Events are one of the most effective ways to engage prospects, strengthen client relationships and grow your organization through meetings and sessions. But, hosting events is challenging and expensive.
To reap the benefits of events without the burdens of hosting, many enterprises participate in trade shows. With an entire portfolio of trade shows on their calendar, exhibitors can seize all the benefits of in-person events without the upfront cost and complexity.
However, that’s not to say trade show planning is simple. There are many variables to consider, so it pays to list all your essentials in one comprehensive resource. Luckily, we’ve already got you covered.
Read on for the ultimate trade show checklist, along with some helpful tips and tricks to make your future events as successful as possible.
Pre-event trade show checklist
Planning makes perfect when it comes to trade show marketing. As you’ll see below, much of the work comes well before the event. So, here are some of the most important items to check off your pre-show list:
1. Choose the right trade show
Not all events are made equal. Some are more relevant than others, so determine which trade shows throughout the year are worth your investment.
Perhaps the easiest way to do this is by considering which ones your prospects and customers are most likely to attend. Obviously, any event frequented by your target market is one you’ll want to be a part of, but it’s also a good idea to think about direct competitors. Chances are you share a similar audience, so most events in their portfolio will likely be relevant to your own business interests.
2. Align event goals with sales
It’s critical for sales and marketing teams to set clear, measurable objectives before the event. This ensures they remain aligned on what matters most — which, of course, depends on your business. According to 85% of exhibitors, the two most common goals are lead generation and sales.
Moreover, having concrete and actionable objectives will help you measure success later on, which is key to securing the budget for a future slate of trade shows, conferences and more. So, whether you’re aiming to maximize brand awareness or advance your sales pipeline, ensure you also establish relevant key performance indicators (KPIs).
For example, the percentage of booth visitors converted to meetings can be a good indicator of whether or not your appointment scheduling process is effective. Likewise, measuring your impact on the business opportunity pipeline can give you an idea of how successful your sales team was at engaging priority prospects.
3. Define target accounts
Which attendees are the marketing and sales teams’ priority? Which prospects have the greatest chance of advancing your pipeline, generating revenue, or contributing to your objectives? Which current clients are in attendance and may want to engage with your experts or executives?
Answering these questions will help you prioritize your team’s time at the event. More importantly, it’ll kick-start the meeting scheduling process by establishing a list of your most critical opportunities, whether net-new clients or existing customers with big upsell, cross-sell and renewal potential.
4. Establish a budget
Account for all your basic expenses, including travel, registration, booth space rental, booth design, show services (flooring, furniture, audio-visual, electrical, lead retrieval, etc.), shipping/transportation and so on. If you’re new to the event, gather the data and analyze event budgets of similar size and location to understand what you’re likely to spend.
Of course, event costs are always on the rise. That’s why it’s a good idea to prioritize expenses that meaningfully contribute to your goals. Cut items that don’t aid your objectives, such as any that aren’t relevant to engaging trade show attendees.
5. Secure your technology
Make sure you have the requisite tools on site you’ll need to collect leads, schedule meetings, host sessions, complete deals, and advance your goals. This will likely include marketing automation software, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, appointment scheduling software and a universal lead capture. Solutions like these make it easy to streamline tasks, collect data and measure return on investment (ROI).
6. Select and design your booth space
Decide whether you’ll rent a booth design or build your own from scratch. No matter your choice, ensure your booth location is strategically placed where you can maximize customer and prospect engagements.
A trade show booth is often one of the biggest expenses. If you want to make the most of your budget, it’s a good idea to supplement your booth space by hosting meetings and sessions outside the trade show venue, such as in a nearby hotel or restaurant. Likewise, reserve your trade show booth as early as possible for optimal pricing, sometimes even 12 months in advance.
7. Reserve meeting rooms
If you’re expecting a high volume of engagements, it’s best to reserve meeting rooms in addition to your trade show booth. It’s often helpful to have a more personal setting for high-value attendees where they can discuss business in more detail. Executive meetings are frequently held in nearby hotel suites; reserving them in advance is best for proximity and better prices.
8. Contact show services and other vendors
Will you require an internet connection? A/V equipment? Food, drinks or entertainment? No matter your needs, reach out several months in advance to ensure you have ample time to secure the services you want at your booth.
9. Produce marketing material
Promotional material isn’t to be overlooked. Whether distributed during a product demo or handed out on the trade show floor, well-made marketing collateral can encourage booth visitors and leave a lasting impression on your audience.
This can include giveaways, business cards, promotional items and more. Make sure you give your marketing team enough time to design, produce and/or order these assets so they’re ready at the exhibit. Alternatively, giveaways can include links to online marketing collateral and an event-specific webpage with selected content.
10. Confirm booth staff and internal participants
Ensure you have the right people scheduled to attend the trade show. This includes relevant sales reps, marketers, product experts and executives. To help decide who should be in attendance, consider your target prospects and their specific needs.
11. Topics of Interest
Select the products and or services that need to be highlighted at the event based on the target audience and your organization’s priorities. This will also impact the right internal staff that should attend the event. Additionally, it determines the types of demos that may be needed to generate interest among your audience.
With a meeting scheduling automation platform like Jifflenow’s eEvent software, you can even automatically map inbound and outbound requests to experts, executives, meeting rooms, engagement types and topics of interest. This greatly expedites the process while also ensuring the right people are connected to the appointment. Moreover, it greatly simplifies the next step.
