One of the best places for businesses to promote themselves is at industry events and trade shows. These are events where attendees can learn about different companies and what they offer. Industry events allow businesses from a particular industry to compete for an eager customer base.
As such, these industry events are crucial for small businesses to stand out from their competition.
So how do you present your business at these industry events? What’s the best way to make a splash at such events?
This guide will show you what you need to do for your business to stand out at these events.
Set Up An Exhibit
The first step is to find a company to help you set up an exhibit. You can consider a service such as this: Nimlok Orlando Launches New Brand: Rockway Exhibits + Events
Such an organization will advise you on how to design your exhibit. Your exhibit will show your brand’s logo. It will also offer brochures and flyers that describe your business. You can also use your exhibit for giveaways or for offering services.
You want to make sure you consult a company that can help you prepare a great exhibit for your business. Let them know your business goals so they can offer a detailed consultation on preparing your exhibit.
Promote Ahead of Time
It’s imperative to get the word out there as soon as possible. The event managers of industry events will spend months promoting their events to garner a large attendance. You want to make sure you let an audience know that your business will be present at an industry event.
One of the best methods is to create an email newsletter specifically for sending updates for industry event appearances. Make sure you study how to create great emails. This way they won’t get ignored by your audience.
You also want to use social media to encourage your audience to attend an industry event. You can use social media to offer incentives to attendees. For example, you can offer to give away free tickets to the first 10 people to “like” your Instagram post.
Another option is to send direct messages to professionals on LinkedIn. You can send personal invitations to LinkedIn connections to encourage them to meet you at an industry event.
It’s likely that there’s a Facebook event for an upcoming industry event. You can send invitations to potential attendees to this Facebook event. They’ll get notifications that remind them to come to the event. You can also use this space to promote your business and what you’ll offer at the event.
Gather Contact Information
When you meet interested attendees at an industry event, you want to get their contact information. This way, you can send them updates about your business. You can also send them information on your products and services. You can even send them exclusive discounts and special offers.
At your exhibit, you should have a signup sheet where attendees can enter their names and email address. You can also create a QR code to lead attendees to a landing page where they can sign up for your email newsletter. Alternatives to a landing page can be for your company website or social media profiles.
Make sure you and your other company representatives talk to as many attendees as possible. You want to make sure you get the contact information from every interested attendee. The more attendees you communicate with, the greater the likelihood of gaining new customers.
Offer Products and Services
The best way to get attendees to remember you is to offer products and services at the event. You have to remember that attendees will speak to hundreds of other companies at the event. You have to make sure that your company stands out amongst the competition.
For example, you should always offer merchandise with your brand’s logo on it. This can include pens, t-shirts, laptop stickers, keychains, etc.
When an attendee leaves the event, they look through the merchandise they collected. They’ll look up your website, follow you on social media, and so forth. If you don’t give them any merchandise, they will likely forget about your company altogether.
Another method is to offer services at the event. For example, if you are a financial services company you can offer to give a free credit report to all attendees. A massage parlor might offer free short massages for attendees.
You can also give discount coupons to attendees. You can thank an attendee for stopping by and then give them a coupon for a product/service you offer.
Have A Game or Competition
One of the best ways to make your company memorable is to have a game or competition at your exhibit. Interaction between your company and attendees fosters a great relationship. This is a great way to ensure that no attendee forgets your company!
Let’s return to the example of the financial services company. You can play a trivia game where you ask questions on finance to the attendees. You can use the questions to assess their knowledge of finance and financial decisions.
The winner of the trivia game can get a discount or free trial of your services. You can also give a smaller reward to everyone who participates in the game.
A game is also attractive for attendees to stop by your exhibit. Attendees will walk by exhibits and won’t stop if you don’t grab their attention. Anything that’s interactive will be effective in drawing in attendees.
Come to Industry Events and Trade Shows
Now that you know the benefits of industry events and trade shows, you can prepare your company for one. These events are a great opportunity for small businesses to make their mark in their industries.
They are also one of the best ways to garner a customer base. If you follow the steps in this guide, you’ll surely succeed in growing your business.
Make sure to share this guide with other business owners. You can also find more great business tips on our website.a
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