Marketing 101 for Trade Shows

How to prepare and create a professional display for any size trade show. How to draw customers to your table and make the most of that initial contact.
Marketing 101 For Trade Shows

When choosing a trade show or fair, do your research. Check the price of the tables or booths and make sure it's within your marketing budget (remember to get a receipt for tax purposes). How many people attended

last year. This should determine whether it is a good investment and how much stock you would need to have on hand. If it is a large number of people, you will need to determine if you have enough stock on hand, and, if not, do you have enough time to make more. Don't rush preparations. If you just found out about it last week, be realistic and to whether or not you can really accomplish what you need to do to prepare properly and appear professionally polished at the show. Research what type of vendors they attract. This will determine two things, is your merchandise up to or below what the others are selling and are they complimentary to the look and feeling of the show. You do want your merchandise to stand out, but you don't want to be selling wraps when everyone else is selling farm equipment. However, you could

Find out what their general price range is for their merchandise. This will be directly related to what they are selling. If there is a vendor selling accessories carved out of wood, naturally, it will be expensive. However, we are

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referring to the general price range of a variety of vendors. There could be the accessories guy, but there could also be someone selling fudge and another person selling gift baskets. The last two would definitely be selling at a lesser cost.

Lastly, find out how the sales were last year. You could look at a show that charges $200 for a table and another one on the same day that charges $50. When you check, the $50 show averaged sales of about $10 for the vendors. The $200 show averaged sales of about $300. (Keep in mind, we are talking averages) Personally, I believe you would have to sell a lot of chocolate bars to make a $200 show worthwhile. Those attending these larger shows, should be the businesses who offer a wide range of personalized items, not just bars. Any of the above information can be collected with a phone call to the organizers. If they are reputable, they should be able to give you 5 or 6 names of vendors from previous years as referrals. If they cannot give you names, then it probably would not be advantageous show to attend.

You should perfect the look you want the table to have before you go to the show. Take a table in your home and set it up as if you were at the show. Move things around, try different looks. Make sure you are satisfied long before you go. This will make your set up on show day as easy and stressless as possible. There is nothing worse than going to set up and the look you thought would work doesn't. It can work against our self-confidence and make you feel unprepared, as you now have to rush through taking it down and starting again. Remember, when you enter that building and start setting up your table, the organizers and other vendors are there and they are watching you. Look as professional as possible from the time you walk into that building. Practicing your set up can make it look like you "do this every day". It will also give you an added boost of confidence and extra time to relax before the doors open.

Look Professional And Draw People To Your Table

Written by: Terri James

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