Trade shows are a good opportunity to grow a business and get new leads from hungry customers with a burning need. The decision to attend a trade show is never easy because they can get expensive for exhibitors. You’ll want to maximize the opportunity if your company has decided to make an appearance.
There are countless ways to show off a product’s best side, but only a few will actually engage the audience.
The Pop Up Display
Lots of products use packaging and branding to sell. Toys and new technology are masters at this art of selling, with incredibly vivid boxes that seem to entice customers to open them. They’ve even created their own sub-genre on YouTube: the unboxing video.
If that sounds like your product, then cardboard displays can be useful tools for selling. You’ll often see a small group of employees answering questions, with a display full of products ready for sale. This tactic is all about closing the deal on the floor of the convention center. Having knowledgeable employees on-hand who are ready to sell will help improve your odds of closing a sale.
The other advantage to a pop-up display using cardboard is that it’s very easy to setup and take down. Mobility allows you to attend more than one trade show with the same sales kit ready to go.
The Product Demo
The product demo is another powerful sales tool. The goal of a demo is to schedule an appearance, so you have an audience waiting and ready for every word you have to say. This is the recipe for success, but it’s hard to pull off at a busy trade show.
Remember, your demo is competing with everyone else on the floor. That includes special panels from the industry experts attending the event. You need to be sure you’re offering a value customers can’t ignore. It might help to do a giveaway, offer a product discount or take pre-orders at the event.
Pre-orders can be a powerful sales tool if the product creates that burning desire within the customer. Plus, pre-orders help you gauge interest from your target market before you go to production.
The Webinar Demo
Similar to the live product demo, a webinar is all about convenience. Use employees at the trade show to drum up interest and record names of interested parties for the demo. Then, do some downstream marketing via email or social media to build a bit more interest.
Webinars can also be a supplement to an existing demo, something for paying customers or a special engagement for those who went to the tradeshow. These demos tend to teach insider tips and tricks and are a good chance to show some of the advanced use cases for your product.
Helpful Materials
Marketing materials are always helpful to have, whether you’re attending as an exhibitor or guest. Have full-color pamphlets that detail how your product works, and its top selling points, that you can hand out at will.
Give employees thoughtfully designed business cards to encourage outreach. Avoid cluttering these cards with over-rendered art and lots of text. Keep it simple: company logo, a color or two to add some attractiveness to the card, and contact information.
Final Thoughts
Trade shows are beneficial sales tools for growing companies because they put your products in front of an audience hungry to learn more about your industry. They can be especially effective places for existing brands to demo new products.
