The Tradeshow Marketing Checklist – 16 Essential Tips

Trade shows help companies get noticed and are a golden opportunity to make a great impression on your target market. When you exhibit your company’s products and services at an annual industry trade show it can be expensive so you don’t want to forget anything!

What do you need to succeed at trade shows? If you can check these 16 points off your list, you’re well on your way:

Align your trade show goals with your overall marketing and company goals
Create goals that are specific, measurable, and timely
Pay early to avoid rush charges and (surprisingly high) late fees
Booth space rental is about one-third your budget, for the rest invest more in areas that give you the best R.O.I.
Pick shows with an audience that best matches your target market
Go back to the highest R.O.I. shows from previous years
Design your exhibit to boldly and clearly communicate who you are, what you sell, and why your prospects should buy from you
Design your exhibit to support your booth staffers as a workspace…and work to keep your ongoing expenses down
Reach out to attendees before the show, via social media, phone, email, mail, ads, and the web
Offer attendees something of value (sales sheets, presentations, demonstrations, show specials, product giveaways branded with your logo) in exchange for a visit
Select motivated, friendly, knowledgeable booth staffers
Train your staffers to handle the steps to shorter trade show interactions: engage, present, qualify, and close
Capture at-show, on paper or electronically, the prospect info your sales team needs after the show — and then give it to them after the show
Before the show even starts, prepare a person, materials, and a database to fulfill your leads…and an all-out effort ready to follow up leads after the show
Plan ahead to give yourself more time to adapt to problems, especially for international shows
Take a binder with all your existing contracts and contacts so you can add new leads & follow-up with sales conversion once the show is over

Below are some examples of tradeshow stand-up & pop-up banners we’ve created for some of our clients. We’d love to create brand-centric displays for your next tradeshow!

iQbranding Portfolio - Display - Achieve Fitness

iQbranding Portfolio - Display - Strive Fit

The Tradeshow Marketing Checklist – 16 Essential Tips

The Tradeshow Marketing Checklist – 16 Essential Tips

Trade shows help companies get noticed and are a golden opportunity to make a great impression on your target market. When you exhibit your company’s products and services at an annual industry trade show it can be expensive so you don’t want to forget anything!

What do you need to succeed at trade shows? If you can check these 16 points off your list, you’re well on your way:

Align your trade show goals with your overall marketing and company goals

Create goals that are specific, measurable, and timely

Pay early to avoid rush charges and (surprisingly high) late fees

Booth space rental is about one-third your budget, for the rest invest more in areas that give you the best R.O.I.

Pick shows with an audience that best matches your target market

Go back to the highest R.O.I. shows from previous years

Design your exhibit to boldly and clearly communicate who you are, what you sell, and why your prospects should buy from you

Design your exhibit to support your booth staffers as a workspace…and work to keep your ongoing expenses down

Reach out to attendees before the show, via social media, phone, email, mail, ads, and the web

Offer attendees something of value (sales sheets, presentations, demonstrations, show specials, product giveaways branded with your logo) in exchange for a visit

Select motivated, friendly, knowledgeable booth staffers

Train your staffers to handle the steps to shorter trade show interactions: engage, present, qualify, and close

Capture at-show, on paper or electronically, the prospect info your sales team needs after the show — and then give it to them after the show

Before the show even starts, prepare a person, materials, and a database to fulfill your leads…and an all-out effort ready to follow up leads after the show

Plan ahead to give yourself more time to adapt to problems, especially for international shows

Take a binder with all your existing contracts and contacts so you can add new leads & follow-up with sales conversion once the show is over

Below are some examples of tradeshow stand-up & pop-up banners we’ve created for some of our clients. We’d love to create brand-centric displays for your next tradeshow!