As with many things in life, it is important to plan thoroughly for trade show displays. There are a huge number of components that make up the sum of the trade event experience, and only by methodically preparing will a company be able to have a successful time at the event. Plenty of planning beforehand will increase the ROI, ensuring that participating in a trade show exhibit will be beneficial.

Test Concepts And Get Opinions

Before the show, everyone planning on being a part of the event day must be kept up to speed on the planning. Companies should take the time to hold meetings specifically related to the trade show exhibit. There should be committees that work on marketing, graphics, arrange drayage handling, and consult with vendors.

The content and headlines of promotional materials should be easily understood and get your company's message across effectively and quickly. If different team members have differing interpretations of some of your marketing materials, this could be an issue. Graphics also need to effectively communicate your product or service. Have multiple people read the headline and taglines to catch any grammatical errors or unintentional double entendres.

Set A Main Objective

Deciding on a main goal for attending the trade show exhibit is probably the most important step in the entire planning process. Without an overall purpose, the event would be meaningless. Before staff members get bogged down in the extraneous details of planning a huge trade show display, they should decide on the primary objective. Is it simply to increase sales? If so, define this a bit further and set some measurable objectives. Do you want to get 10 qualified leads or 30? Are you introducing a new line of products or services or just maintaining your status in the market with your standard offerings? These are all questions the company will need to address. The team has to agree on a defined objective and base the rest of the show planning around the stated objective. Otherwise, you will probably fail to think the event was worthwhile.

Practice And Delegate

While the employees working at your trade show display set out to become a part of the event process, they should arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible. Staff should fully educate themselves about all the company's offered products and services, particularly those that will be emphasized at the exhibit. It is a good idea to have team members ask each other questions they think may come up at the trade show exhibit.

Also, make sure to delegate responsibilities. Everyone should know what he or she is in charge of. It is especially important to assign someone to lead follow up after the show. One of the biggest failures that result from trade events is a slow, inefficient, or even non-existent follow-up procedure. Make sure to follow up promptly or risk losing out on a great lead.

Testing graphic and verbal ideas, getting opinions, defining a main objective, practicing scenarios, and delegating responsibilities will let companies be more successful at trade show exhibits.