1. What is our budget?
Be strategic about how much you plan to spend on your trade show. Know exactly how much you have to spend and allocate different parts of that fund to your different expenses.
To help you figure out where you might need to spend the most money, consider the results of Standbuildervietnam's survey of over 200 regular trade show exhibitors. This survey found that most companies spend their budgets in the following percentages:
• 25% costs: exhibition booth rental
• 40% costs: booth construction
• 15% costs: booth staff or labor (including travel and lodging)
• 20% costs: promotions/marketing (mailings, advertising, etc.).
Questions to Ask When Exhibiting at a Trade Show
2. Should You Rent a Booth or Hire a Trade Show Planning Company to Design Your Booth?
An important question to ask yourself is whether you should rent a booth from the organizer or hire a trade show booth design company to create your booth from scratch. There are pros and cons to each.
Some of the advantages of custom trade show displays are:
* You can customize every aspect of your booth to accurately represent your brand and appeal to your target audience
* They are more cost-effective if you plan to exhibit frequently
* Your trade show booth manufacturer will handle all the logistics for you, from the initial concept to storing your display items
However, custom booths can be more expensive if you exhibit infrequently. You may also have to factor in storage and shipping costs.
Some of the advantages of renting a trade show booth are:
* You can easily change your booth and design from show to show
* You won't have to pay for storage or maintenance
* They are less expensive for occasional exhibitors
However, your customization options may be limited and you will be responsible for the construction, installation, dismantling, and any issues that may arise.
Learn more about the pros and cons of custom trade show booths vs. rental booths.
3. How can we create a visually appealing booth to showcase our products and brand?
When attending a trade show, you will be competing with companies that have more money, more staff, and a larger customer base. That means you need to be strategic and create a visually appealing booth that will attract and hold the attention of attendees.
Some elements to consider include:
Eye-catching graphics
Colorful banners and other signage
Original branding
Strategic lighting techniques
Innovative technology
If you choose to go the custom route, your trade show design company will help you develop each of these elements, from the overall concept down to the smallest detail.
4. Where is the best location for our booth on the trade show floor?
Before deciding on a space to rent for your event, be sure to consider where on the trade show floor your booth will be best located. Where will you have the most visibility?
Consider high-traffic areas, such as front and center or near restrooms or restaurants. Ask the event management which companies have rented the space closest to your preferred location to ensure your booth isn’t swallowed up by larger, more elaborate booths.
Finally, make sure there are no columns or obstructions that could block attendees from seeing you.
Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Marketing and Lead Generation Tactics
5. What Kind of Marketing Tactics Should We Try Before the Show Opens?
It’s not enough to set up your trade show booth and hope for the best. You need a solid pre-show marketing plan to compete with your neighbor’s booth and all the other exhibitors. After all, 85% of corporate show managers use at least one pre-show marketing tactic.
trade show questions
Some ideas for marketing tactics include:
Emailing current customers and newsletter subscribers to let them know about your presence at the upcoming show (offering incentives for visiting your booth, such as product demos, seminars, and giveaways)
Contacting relevant bloggers and trade publications to distribute your press release
Announcing your attendance on social media.
6. How can we attract crowds to our trade show?
Do you plan to host interactive activities at your booth such as touch screens, games, contests, giveaways, surveys and quizzes? What about a planned workshop or product demonstration?
Trade shows are often crowded and every booth is competing for attention. While this doesn’t mean you have to have the flashiest trade show display, it does mean you have to be creative and think outside the box.
If you need ideas to attract crowds to your booth, check out our blog titled “Ideas to Attract Crowds to Your Trade Show Exhibit.” You’ll discover ideas to promote your brand both before and during the show.
7. Are our staff adequately prepared to engage with customers and attract new leads?
“Your booth may be the biggest, brightest attraction in the convention center, but if it’s not properly staffed, your investment could be completely wasted,” says VECA President.
“You’ll need the right mix of marketing, sales and technical staff at your booth,” he says. “We all spend a lot of money on sales training, but people forget that attending a trade show is very different from making a regular sales call.”
To ensure your staff is ready to work at your booth, make sure you can answer “Yes” to all of the following questions:
Are all staff familiar with our products and services?
Can all employees recite their sales pitch or lead generation script?
Can all employees articulate our unique value proposition?
Are all employees aware of the program goals?
Are all employees aware of our uniform and personal appearance guidelines?
Do all employees have a clear understanding of what we expect from their trade show decor (i.e. no personal phone calls, no sitting or eating at the booth, etc.)
8. Do we have a system for capturing lead contact information?
You know you want to generate leads, but do you have a system for capturing lead contact information and organizing it both during and after the show? If the answer is no, be sure to check out these 5 creative ways to capture leads at your next trade show.
9. Do we have a workflow set up to follow up with new leads after the show?
Make sure you have a system in place to prioritize new leads and reach out to them as soon as possible. The faster you reach out, the fresher your brand will be in their minds.
Here are some questions to ask yourself about your lead workflow:
Do we have a trade show follow-up email template?
Do we know how long after the event we plan to follow up with leads?
Do we have a plan to follow up with leads immediately?
Do we have a plan to follow up with leads who didn’t open the first follow-up email (and those who did open but didn’t click)?
Do we have a plan to retarget leads on social media who didn’t convert?
Be sure to check out these 10 steps to successful event follow-up from Stand Builder Vietnam
And that’s it! These 9 questions will give you a solid foundation to stay ahead of the competition so you can make the most of your next trade show.
Ready to get started?
Contact our team today to discuss your next event. Design and install a trade show experience or display for your brand.
