Trade shows are one of the best marketing opportunities but they may not have satisfactory results for most businesses. Not every trade show display has the design and the setup to attract, engage and generate leads. Virtual tradeshows also complicate the process involved in ensuring tradeshows work.
Tradeshows tend to be overly crowded. You need to stand out in some way to attract leads. And with two-thirds of the guests already knowing what tradeshow booths they want to visit before the event, your promotions have to be top-notch.
So what to do if you’re missing your trade show leads? The first rule for generating good trade show leads is figuring out why you’re missing them. Check out this guide for a full list of things to consider.
1. Wrong Choice of Events
Not every event is the right fit for your business. Some tradeshows may cost you a lot of money and time without producing enough leads (despite size). Sometimes, small and less glamorous events may be more suitable for your audience.
The event you’re taking part in should thus always align with your goals and strategies. Consider the entire mix of events planned for the year.
Ask yourself whether the event’s attendants do match your buyer personas. And if they do, how should you take part to ensure the event helps to meet your business goals?
2. Using Standard Trade Show Displays
Your tradeshow booth design can drive leads to competitors. What most businesses forget is that the display creates the first impression. The feeling people get from the exhibition can captivate or prompt the attendee to walk away.
It would be best if you had something eye-catching and also functional. How fast can you update your tradeshow booth if you want something unique? Even if the tradeshow is virtual, the platform’s presentation must be dynamic and engaging to clinch leads.
3. Inadequate Pre-Show Marketing
If you want to attract leads and meet your goals, pre-show marketing is a must. Prospects need to know about your business before the event’s date. Thorough pre-marketing can alert prospects about your brand and prompt them to seek you out.
Be conscious of the frequency of your marketing campaigns. Choose the right marketing channels and make your promotions captivating and inspiring.
Map out a strategy to identify the event’s attendees and collect emails. Nurture the leads by updating them about your participation. This can ensure that your brand is at the top of their minds.
4. Having a Lifeless Exhibit
Tradeshow displays are a communication tool. Their essence is to talk to prospects without you raising a finger. Next time, stand in front of your booth and try to deduce the message it’s sending to prospects.
A tradeshow booth’s effectiveness lies in how fast it can communicate with your target audience and drive them to act. Forget buzzwords or industry jargon. Instead, focus on your audience. Let the space on the exhibit answer the following questions:
- What problems does your business solve?
- How can your solutions solve the customers’ problems?
- Can your solutions help prospects make or save money?
5. Targeting Everyone
Tradeshows can be wasteful if your goals aren’t tailored for your buyer personas. You can waste up a lot of effort on a custom booth design that doesn’t talk to anyone in particular.
Lack of targeting means ineffective pre-show marketing and doomed follow-ups. For instance, think of a single follow-up email sent to every lead. The email may not be custom enough to answer each prospect’s questions and problems. The outcome is a lot of squandered leads and potential revenue.
Important Things to Consider to Attract More Leads to Your Tradeshow Booth
Now that you know some of the things you may be doing wrong, check out some solutions to your issues. Paying attention to these factors can help you attract the leads you desire to your trade show booth.
Your Buyer Personas
Understanding buyer personas is vital for a successful tradeshow lead generation strategy. The buyer persona allows you to target promotions and plan the actual event. It can also help you come up with better personalization to attract the right people.
You can devise tailored messages to ensure that your team meets the needs of every prospect. The graphics, colors, and booth design may also take into account factors such as demographics.
Here are some questions to guide you to know your buyer persona and what they may want
- What are your current clients’ buying patterns, age range, gender, or job titles?
- What parts of your buyer persona are likely to attend a particular event?
- Which audience will help you meet your objectives?
- What is your targeted prospect likely to research or scour the internet for?
- What platforms do your audience frequent or like to use?
Trade Show Booth Design
Trade show displays and booths can help you attract prospects and generate leads. But the design must produce the right impact and emotions for that to happen.
Can people see your space from anywhere? If the tradeshow is online, make sure the platform suited to the attendees’ needs.
Concise and straightforward graphics may appear more professional and make prospects feel welcome. A creative tradeshow display filled with a charming team may pull people and boost leads. Make sure you’ve invested in expert booth designers so that you’re getting the best out of every tradeshow.
An Effective Marketing Strategy to Attract and Convert Leads
You also need a powerful marketing strategy to ensure the right people visit your tradeshow display. Ask yourself:
- What would attendees desire in the tradeshow?
- What message or creative hook can spark their interest and convince them to attend?
- How will you capture lead information?
- What marketing strategy is effective for your buyer personas?
Next, begin the pre-tradeshow marketing at least one month in advance. Starting late may mean missing on some leads. Meanwhile, starting too early may not be convenient for personal planning.
Use social media for awareness. Also, build landing pages to collect emails for nurturing campaigns. Social media is usually more cost-effective and suitable for time-bound marketing.
Do the Right Thing to Achieve Lead Generation Targets
Participating in a tradeshow is usually expensive. And so you must make sure you’re not repeating the mentioned mistakes. Let your marketing spend pay off by doing the right thing from the start. Focus on your buyer personas, booth design, and invest in the right marketing strategies.
For help bringing you trade show booth experience to life, feel free to contact us today.