for making your event a success.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Pre-Event Marketing Strategy
2. Find the Right Trade Show for You
B. Executing Day-Of Marketing Strategy
5. Standing Out at Your Trade Show
6. How to Drive Traffic to Your Space
8. Creating a Schedule / Staffing Your Event
9. The Pivotal Role of Trade Show Entertainment in Marketing
C. Handling Your Post-Event Trade Show Marketing Strategy
11. Calculate the ROI of Your Trade Show
12. What Were Your Competitors Doing?
13. Incorporate Your Experience Into Your Next Trade Show Plan
D. Key Tools & Resources for Trade Show Marketing
14. Essential Trade Show Marketing Materials
15. Trade Show Marketing Plan Template: A Step-by-Step Guide
16. Trade Show Email Marketing: Crafting the Perfect Outreach
17. Selecting the Right Trade Show Marketing Agency
E. Specialized Insights for B2B and Niche Markets
18. B2B Trade Show Marketing: A Class Apart
19. Exploring Niche Market Trade Shows
F. Preparing for the Unexpected at Trade Shows
21. What is the Best Way to Track Trade Show Marketing Material?
22. Displaying Marketing Portfolios: Dos and Don'ts
Conclusion
Pre-Event Marketing Strategy
It all starts with planning. This is the phase before the event, where you figure out which trade show to attend, and how you’re going to make the most of it.
1. Are Trade Shows Worth It?
Before you start investing time and money into a trade show exhibit, you probably want to know whether it’s worth it or not.
The answer is: absolutely.
For starters, trade shows are a great way to create leads.
82% of attendees have buying authority (Source: Exhibit Surveys)
79% say trade shows help them decide what to buy (Source: CEIR)
49% plan to buy one of the products or services they see on display (Source: Exhibit Surveys)
So, if you do things right, your trade show display could translate directly into sales. Of course, you’ll also get a boost to brand awareness, since most folks are there specifically to learn about new products and businesses.
Finally, it’s an excellent networking opportunity. For instance, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, nearly half of all trade show attendees are in executive or upper management positions.
2. Find the Right Trade Show for You
Headed to #WDE2017? Stop by Booth EH 2816. Shop our specials, visit our mascot Annie & spin the prize wheel! https://t.co/ME7JDEHuzm pic.twitter.com/I2RFCaGTa6
— Armor Animal Health (@Armor365) October 5, 2017
There are thousands of trade shows each year. But most of them aren’t right for your business.
For example, if your products are related to home improvement, then you’d be wasting your time at a show for automobile manufacturers. If your target demographic is middle aged couples, then you’d struggle at a trade show for 20-something-year-old single men.
Some shows won’t work for logistical reasons, like being too far away.
That’s why it’s so important to choose the right show or shows for your brand. Here’s the kind of process you should follow:
Research trade shows in your industry. For instance, if you’re in the tech field, you’ll want to start with tech-related or adjacent events.
Identify trade shows that cater to your target demographic. Maybe your tech brand is focused on B2B sales. In that case, a show that attracts the kind of businesses you sell to could be a good option, even if it’s not 100% related to your industry.
Look at what your competitors are doing. What shows do they go to? How long have they been going to them? If they’ve been going to the same event every year for the past decade, that means they’re getting results – and you can too, if you follow their lead.
Consider the location. You may find a trade show that’s perfect for your business, only to realize that it’s all the way in, say, Hong Kong. The further the event, the more difficult it’ll be to get a good return on investment, since you’ll have to invest more time and money just to get there.
3. Establish Goals
A good plan starts with good goals.
Not only will they help in designing your trade show booth and strategy, they’ll give you a metric to measure your success by.
There are several types of trade show goals you can make.
Do you want to make sales and create leads? Or maybe you’re launching a new product and want to give the public a chance to check it out?
Other goals could include meeting and making connections with VIPs in your industry. Or establishing a strong reputation, separating your brand from the competition as the best of the best.
In fact, you don’t have to settle for just one goal. Many businesses will establish both primary and secondary goals.
Just make it specific, measurable, and actionable. How many sales? How many new social media followers or engagements? How many visitors to your booth?
If you’re new to this, it might be difficult to set a number. But it doesn’t have to be perfect. If it’s too high or too low, you’ll learn from it – and be able to apply those lessons next year.
4. Make Sure You’re Ready
Before you make the leap from the planning to the execution stage, you should make sure you – and your whole team – is ready.
Did you do your research on the show you’ll be attending? Do you know the type of businesses and people that will be attending?
Is your whole team on board and on the same page? Do they know about and agree with the goals you set?
Have you arranged for the needed staff to be available on the event date?
Do you have everything you need for your marketing campaign? Ex. Business cards, brochures, product samples, website, social media page, etc.
In short, this is where you cross your t’s and dot your i’s. Because once you commit to registering for the show and building your booth, you’ll be investing time and money that you won’t be able to get back.
That is, until you follow through and knock it out of the park, like we know you can.
Executing Day-Of Marketing Strategy
Here’s where the fun begins. All of that planning and strategizing is coming to life, both in the design of your booth and the execution of the actual event.
5. Standing Out at Your Trade Show
There are so many things that go into a successful trade show, from pre-event planning to following up on leads after the event is over.
However, everything basically lives and dies on your booth. An awesome, well-designed booth and activation will make a big impact, even if the rest of your marketing strategy is a little weak. On the flip side, even the tightest, most well-planned marketing strategy won’t make up for an uninteresting booth.
In short, booth design can be the difference between getting tons of foot traffic and very little, between creating an excellent impression and a mediocre one.
With that in mind, you want to create something that’s engaging and innovative. Something outside of the box, that will stand out compared to what other people are doing.
And you want to equip it with a kick-butt activation, one that attendees won’t be able to resist, whether that’s entertainment, games, snacks, or something else entirely.
Ideally, your booth design draws their attention – and then your activation entices them to take a closer look.
6. How to Drive Traffic to Your Space
Again, you don’t want people to just notice you from afar. You want them to actually stop by, stay for a while, and hopefully turn into a sale, prospect, or new contact.
That starts with a really fun activation. But there are other ways to encourage foot traffic as well.
Giveaways and other freebies are popular choices. Just make sure your freebies are interesting, not just a pen with your logo on it. It should be something people will actually value, that they’ll go out of their way to get – and not just toss in a trash can a few booths away.
Competitions are also good, especially if you combine them with that awesome activation we mentioned earlier. Think trivia or games, both virtual and physical.
People love to compete with one another in a friendly environment. It’ll encourage them to stop by, hang out, and even come back later to check the new scores.
Of course, you could always use your hot new product to bring people in. Most people visit trade shows specifically to try out new products, so if you have one, it’s a great way to kill two birds with one stone. It’ll drive foot traffic and create direct interest in your brand at the same time.
Really, there are more options for attracting visitors than we have space to mention here. The important thing is that you provide real value while standing out from the crowd.
7. How to Increase Leads
If creating leads is one of your goals for the event, you’ll need a good way to capture them. Because most people who stop by won’t immediately make a purchase or hand you their contact info.
Fortunately, people at trade shows are there to be sold to, as we highlighted earlier. You just have to nudge them in the right direction.
Lead capture could be as simple as an iPad or touchscreen setup, where they type in their info. If you go that route, just make sure to have multiple devices, so people don’t have to wait in line when things get busy.
Or you could do something a little more fun, like the Social Media Vending Machine. Visitors use social media engagement, in the form of likes or posts, to get prizes. Not only is it fun, it gives you a way to contact them later.
Regardless of which method you choose, you’ll want to prioritize the information you really value. For example, people are generally more likely to give you their email address than their email, full name, phone number, address, and Instagram, all at the same time.
So, you can either let them give the info they’re most comfortable with, or you can hone in on the contact details that work best with your marketing strategy.
The real principle: give people an obvious reason to hand over a piece of contact info, and make the act of handing it over as low-friction as possible. Everything else is tuning.
8. Creating a Schedule / Staffing Your Event
You generally have three options for staffing your event. You can use your own team, you can hire a team, or you can use a combination of both.
For instance, you can get some really unique activations through VirtualRealityRental.co, and we’ll provide an event manager to help you run them. We’ll also work with you to create a plan for the event itself.
So, if you’re hiring another group, you’ll have to make sure they’ve got a day-of plan that you can be confident in.
As for your own people, you’ll want to ensure that everyone’s on the same page and understands their role. Are they doing sales? Or are they simply there to engage with and help guests? It’s also a good idea to have someone to supervise and take charge when necessary.
Hopefully, you already know your team’s strengths. Just make it clear what you expect from them beforehand, since things can get a little confusing with visitors coming in and out, asking questions.
9. Trade Show Entertainment: Why It's The Lever With the Highest Leverage
Most booths are forgettable because the default setup — pipe and drape, a backlit logo, a rep standing next to a literature stand — is the same setup everyone else has. An activation is the cheapest way to make your booth visibly different from 100 feet out, which is most of what determines whether a qualified buyer even walks down your aisle.
Here's where entertainment actually moves the numbers:
Stands Out in a Crowd:
Exhibitors who only chase novelty end up with booths that are memorable for the wrong reason. The activations that consistently pay back are the ones tied to something the attendee can take with them — a takeaway, a leaderboard they want to come back to, or a conversation your rep was able to have because the attendee stood still for four minutes.
Engages and Educates:
An activation with a competitive or hands-on element buys you dwell time, and dwell time is where your rep actually gets to talk. A Social Media Vending Machine or a short drone course gives attendees something to do that's not "listen to a pitch" — which is exactly how you get past their default fast-walk pace.
Promotes Sharing:
The video an attendee takes on their phone at your booth reaches people who never made it to your aisle. For a few activations — Walk The Plank VR, drone racing, anything with a crowd reaction — the spectator count matters more than the queue count, and the social reach is effectively free media.
Creates Lasting Impressions:
Attendees forget booths in about three days. What they remember is whatever they physically did at one — the VR headset, the trivia round, the laser-cut piece they took home. An activation attaches a specific memory to your brand, which is what actually carries the awareness over into the post-show follow-up.
Provides Tangible Takeaways:
A laser-cut coaster, a 3D printed keychain, a branded bottle from a social-media vending machine — these outlast the show and the business card. Every time the attendee uses one back at the office, it's a free impression on whoever else is in the room. Good swag is a distributed billboard, bad swag is landfill.
The point isn't to pick the most expensive activation. It's to pick the one that matches the attendee you're actually trying to reach and the product you're actually trying to sell. A biotech booth doesn't need drones, and a gaming brand doesn't need a meditation pod. Start from the buyer, not the catalog.
Handling Your Post-Event Trade Show Marketing Strategy
The trade show is over. But your work isn’t. This is the part where you convert on leads, capitalize on buzz, and take stock of how things went. This step is crucial for both this event – and the next one.
10. Following Up with Leads
Now that you’ve gone through all that trouble to build leads, what are you going to do with them?
Follow up, that’s what!
This follow up could take a variety of forms, from an email, to a social media request, to a hand-written note or personal phone call. You can choose based on a combination of factors:
Your normal sales and marketing strategy. How do you usually follow up with leads? How can you adapt that typical sales funnel to your trade show prospects?
The way you gained the lead. For instance, if you used something like the Social Media Vending Machine at your booth, that should influence your follow up.
The amount of info you have about the prospect. Ideally, you’d have several contact options for a lead, including phone number, social media, address, and more. But… you probably don’t, at least not for all of them.
Whether the lead is hotter or colder. If someone expressed specific interest in buying your product or service, maybe just needing authorization from their team, you’ll want to approach that follow up differently than someone who simply stopped by your booth for a freebie.
No matter what method or methods you decide on, the most important thing is to strike while the iron’s hot. Don’t wait weeks to touch base with a prospect. By that time, they’ve already forgotten you – or made a purchase from someone else.
11. Calculate the ROI of Your Trade Show
After turning those leads into sales, the most important part of your post-event task is to figure out what worked, what didn’t, and how you can improve in the future.
That all starts with calculating your return on investment, or ROI, for the event. Usually, we find financial ROI with a simple formula:
Net Return on Investment / Cost of Investment x 100
You’re then left with a percentage. So, for instance, if you invested $5,000 in your booth and made $25,000 in sales, that comes to a 500% or 5:1 return on investment, which is quite good.
However, this all gets a little fuzzier depending on what your goals were and how you measured them.
For example, maybe your booth created tons of exposure for your brand. That can be harder to assign a specific dollar amount to, but you can try comparing your trade show results to those you get from your normal marketing channels.
Was the social media engagement, search traffic, or other brand buzz following your trade show appearance more or less than what you typically receive from marketing campaigns?
Of course, maybe your goals weren’t financially based. If you just wanted people to have fun and your booth provided that, then you can judge your ROI from that. Or maybe you were interested in networking, and your booth attracted some great contacts. Weigh that success against the money you spent.
Last but not least, if this was your first trade show, it should have been a major learning experience – and there’s a lot of value in that too.
12. What Were Your Competitors Doing?
If you’re smart – and we know you are – you’ll also learn from what other businesses were doing, especially your competitors.
What did they do well, that you can steal… ahem, borrow for your next show? If you were paying attention, you should have seen what worked for them in terms of drawing in visitors, making an impression, or generating leads.
On the other hand, they probably did some things that didn’t work that well. Maybe they got less foot traffic. Maybe people didn’t care about their freebies. Or their booth just wasn’t as impressive or professional as it could be.
You can learn from that stuff too, so you know what to avoid in the future.
In short, if these are businesses in your industry, going to the same trade shows you do, their results are very valuable – and should give you ideas on how to improve or adjust your own approach.
13. Incorporate Your Experience Into Your Next Trade Show Plan
With your post-event evaluations completed and the next trade show approaching, we start back from the beginning. Yep, it’s time to do it all over again.
However, this time your planning will be supercharged, since you have all of the cold, hard data we discussed above. You can keep the stuff that worked, ditch the stuff that didn’t, and hopefully create an even sleeker, snazzier, and more effective presentation this time around.
That being said, there are two basic approaches that you can take:
Trying completely new ideas, whether it’s how you design your booth or the type of activities your provide
Doubling down on the same stuff that worked for you and your competitors
Both have their advantages. But if your next booth is too similar to the last one, it does run the risk of getting stale. For example, that design or activity that was really unique and engaging the first time around may not be as popular next time.
On the other hand, doing something new is always a risk, one that might not pay off.
In the end, you want to strike a balance between trying new things and doing what works. If you change too much, you could hurt your results. But you could also lose impact by staying too formulaic.
Key Tools & Resources for Trade Show Marketing
14. Essential Trade Show Marketing Materials
Trade show marketing is a short list of physical and digital assets that have to work in concert. None of them individually carry a show, but skipping any of the core ones noticeably hurts conversion. Here's the short list that actually matters:
The Power of Digital Marketing at Trade Shows:
No longer limited to physical banners and fliers, digital marketing at trade shows spans interactive screens, QR codes leading to digital brochures, and augmented reality experiences. It’s instant, measurable, and especially appealing to the tech-savvy crowd.
Must-Have Physical Materials for Your Booth:
While digital is powerful, tangible assets like well-designed business cards, brochures, and even tangible giveaways (think branded pens, notebooks, etc.) create lasting impressions. They're the mementos that attendees will revisit once the show ends.
15. Trade Show Marketing Plan Template: A Step-by-Step Guide
Every successful expedition needs a map. Your trade show journey is no exception.
The Significance of a Detailed Marketing Plan:
A well-thought-out plan is your best bet against unforeseen challenges. It'll guide your team's actions, ensure everyone's on the same page, and provide a reference point to measure success against.
Adapting Templates to Your Specific Needs:
While there are many templates out there, the trick is to find one that aligns with your goals and then tweak it to perfection. Remember, one size rarely fits all in the dynamic world of trade shows.
16. Trade Show Email Marketing: Crafting the Perfect Outreach
Email isn’t dead; it's just evolved.
Pre-show Announcements and Teasers:
Build anticipation! Let your potential attendees know what they can expect, any special guests, and maybe even sneak peeks.
Post-show Thank You Emails and Follow-ups:
Gratitude goes a long way. A simple 'Thank You' for attending, coupled with highlights or key takeaways, keeps the conversation going even after the show.
17. Selecting the Right Trade Show Marketing Agency
Partnering with experts can elevate your trade show game to levels you never imagined.
What to Look for in a Marketing Partner:
Expertise, a solid track record, creative flair, and adaptability are non-negotiables. But also look for agencies that align with your brand ethos and understand your vision.
Benefits of Collaborating with Expert Agencies:
They bring to the table years of experience, a fresh perspective, and resources you might not have access to. It’s like having a seasoned chef prepare your aforementioned trade show cake!
E. Specialized Insights for B2B and Niche Markets
18. B2B Trade Show Marketing: A Class Apart
When businesses market to other businesses, the rules of the game change slightly.
Tailoring Strategies for a Business Audience:
B2B attendees are looking for different things. It's less about flashy presentations and more about value propositions, long-term collaborations, and ROI.
Real-world Examples of B2B Trade Show Successes:
Take a leaf from Cisco’s book. Their trade shows are legendary, perfectly balancing professional with the personal, ensuring attendees leave with value and a memorable experience.
19. Exploring Niche Market Trade Shows
Every niche has its quirks, and that’s what makes them fascinating!
Spotlight: Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show:
A blend of faith, business, and networking. It’s not just about sales; it’s about community, shared beliefs, and creating a platform for like-minded individuals.
Strategies for Unique Audience Engagement in Niche Markets:
Understand your audience deeply. The key is to resonate with their specific interests, challenges, and aspirations.
F. Preparing for the Unexpected at Trade Shows
21. What is the Best Way to Track Trade Show Marketing Material?
Lost track of your materials? There's a fix for that.
Modern Tracking Tools for Real-time Insights:
Tools like RFID chips or even simpler QR codes can help monitor material distribution, gather data on most engaged-with materials, and prevent potential losses.
Why Tracking is Crucial for Trade Show Success:
It's not just about preventing loss; it's about understanding attendee behavior. Which brochure got the most pickups? Which digital kiosk had the most interactions? These insights can guide future marketing strategies.
22. Displaying Marketing Portfolios: Dos and Don'ts
Your portfolio is your crown jewel. Display it with pride, but also with strategy.
Captivating Portfolio Presentation Ideas:
Interactive digital portfolios, tactile experiences with tangible portfolio pieces, or even augmented reality experiences can make your work jump off the page (or screen).
Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Mistakes:
Overstuffing your portfolio, not tailoring it to your audience, or relying solely on older works are missteps. Keep it fresh, relevant, and engaging.
Conclusion
Trade shows aren't merely events; they're full-blown spectacles where businesses come alive, showcasing what they do best. In the dynamic realm of trade show marketing, standing out is both an art and a science.
After all, what is trade show marketing if not an ever-evolving tapestry of opportunity?
Thinking of delving deeper? Or need a custom-tailored trade show marketing plan template? Don't hesitate; drop us a message via the form below. Let's make your next trade show not just an event, but an experience to remember.
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