Buying Right - Your First Trade Show Display
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Ya Gotta Start Somewhere
Entering into the competitive trade show world as a young and perhaps inexperienced business person, can leave you somewhat in awe in realizing that you not only have to compete with other smaller businesses who have a few years of experience on you, but far too often you have a competitor who's in addition to having a good product, is a Fortune 500 company and can market you into oblivion.
What's your first step?
Perfect 10 - trade show displays
Where are you Sitting in the Bus?
So where do you start? Why not with the 101 basics?
Before you began your business, you had to sit down and do an objective marketing analysis to see if there was a reason for being in business in the first place which probably included:
1) What do I do or have that's unique?
2) What's the value proposition of the target market that I'm aiming for?
3) Can I get the product to market in a cost effective manner to that audience?
4) Do I have the manpower and financial resources to get my product to market?
5) You get the picture.....this is the normal stuff!
Click here to check out our Getting Started Resources
Before you began your business, you had to sit down and do an objective marketing analysis to see if there was a reason for being in business in the first place which probably included:
1) What do I do or have that's unique?
2) What's the value proposition of the target market that I'm aiming for?
3) Can I get the product to market in a cost effective manner to that audience?
4) Do I have the manpower and financial resources to get my product to market?
5) You get the picture.....this is the normal stuff!
Click here to check out our Getting Started Resources
- Competitive Analysis
Now The Show Begins
If You Can't Sing and Dance at the Same Time.....
Unfortunately, those of us who ultimately ended up owning a business, landed there either because we were a good salesperson, or sometimes we were the engineer that had the technical know how to create a product with a big upside. Did that mean that we knew how to run a business much less know how to wear all the hats and make it work? No really and that' why when new products are headed to market via trade shows, the person spearheading the effort normally has never brought something to market in this arena before and certainly doesn't have the skills to do it right the first time. So where do we begin? Don't Look Like the New Kid On The Block
You Might Be, But You Can't Afford to Look Like It!
When you hit the show floor for the first time, your booth number becomes your storefront, and the scary part of it is that now your prospects can evaluate you and all your competitors one at a time as they stroll down the aisle. How do you hit a home run?
You have to create a large image of your product or something that represents your service that will give passers by a "great" first impression of your company and/or your brand. Also, if that image alone doesn't communicate "exactly what it is that you sell" you've failed miserably, so begin now to determine how to do that. Your ultimate success depends on it.
With that having been said, you may or may not have the budget to be everything you want to be at the first show where you'll introduce your company and product to the world, Don't despair! Just remember the following:
a) You don't have to buy an expensive booth; you can rent one and spend the majority of your cash on the most important thing which is the graphic. Don't commit the cardinal sin of exhibiting and ever think you can go back to the woodshed and "make your own display" that will be just as good as the others and will save yourself a few bucks in the process. Honestly it will take 10 years for that image to get out of the minds of those attending the show who see you making a fool out of yourself and destroying your brand. Better not to even go to the show than to do that.
b) Use a professional designer and photographer to perform the creative.
c) The images that are taken and the creative that is done for the booth should also be used to create hand outs in your booth during the show.
d) That same image should also be used on a postcard to do a pre show mailing to a targeted group of attendees who will be at the show. (this service is provided by the registration company that the show management uses for your event)
e) Once you have something that looks nice, don't go on the cheap and refuse to get the lighting that's needed to make the image stand out so you can be noticed.
Just remember that the image that you create at that first show is the image that the majority of your future customers will remember for a lifetime. A good analogy might be to say that it's okay not to be rich, but bad manners is never an excuse.
See our complete line up of trade show displays at ShopForExhibits.com
Lowell Nickens LinkedIn Profile
You have to create a large image of your product or something that represents your service that will give passers by a "great" first impression of your company and/or your brand. Also, if that image alone doesn't communicate "exactly what it is that you sell" you've failed miserably, so begin now to determine how to do that. Your ultimate success depends on it.
With that having been said, you may or may not have the budget to be everything you want to be at the first show where you'll introduce your company and product to the world, Don't despair! Just remember the following:
a) You don't have to buy an expensive booth; you can rent one and spend the majority of your cash on the most important thing which is the graphic. Don't commit the cardinal sin of exhibiting and ever think you can go back to the woodshed and "make your own display" that will be just as good as the others and will save yourself a few bucks in the process. Honestly it will take 10 years for that image to get out of the minds of those attending the show who see you making a fool out of yourself and destroying your brand. Better not to even go to the show than to do that.
b) Use a professional designer and photographer to perform the creative.
c) The images that are taken and the creative that is done for the booth should also be used to create hand outs in your booth during the show.
d) That same image should also be used on a postcard to do a pre show mailing to a targeted group of attendees who will be at the show. (this service is provided by the registration company that the show management uses for your event)
e) Once you have something that looks nice, don't go on the cheap and refuse to get the lighting that's needed to make the image stand out so you can be noticed.
Just remember that the image that you create at that first show is the image that the majority of your future customers will remember for a lifetime. A good analogy might be to say that it's okay not to be rich, but bad manners is never an excuse.
See our complete line up of trade show displays at ShopForExhibits.com
Lowell Nickens LinkedIn Profile
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by lwnickens
My career began in the hospitality industry in sales with Hilton Hotels Corp. After 8 years I left and started a trade show decorating business under... more »
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