Trade shows are a great way to grow businesses. Trade show events provide networking opportunities and allow you to show off your products, connect with others, and improve your likelihood of succeeding as an entrepreneur. 

If you’re wondering how to prepare for a trade show, you’re not alone. Taking the time to prepare beforehand with a results-driven trade show advertising company like Oser Communications Group ensures your trade show experience helps your business soar.

Here’s a beginner’s checklist for preparing for trade shows.

1. Register Early

Registering is a vital part of joining trade shows. Usually, you must register before the day of the show. By pre-registering online, you get early access to your booth location.

This way, you don’t have to worry about setting up at the beginning of the day. In addition to registering early, it’s a good idea to research the general floor plan map and the types of exhibits and booths attending so you can best adjust your experience for the target audience. You might also want to explore different flooring ideas to create an inviting and professional exhibit space.

2. Define Roles and Responsibilities

The next step in staying prepared for your trade show is defining specific roles and responsibilities for this show. For example, you should answer these questions:

1.  What are you trying to learn?  
2. How does your business align with this trade show?
3. What’s your overall goal for this event?

Once you answer these, it’s wise to appoint specific roles to yourself and your workers. For example, ensure one person is responsible for the technology. Then, assign another to product distribution, setup, and teardown.

By having clear goals and specific roles, you can measure your success and create the best environment to succeed. 

3. Set a Budget

Setting a budget is essential when learning how to prepare for a trade show.

Another important note is to set a budget for the trade show. When you enter into a trade show, inevitable costs come with it. 

Some of these costs include advertising, registration fees, product samples, employee pay, hotel stays, food, and transportation.

By determining this budget beforehand, you can avoid surprises that may throw your business off track during or after the event. 

 4. Have Enough Supplies Ready

A lot is going on at trade shows, and preparing enough supplies before the big day is another crucial step for success. 

For example, you’ll need notebooks and a pen or a tablet to write specific networking numbers, booth locations, notes on other vendors, potential customers, and future business ideas. You’ll also need business cards, merchandise, and advertising tools. 

5. Network Effectively 

The final step is to network smarter, not harder. Trade show exhibits are the perfect opportunity to exchange information, speak with other companies, and make a great first impression. Speak with keynote speakers, be social, and pursue connections to get the best experience.

Instead of wondering how to prepare for a trade show, take action today with Oser Communications Group. Our team has over 50 years of experience serving various sectors with trade show advertising.

Let our team at Oser Communications Group help you choose the best booth locations and a comprehensive marketing strategy by calling (520) 721-1300 today!

Trade shows are an excellent source of qualified prospects. However, many businesses return from these events with fewer leads than anticipated or many unqualified leads.

How can your brand improve your results from trade shows? Our trade show advertising specialists at Oser Communications Group have put together some top tips for collecting leads at trade shows.

1. Design a Lead Generation Plan

Before heading off to a trade show, you must determine what you intend to achieve from the event.

What type of leads do you intend to capture? What are your goals?

Perhaps you want more signups for a free product sample or to grow your email subscriber list. No lead generation campaign can be successful if it doesn’t have a goal and a plan to achieve it.

2. Promote the Trade Show

As the date for the trade show draws closer, it’s important to let prospective attendees know that your brand will be at the event.  

Write a blog post about attending the event. Schedule a few posts about the show on social media. The goal is to encourage as many people as possible to meet you at the event.

3. Send a Qualified Team

The best team to send to a trade show is one that combines some of your best sales personnel. Send people with the right experience and training to talk to highly qualified leads.

4. Create a Streamlined Process for Your Booth Management

A quality booth management process helps you separate real prospects from random attendees. Here’s an example of what a successful booth process looks like:

• Greet the visitor
• Scan the visitor’s badge
• Ask qualifying questions (to weed out unqualified suspects)
• Demonstrate your products to qualified suspects
• Get a commitment for a call, physical meeting, or other forms of follow-up communication

Collecting leads at trade shows is easier if you have a quality process in place.

5. Pay Attention to Your Booth Design

You want your booth to stand out from the dozens of other businesses at the trade show. Ensure it is welcoming enough without losing your brand identity.

A colorful booth with neatly designed, legible banners can help boost booth traffic.

6. Don’t Be Quick to Dispatch Promo Material 

Excellent booth management ensures you don’t hand out promo material and literature prematurely. However, even if you don’t have a booth management process, you should still avoid handing out literature too quickly. Otherwise, you’ll find most materials on the floor and in trash bins.

7. Leverage Technology

The days of lugging writing pads and paper forms to trade shows are long gone. You should incorporate technology into your trade show planning.

Using digital tools to scan attendee badges and collect their business card will significantly simplify the follow-up process.

Get More Expert Advice On Trade Show Lead Generation

Do you need more guidance on collecting leads at trade shows? Are you looking for a qualified event marketing consultancy group to work with?

Call our experts at Oser Communications Group at (520) 721-1300. We can offer guidance on everything from literature material to booth display colors for trade shows.

Setting up at a trade show or expo event puts you in direct competition with hundreds or thousands of other vendors also seeking attention. Using the right trade show booth displays color helps you stand out and attract customers, especially if your color choices match your brand.

Help customers find you and pique their interest with these tips for trade show display color schemes and effective trade show advertising.

Tips for Trade Show Display Colors

Consider these pointers when choosing which colors to use in your trade show booth design.

Choose Brand Colors

You may be tempted to use eye-catching color schemes to attract attention, but straying too far from your brand colors makes it harder for customers to recognize you in a crowd. Instead, focus on your brand’s brightest or most unusual colors as background displays and accents for your booth.

Cater to Your Audience

Marketing to your trade show’s audience may mean choosing different color schemes. While you should stay true to your brand’s colors, consider the people coming to your event and your event’s location when designing your display. For example, choosing to incorporate colors of an opposing sports team for your area may inspire dislike in customers during that sport’s season.

Consider More Than Your Table

While choosing the right colors for your table and its display, consider the area surrounding the trade show booths. Should you install a floor beneath your booth, hang a backdrop, or use colored lights to brighten up your booth? Hire an interior or graphic designer to help you land on a stunning trade show booth displays color.

Trade Show Booths Color Choices

Putting colors together for your trade show booth requires special attention to the color wheel. Colors that fight for attention can create a confusing atmosphere in your booth that puts off potential customers. Consider pairing colors that work well together for your booth.

Booth colors can inspire certain feelings and associations in customers, including:

• Red: Attention-getting, inspires a sense of urgency
• Orange: Energetic and playful, associated with modern industries
• Yellow: Positive and eye-catching, best used as an accent or background color
• Green: Cool and calming, associated with economy, ecology, and health
• Purple: Sophisticated and high-end, known as the color of royalty
• Blue: Trustworthy and soothing, simple but easy on the eyes
• Brown: Understated and humble, ideal for eco-friendly businesses
• Black: Classic and bold, safe for any business
• White: Minimalist and clean, associated with high value and purity

Make the Best Use of Your Colors in Your Trade Show Publications

While your trade show booth displays color helps you stand out on the show floor, follow your customers home with similarly colored publications. Leaflets, booklets, and flyers help visitors remember you long after the show ends. Call Oser Communications Group at (520) 721-1300 for the most beautiful, spot-on colors and designs in your trade show publications.

Which publication type offers the most marketing advantages? Learn the beneficial use of flyers in trade shows.