Trade Show Events ? Do?s and Don?ts

You can love it or you can hate it but there is no escaping trade shows in a business environment. If you happen to be in the Sales and Marketing division in an industry where trade shows are a part of the marketing plan, it is more than likely than not that you will be involved in them sooner or later.

Trade shows have been an excellent forum for generating awareness of the products and services of a company as well as generating leads in the short run. If you are an entrepreneur or a sales professional entrusted with the task of participating in a trade show, you should consider two major points while choosing the perfect trade show booth: Location and neighbourhood. The perfect mix of these two criteria is likely to get you the maximum bang for your buck.

? Location is everything. Try and get in early in the tradeshows which features regularly in your company's calendar to get good exhibit spots. Corner booths with two sides open are the ones which are snapped up the fastest. Location is probably the most critical aspect to consider in a trade show and it is really a no-brainer when you recall all the trade shows which you have been to as a visitor and have skipped most of the booths placed at the end of aisle.

Some of the don'ts while choosing the location are:

? Don't choose the booth next to food outlets or conference hall entrances as none of the people heading in these two directions are usually interested in the booths. They are most likely making a bee-line to the food court to beat the lunch crowd or are running late for a conference. It is a sad sight to see visitors rush past your stall headed

? Don't pick the booth near equipment areas or loading bays even if you are getting a two-sided open booth. Need I elaborate this? Audio equipment put near your booth is likely to drown your voice most of the times and nearness to loading bays will result in mostly seeing men in overalls rather than 'real' tradeshow visitors.

? Consider thy neighbour. Well this logic can work both ways, if you are next to a large multi-tier display, then you can attract considerable footfall during the trade show. On the other hand, if you have a reasonably small booth next to a large display space, then you might get completely dwarfed.

Let's take another scenario. If you choose to be part of a section of similar style booths, the visitors are likely to pace their speed down the aisle in a manner which would be allow them to spend some time to see all booths and they are not likely to be in a hurry to get to a larger display. You need to decide this on a bit of gut instinct. Who your neighbour is also might influence your decision.

Some of the don'ts while checking out the neighbours are:

? Don't choose the booth next to your competitor. The result is going to be a waste of time is trying to check out what is happening in their booth and agonizing about each and every visitor who stops by.

? Don't choose an unrelated industry segment display. If you are dealing in networking, it might not be a great idea to choose a stand in an e-commerce space.

Personally I tend to hang around the centre of the trade show where most of the action is. Thus the aim should be getting to the section where we can see most number of displays and decide what interests us most. One of the best inputs to choose the tradeshow booth location and not listed above is previous experience. A number of trade shows have their peculiarities which might only be realized by previous participants so it is suggested that you speak to colleagues who have attended the show before you. I hope that the above suggestions help you find the perfect booth in the next trade show!

Patty Stripes is an editor for The Trade Show Booth, check out her latest articles about using a trade show exhibit booth, used trade show display and advantages of a compelling trade show booth design

---

The Information Publishers Secret Resource Guide To Blow Customers Away!

Have you ever heard the saying, "Give and you shall... Read More

Looking for Sky In All The Wrong Places

Ever sit with a single puzzle piece of clouds and... Read More

A Business In One Sentence

Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank... Read More

10 Awesome Ways To Attract More Orders

1. Create a free ebook directory on a specific topic... Read More

SMS for the Estate Agent - Targeted Marketing Tool, or Legal Minefield?

Imagine having at your disposal a means to immediately inform... Read More

Your 30 Second Commercial

This tip is so simple, that many people we've talked... Read More

Marketing Yourself and Your Business to Thriving!

We all watch the commercials on TV. We hear them... Read More

5 Ways To Entice Your Parallel Market to Trade Links

Lots of people get confounded when attempting to exchange links,... Read More

Marketing Lessons from Santa

If a nonexistent man can change the world and millions... Read More

What Is Better Than FREE?

Oh come on! FREE is free. Zero, zip, nada, zilch.... Read More

4 Steps To Increase Your Job Sign Marketing

It's no secret that using a job site sign can... Read More

How to Get a 100% Return on Your Marketing Investment Guaranteed!

One of the most effective ways to market your products/services... Read More

Whats In It For Me?

Sometimes, one of the most difficult things to teach beginning... Read More

Database Marketing: Secrets To Skyrocket Your Online Profits Using Database Marketing

What is database marketing?Database Marketing is the gathering and storing... Read More

Youre Halfway There!...Or Not Part 1

The year is almost over and the last half of... Read More

Always On Stage - 3 Quick Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors

Do you feel uncomfortable when you're in the trade show... Read More

Five Mistakes Absolutely Guaranteed to Drive Away Your Best Clients

We all work hard to attract even one paying client.... Read More

Marketing Operations Elevates Public Relations and Communications Professionals

Is your marketing department taking advantage of MOM and MRM?... Read More

Is A Marketing Plan The Same Thing As A Communications Plan?

How does a marketing plan relate to an organization's communications... Read More

Marketing Secrets #101- Your Most Important Sale

Which sale is the most important one you will ever... Read More

The Easiest Marketing Plan Youll Ever Find

When it comes to marketing there's simply too many choices.... Read More

Service Marketers; How?s Your Packaging?

When a shopper picks up a product in a store,... Read More

Getting New Clients - When Only a Few is More Than Enough

Many of the business owners I speak with are looking... Read More

Marketing Tips - Ten Quick Marketing Actions

It is often difficult to manage to do marketing tasks... Read More

When, Why, and How to Use Mailing Lists

Mailing lists may be the cause of more heartbreaks than... Read More

Top 7 Ways to Get Your Products in the Hands of Celebrities

Celebrities are the tastemakers that drive brand awareness and usage.... Read More

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Works (Its Cheap, Quick, Affordable and More)

Used the right way and with the right audience, postcards... Read More

Did You Know Your Mind-Set IS Your Problem?

How To Save Yourself From The Pits of Marketing Cyber... Read More

Down To The Wire

When you want to win and woo new clients with... Read More

A Perfect Partnership for Business

Too often we small business owners get caught up in... Read More

Marketing to Success on a ZERO Budget

TOP 10 TIPS TO GET YOU MARKETING TO SUCCESS ON... Read More

7 Cheap & Easy Ways To Get Prospects

Here are some quick techniques you can put into place... Read More

Does Your Marketing Plan Need Changing?

Change is good, right? Not always. But when is it... Read More