Growth Marketers

How to promote and market your products through trade shows

Wikipedia defines “Survival of the fittest” as a phrase originating in evolutionary theory, an alternative description of natural selection”. Today, this phrase is used in different contexts. In business, which is dog-eat-dog world, where competition is ready to play dirty tricks to steal your customers,  survival depends on several factors like brand promotion, product visibility, product USP, durability, price, among others. Businesses need to devise and implement a well thought out and planned strategy in order to beat cut-throat competition, do brand building and increase their market share.

Participating at trade shows is usually an integral part of promotion campaign of both big and small players from any industry. Businesses do invest considerable amount every year in trade shows for doing brand promotion, marketing and advertising products, promoting new and existing products and build customers. Though there are different mediums to market products/services, trade shows is one of the most effective ways to reach your targeted audience and directly communicate with them. Trade shows also helps you in showcasing your products and services in front of a global audience and explore new markets.

However, to generate maximum response from a trade show, a proper planning should be in place. Before participating, businesses should have a clear cut objective as to why they are participating at the show and what they wish to gain from it. Proper research should also be done to get an insight about the audience visiting the fair, are the visitors your targeted audience, how many exhibitors or your competitors are participating at the show, how much response has the fair generated in the past, how many footfalls the fair got in the past and how many are expected in the participating year? 

Location at the trade show is an important aspect which any company should not ignore. How much response your business wiil get or how many visitors will visit your stall directly depends on where your exhibition stall is located at the fair. Try to get a stall/booth at a place which is frequented by the visitors/ targeted audience. Though you may have to shell out extra money for getting stall /booth at a good location but that money spent will do justice to your purpose of participating and you will achieve good results. There is no need to get a big stall if you are short on funds, even a small one will do. You can also get stall against a barter agreement with trade show organizers.

Also, the stall should be set up only in your industry/country pavilion. Say you are a carpets manufacturer / supplier from India, make sure that you get space in the pavilion where other carpet exhibitors from India are displaying their products rather than in some other industry pavilion say machinery. Although this seldom happens, but companies should be careful about this also. Organizers may offer you a space in non related industry pavilion at a lesser price. Who knows? and you may fall prey to lesser price!

The look of your exhibition stall/booth should be simple yet attractive and engaging. Businesses can also offer free promotional materials like promotional pen, key chains, t-shirts, bags and can also plan contests to publicize their participation effectively. Freebies and distribution of promotional brochures will bring more visitors to your booth. If you are service provider, you can keep a presentation ready for your visitors to educate them about the services you are offering.

Language always play an important role at the trade shows. If you are participating in a country where English is not the primary spoken language, than it is a good idea to hire the services of language interpreter to converse with the visitors in their local language. Brochures and advertising materials can also be printed in local language to get good response from the visitors. A language interpreter always help. Those representing the company at the trade show must be friendly, active, confident and should be well aware about the company and products so that they can engage in a healthy conversations with  the prospective customers.

The above points, if adopted, will definitely help companies in getting good response from the trade shows.

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