Trade shows present a wonderful opportunity for networking. Boosting your business profile at these incredible events requires a plan, however. Learn the right tips for pre-trade show marketing from Oser Communications Group, Tucson’s trade show advertising experts.

Our experts specialize in trade show marketing tactics. Please call us at (521) 721-1300 to learn more about our services. Then, read this guide to learn how to enjoy a successful trade show event.

Plan With Your Sales Team

Your sales team can guarantee an excellent trade show. Think about it: how many customers do your salespeople interact with on a daily basis? Have your team mention the trade show during each call and try to get solid commitments from as many clients as possible. 

Consider offering incentives to encourage visitors. A 15% discount for trade show attendees who purchase your services at the trade show itself can lead to increased booth traffic.

Adopt a Varied Marketing Strategy

Email marketing shines as the gold standard for promoting your business. Fast and effective, a few well-timed emails can provide an outsized effect. Include details about your product or service, along with information pertaining to the trade show, such as booth number, location, and special promotional deals.

Remember to include follow-up emails. Use an automated mailing service to handle your web traffic, as it takes the stress out of keeping in touch with your audience. 

However, email works best alongside other marketing media. Consider mailing physical invitations to your customers and vendors. Write a newsletter that keeps your network up-to-date about your company’s operations and mentions the upcoming event.

Use Social Media and a Website

Social media marketing is a must for modern companies. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, among others, are excellent for reaching customers and vendors. Post consistent, engaging content on a regular schedule in the months and weeks leading up to the event.

Mention your company’s deals and promotional materials and interact with your followers. Once the event starts, switch your programming to coverage of each day’s happenings, and keep up the momentum!

Pre-Show Marketing Tools

Trade show sponsors typically offer pre-trade show marketing ideas and tools for you to use. For example, they can provide you with a list of attendees that you can incorporate into your marketing strategy. The sponsor might also give you unique insights as to how to optimize your booth’s performance.

Time Your Marketing

As stated, a sustained, consistent approach to marketing works best. However, how do you time your marketing?

It’s best to start advertising for an event six months ahead of time. If it’s a smaller show, you may want to start advertising closer to the date: two or three months ahead of time. Gradually ramp up the scale of operations as the date draws closer.

Learn More About Trade Show Marketing

Oser Communications Group can help you optimize your pre-trade show marketing. We can help you avoid common trade show mistakes. Call us today at (521) 721-1300 to work with trade show advertising professionals you can trust.

When participating in a trade show, you generally want people with experience with the company at the booth. However, if you’re a startup or don’t have enough hands on deck, you can rely on temporary event staff to help promote your product or service.

Many businesses wonder how to hire event staff and what to look for in such workers. At Oser Communications Group, we offer more than top-quality trade show advertising services, helping companies present their best selves in many ways. Read more or call (520) 721-1300 to understand what to look for in temporary staff members and how the process works.

#1 Know Which Positions You Want to Fill

As with any job, you need to know the title and duties you want your temporary member to have. Doing so can help you look for people with specific skill sets to suit each position.

For example, a greeter should have amicable politeness as they ask visitors questions to help pre-qualify them for future lead generation. Meanwhile, you would need a person with a commanding presence, detailed company knowledge, and a leadership attitude for the spokesperson.

#2 Ask the Staffing Company Important Questions

The hiring process could muddy your organization and timetable while planning an event, so you may use a hiring company. However, you shouldn’t work with just any staffing agency, as it could lead to problems.

Instead, research the staffing company and find out pertinent information, such as:

• What is their hiring process?
• What types of events do they staff?
• How have other companies reviewed the staff they’ve provided?

#3 Look for the Right Traits in the Right People

To have a successful event, you need qualified and dutiful staff members. While searching “how to hire event staff,” some companies think they pick a person and move forward. Even if you don’t do the initial screening, remember that you need to complete interviews.

You don’t have to do the same detailed work for event staff as you would for full-time employees. Still, you should understand their experience and character to ensure they fit the position. Even if they don’t suit one job, they may work well in another, which you can determine during the interview.

#4 Don’t Forget to Train Your Staff

One of the most common reasons temporary staff fail during a planned event is poor training. When you hire temporary staff, while they may have experience, they need to know what you want from them. 

Take the time to educate them about the company, tell them about frequent questions they may receive, and more. If they have good information from you, they can utilize it and show you their expertise. With the training and their efforts combined, you can feel confident in having a successful event.

Have More Trade Show Questions?

At Oser Communications Group, we have accumulated over 50 years of event participation and planning knowledge to give to other companies. We can help with anything, from preparing for a trade show to finding the best booth layout. Call (520) 721–1300 for more details on how to hire event staff and other event questions today.

Your trade show presence is your time to shine, showing off your product or service to potentially interested parties. One of the main goals during these events is to find and secure marketing-qualified leads. You want to weed out people who aren’t interested and find those that would be a good fit for further follow-up.

Oser Communications Group has been offering trade show advertising services for over 50 years. We know how to qualify leads in a way that doesn’t waste your or your prospect’s time. Our methods allow efficient work and positive experiences to permeate your future marketing endeavors; learn more by calling 520-721-1300.

Know the Information You Need to Get

You can sum up most of the qualifying steps from Exhibitor’s experts into a single phrase: know your target. Knowing your target means recognizing who your target audience is and what information you need from them. 

Your sales team can be instrumental in defining the needed information based on previous experiences. For example, did they have information on previous leads that ended up not being very relevant? Were they missing key information or pain points that would attract the potential customer to the product or service?

Even a previous failure could help you achieve future success. 

Highlight the Qualifiers

Identify the traits you want the most from your prospects to streamline the lead qualification process. For example, a person selling hair care products would likely qualify a hair salon or supply store owner.

Review previous data to find traits about your most frequent clients and evaluate who you want to attract. Then, you can highlight the different people for your sales and advertising team so they can utilize their skills more efficiently. They can focus on the select people meeting business requirements instead of casting a wide net to draw in everyone. 

Train Your Staff

Speaking and relating with people from different walks of life is both a talent and a skill. Some people know how to do it automatically, while others need help. At the same time, those that don’t speak as well may keep their information much more organized than the conversationalists.

To get the best of both worlds and keep the booth process cohesive, train your staff on how to qualify leads. Even if they think they already know what to do, training can help update how they present what you offer. This process also allows your staff to stay up-to-date on any new booth technology you plan to use.

Remember to Practice

A large part of lead generation includes marketing qualified leads with organic conversation and relations. While you don’t want a cookie-cutter presentation that feels robotic, practice helps your staff get familiar with the program. If they know how the program and technology are supposed to work, they can improvise more during conversations.

Call Us When You Need Help Qualifying Leads

Oser Communications Group publishes top-quality sales information, from collecting leads at trade shows to how to advertise your upcoming events. Want more help learning how to qualify leads for your business? Call us at (520) 721–1300 for additional information.