Author: Oser Communications Group

Before you plan your next appearance at a trade show, talk with your marketing and sales team about how to measure trade show effectiveness. Trade shows are excellent ways for businesses to promote their brand, keep an eye on the industry landscape, engage with customers, and connect with other professionals. However, without clear, measurable goals and a concrete plan to achieve them, you might not get as much of a return on your marketing effort. 

If you develop your trade show advertising with Oser Communications Group, you will benefit from detailed analyses of multiple data sources on the effectiveness of your campaign.

Metric #1: Sales 

When you go to a trade show, your objectives should further the ultimate goal of boosting sales in the short and long term. Before you leave for the trade show, you should have baseline data on how well your products and services are selling. Consider all possible sources of revenue.

Track your sales daily during the event, and fine-tune your approach if you are not meeting daily targets.

Once you return from the trade show, continue to track sales and revenue over the following weeks and months. If your sales volume, adjusted for seasonal variations and other factors, does not increase, you might need to examine your sales funnel and sales process to understand why the trade show did not impact your bottom line.

Metric #2: Leads

Knowing how to measure trade show effectiveness means going beyond short-term profits to determine whether a trade show exhibit succeeded in setting the stage for future sales and business relationships. 

Keeping a record of the visitors to your trade show booth is a good business practice because it helps you plan follow-up engagements with them. Information about attendees lets you evaluate your interactions with potential customers and identify factors that influenced trade show success or failure.

Arrange to meet with contacts while they are at the trade show and follow up with them afterward.

Metric #3: Feedback

Conduct surveys of trade show attendees, social media followers, and subscribers to your e-mail newsletter if you have one. Find out whether trade show attendees found your presentation interesting and whether it influenced consumer intentions to buy or learn more about your product.

Use trade shows as an opportunity to measure your brand’s positioning in the mind of your consumers. Note how competitors attempt to position their brands and turn that information into actionable marketing initiatives.

Metric #4: Social Media Engagement

An appearance at a trade show is a public event that should be part of your overall marketing strategy. Promote your trade show experience through social media channels and observe interactions with your social media followers in the lead-up to the trade show and throughout the event. 

Get the Most from Trade Show Advertising with Oser Communications Group

Oser Communications Group can help you discover how trade shows benefit businesses and how to use trade show appearances to raise awareness at different points in the sales cycle. Call (520) 721-1300 to learn more about how to measure trade show effectiveness.

Running a booth at a trade show can seem like a daunting task. You’re competing with many other vendors for potential customer attention to show off your goods and services. However, getting a good return on investment (ROI) from trade show exhibits can be incredibly simple with the right attitude.

Many planners rely on trade show advertising with Oser Communications Group, but we also give exhibit advice when needed. You can use our tips to engage with trade show attendees and attract new customers and clients.

#1. Use Technology to Your Advantage

Technology has advanced significantly in the past ten years and continues to grow, allowing for new and engaging experiences. Some options do not take much to implement, like touchscreen displays, and you can even include virtual or augmented reality tools, like Google Cardboard or Oculus VR, to boost activity.

Whatever technology you incorporate should match the message of your brand. For example, you might not want to use VR for a nature-related brand. Try to avoid the gimmicks but be creative while deciding how to use technology for marketing.

#2. Recognize the Power of Art

We already see the results a good visual can provide with modern ad marketing materials. Art boosts your presence on the trade show floor, from the color schemes to the logos and displays. High-quality art attracts trade show attendees whether you use high-tech materials or a hands-on method. 

A few examples include selfie walls, animated videos, and digital signage. With a sizable budget, you can also give holographic art a shot, merging art and tech for some excitement.

#3. Try Playing Games with Attendees

No matter how old you get, there’s nothing like a good game. You can promote excitement in your product demos with bingo cards, quizzes, spin the wheel, and more. Then, if they win the games, you can reward them with special prizes!

The attendees have positive experiences with your brand, and you can give them practical samples of your product. These options can make your trade show display more memorable and increase the likelihood you’ll hear from them again.

#4. Remember That Attendees Are Human

While technology, prizes, and everything else can excite trade show attendees, they eventually tire out. You can swoop in and build positive associations with your brand when they tire out after all that walking.

Consider having a seating area or charging booth near your display. You can also hand out free snacks and drinks, especially if your brand is in the food industry. Visitors may gain enough interest to ask about your presentation without hard-sell methods.

Want to Boost Your Trade Show Experience?

Collecting leads at trade shows becomes much easier when you have the most applicable knowledge and tools. Oser Communications Group has spent over six decades building the skills to show you how to attract trade show attendees. Call (520) 721-1300 today or visit our other blogs for top-quality trade show advertising and advice.

Virtual trade shows grew in popularity in 2020 and continue to provide great opportunities to promote businesses. Instead of a single location, a virtual trade show allows you to display products and services to an international audience. The cost-effectiveness and lead generation potential keep virtual events en vogue. 

To attract those leads, you need trade show advertising and ways to keep them interested online. While our team at Oser Communications Group covers the advertising, here is what you can do to keep attendees engaged.

#1. Design an Attractive Booth

Virtual booths need the same attention to detail you would give them in real life. In a way, you need to design it more than in real life since you cannot attract them with your voice.

While a vibrant booth can bring in attendees, a more poignant element is meaningful graphics choices. You don’t need a whole host of new colors. Instead, use the same ones your brand always has and design the booth with meaningful photos and graphics.

For example, if you run a non-profit organization, some of your images can display beneficiaries. If you usually run a food truck or in-store food display, add pictures from those events. You can even add 3-D graphics and animations that show off your product or service in a video.

#2. Use Attractive Product Teasers

Depending on the virtual event platform, you can add videos to your booth experience. Videos can include some products that aren’t on the market yet to give attendees a taste of the future.

Many in-person trade shows display current and future products your clients can buy. To give attendees a memorable and meaningful experience, show them something they could only see at the virtual trade show. Product teaser videos can include unboxings, commercials, instructionals, and more.

Get creative with how you display your teasers! Videos allow you to display audio, so this is a time you can use their senses to your advantage.

#3. Include Interactive Activities and Games

Event organizers often choose virtual trade show platforms that allow for interactive features. While you may or may not be able to use live speech, many include individual and group chat rooms. Through that and documents in your booth, you can interact with attendees in ways that boost interest.

For example, you can play interactive games with people at your booth. You may have to get creative when playing games in a virtual trade show, but they can produce positive results. You can try different games that work well remotely, such as:

• Scavenger hunts
• Quizzes and trivia
• Bingo
• Spin the wheel
• Branded puzzles

Be sure to have free samples or prizes your attendees can win. If you choose physical items, ensure they can ship safely to various locations.

Need Help Understanding Virtual Trade Shows?

Oser Communications Group has over 50 years of experience serving different industries and sectors with trade show advertising. We answer questions like “What are trade shows?” and “How do virtual trade shows work?” daily.

Call us at (520) 721-1300 for a comprehensive marketing strategy to boost your virtual trade show appeal today.