So many trade shows, so little time! For many of our GO TEXAN members, a trade show is not just a marketing strategy - it's a necessary investment for success. The Texas Department of Agriculture is pleased to share with you this first in a series of e-mails packed with tried-and-true trade show tips to help you kick it up a notch - GO TEXAN style - and help you get the most bang for your hard-earned buck! Be on the lookout in the near future for more helpful e-mails to come.
Looks good to you?
Take some photos of your fully assembled booth and pack them inside the exhibit case. This way your staff and the exhibit set-up team that puts it together will know what it's supposed to look like when finished. If you change graphics for different shows, have a photo of each possible configuration.
"Here, have our 900-page catalog!"
Keep your trade show handouts small and people will be more likely to carry them home and keep them. People get weighed down at shows, so the heavy, expensive literature kit you hand out might just end up in the hotel trash. Your handout gives you a good reason to follow up later to ask if the prospect would like more complete information.
Send leads home by air
Don't ship your leads home in the exhibit crate. It's a pretty good chance that your leads might end up in storage with your display until next year's show. Instead, bring a FedEx bill of lading and a big envelope so you can send all of your sales leads ahead to the office. It saves carrying more items on the plane, and with your own airbill, you can quickly drop off your package at any FedEx box or with a courier at the show.
Here comes the chief
The chance to meet top management executives of your company is an exciting plus to booth visitors. In your pre-show mailings, tell buyers and prospects that the president of your company will be in your booth. They might be more likely to come by to meet him or her.
Taken from Exhibit Marketing, Volume 7, Number 3, February 1998
