Common Mistakes in Launching a Trade Show

by Startacus Admin

Here is a comprehensive list of the most committed mistakes that a business can commit when launching a trade show, care of Ryan Farquharson, Co-founder & CEO of ExpoCart, a one-stop-shop marketplace for products and services for exhibitions and events. 

A trade show is a lucrative venture that the prominent business entities use to increase market share. Trade shows are rewarding in creating awareness, penetrating a new market, boosting sales, introducing new products in the market, and clearing dead stock. A magnificent display is critical in outshining your competitors. With a great pop up display stand, you can attract potential clients from all angles.

A classic trade show stand reveals essential information regarding your entity in a presentable way to draw prospective clients. However, there are some slight mistakes that a business can commit when launching a trade show. These may be small mistakes yet costly and may harm your business.

Here is a comprehensive list of the most committed mistakes:

1. Poor Display

Your booth display sends a signal to clients, which helps them make a quick decision whether to come close or walk away. Informative and well-curated booth design can attract an audience from a distance. The display should pass clear information and hold a message that is precise, clear, and understandable.

An ideal display should be captivating, colourful, and coordinated with your trade show. A poor display turns off the audience, and it becomes a total failure no matter how great your products are. The first impression matters; hence, it’s worthwhile incorporating all five senses: smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch.

Sense of sight determines if your brand interests clients or not. An ultimate booth display should incorporate colours or fabrics related to the brand, an exhibition of the physical products, and clear, commanding, and attractive message. Besides, with modular displays, you give your clients a chance to step in and explore what your business is offering.

2. Uninformed Attendants in the Booth

Apart from the display attracting audience, the person in the booth section should be trained and competent. It’s worrying since some companies assume the person’s work is to give out business cards. They end up hiring either temporary workers or interns to do the work.

The people in your booth are responsible for representing your brand and capability. They need to be experts who can give detailed information to potential clients. They should be in a position to answer all customers’ questions with clarity and confidence.

It’s more of marketing the products and giving the audience a reason why they should choose your company and not your competitors. They need to have negotiation skills and be friendly to win customers. An intern may not understand much about the business or the products and may end up giving inadequate information or making conflicting statements.

3. Failing to Do a Follow-up

Trade shows can be costly, and getting value for your money is rewarding. It equally takes a lot of time to prepare and get all the necessities required. Failing to follow up on your new leads makes no sense since everything goes into waste. This may eventually lead to business losses.

After the show, get in touch with your leads while you have their details, and they can still remember your dialogues. According to research by Salesforce regarding major trade shows, 80 percent of exhibitors never followed up with their leads.

Getting in touch with your leads helps you relink and nurture them to become loyal customers. Getting valuable clients who can remain trustworthy in the long run is the primary purpose for the whole event.

4. No Online Presence

Currently, social media is making a significant impact on business growth and hence, high competition. In this era, technology has made it possible for businesses to easily connect and interact with potential clients. If your business doesn’t have various social media accounts, then you are missing a lot.

Your competitors might be using several social media platforms to link with clientele and promote their business. If your business still uses traditional and outdated ways to attract customers, then your business will always be below par. Online presence sets you apart and enables you to reach more prospective customers, even from far.

Your competitors are using technology to identify themselves as experts in the industry. They are building their empire by letting their fans follow them. Nowadays, businesses that don’t embrace technology lag behind, and can never outshine their competitors.

5. No Pre-Trade Show Advertising

A business that doesn’t have a pre-show marketing plan is bound to fail. Pre-show marketing means that you have to spend to communicate with your customers in advance. It’s a potent trick since you get to know if the clients are attending the show and what they want. Their replies determine what to bring to the show and what to include in your graphics.

You spend a lot of money and time trying to attract clients throughout the year. Use social media to inform your clients about the trade show since the opportunity comes once in a while. Pre-show marketing is the best way to meet and interact with your customers and give them more details about your business and products or services.

Conclusion

Trade shows give you a great chance to shout out your business name out there and attract clients who eventually turn to be loyal customers. Avoiding these mistakes helps you outdo your competitors, and you will have busy and money-spinning counters in all trade shows.

Ryan Farquharson is the Co-founder and CEO at ExpoCart which is the one stop shop marketplace for products and services for exhibitions and events. Through our intuitive platform, we make it easy to companies to hire and purchase everything they need for their exhibitions in just a few simple clicks for venues across the UK.

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• #trade show
• #marketing
• #branding
• #exhibition
• #event

Published on: 23rd October 2019