You are all ready for your material handling show. Be it Modex or Promat or SCOPE or whatever. You have your space, you know what you are taking to the show. You have your display and your hotel rooms.
Yes sir, you are going to rock this Material Handling Trade Show!
But let me ask you this, does anyone outside your company and the show sponsors know you are coming?
Sure some people may have seen your name in the guide to the show, but besides that have you really told anyone that you are going?
So why not? There are a lot of excuses; budget, it’s the sponsors job, we don’t know anyone, the sun is in my eyes, my shoes are untied.
All pretty good excuses.
Now I am going to give you a tip that most people don’t know. 70% of vendors at a trade show don’t do any pre-marketing? None. So knowbody outside thier company and the sponsors know they are coming either.
That means if you are in the 30% that does you have a tremendous advantage.
So you can be the people that hope they have a “good spot” and people will stumble past their booth. Or you can do a little marketing and get some ROI out of the show.
The first idea is to check with show management and see what help they offer. Depending of the size of the show and your sponsorship level you might have a great deal of opportunities, some of which are free.
So the best way to decide which ones to do are to evaluate each one on three criteria.
- How much does it cost?
- How much time will it take?
- How much value will it add to your company?
Blog articles: Write a blog article about the event and why you are attending. What new feature, service or product will you be exhibiting? (surprisingly this is why 85% of attendees come to show is to see new things)
Social Media: Don’t forget to mention your attendance on social media. Check with show management to see if there is a social tag for the event.
Emails: A few months before your show start mentioning it in your email newsletters to your customer base. Heck if it is the week before start doing it. If it is a regional show perhaps you should send a few extra emails to companies in that area.
Show Site: Don’t forget about the site the show has. Lots of time you can get a mention or maybe a picture of your product on the site. If nothing else you get links to your site.
Note: Don’t Spam
Offer them invites to any event you may be planning in concert with the event. (You aren’t planning an event, why not!?)
Want to learn more about how to plan and market for your material handling trade show? Contact material handling marketing and let’s talk.