Marketing Your Business Through Trade Shows

If you’ll be attending trade shows in the near future (Fall is trade show season, after all) there’s a lot of forethought and preparation that will need to be done.

First and foremost, the most important task is to choose the right show to attend. What are the can’t-miss events in your industry? Which events will your potential new clients be attending? If there are multiple trade shows you would like to attend, how will you prioritize your time and event budget?

So far this Fall, Greenerprinter had the pleasure of both sponsoring and exhibiting at three Bay Area events: The Ki on Treasure Island, Bioneers in San Rafael and the California Sustainable Tourism Summit in Tahoe. Each event was unique in its offerings, audience and purpose. And each was a solid platform on which the message of moving toward the triple bottom line (people, planet, profits) through environmentally conscious and socially responsible printing could be communicated.

Once you’ve identified the shows that will be a good platform for your company’s message, you’ll need to contact the event organizers and go over the logistics. Just a few considerations for this task include:

• When do reservation forms need to be submitted?
• What are the requirements for shipping your exhibit materials and setting up your booth?
• What about adding the ability to sponsor events so that logos and company mentions can be seen in the programs. Can your company participate in helping the conference via expertise trades or product trades?
• Have you created a checklist and calendar to keep track of deadlines?

Next, organizing your booth materials can never be overlooked, and banners are a must-have for any booth. We offer two banner materials for both indoor and outdoor use: A bio-banner made of PVC-free material and a canvas banner, both of which are printed to your specifications using water-based latex inks. Banners with stands are also a great choice (pictured here).

If a banner or two will not suit the presentation style you’re aiming to create, try bio-degradable poster boards instead. Poster prints can be mounted on 3/16 inch 100 percent bio-degradable foam board, 1/4 inch recycled paper honeycomb or 1/2 inch recycled paper honeycomb. Your design; your choice!

Stocking up on good giveaways for your booth is important as well. There is an almost unlimited number of giveaway options, from eye-catching but pricey items, such as branded travel mugs, to ordinary schwag that most people will toss after the conferences (after all, who really needs another keychain or refrigerator magnet?).

We strongly recommend green giveaways that people will be excited to use. For example, a recycled paper notepad printed with your company logo is something that people can use to take notes during the show as well as when they return to the office on Monday morning.

Recycled paper bookmarks are also handy giveaways. Often at conferences, people are already carrying tote bags full of collateral and conference materials, so they can be reluctant to pick up something else to add to their burden. A bookmark is lightweight, useful and will keep your company in front of the client long after the expo has ended. This is a favorite Greenerprinter giveaway as it is functional yet give lends enough marketing space to include contact information and product and service offering.

Lastly, round out your trade show efforts by following up new contacts and potential leads. Schedule a time immediately after the event to send thank-you cards and personal emails to those you had productive conversations with during the show.

Today we have taken just a quick look at how to approach marketing your business through trade shows. Based on your past experience, what other tips and suggestions would you recommend?