Trade show exhibits offer an important marketing tool for many companies, playing a key role in building brand awareness, learning more about customer wants and needs, and bringing in new leads into the sales pipeline. Trade show exhibitions are also complex undertakings, involving extensive planning and careful implementation in order to achieve the desired goals.
Whether you’re a newcomer to the exhibiting world or a seasoned veteran, everyone can benefit from the following trade show resources.
ExpoMarketing’s Library of Resources
From blogs to white papers to “how-to” guides, ExpoMarketing provides an extensive library of resources to help you put on a polished, professional trade show exhibit. Free downloadable materials range from trade show budget worksheets to planning guides to lists of mistakes to avoid and more and offer proven strategies and techniques designed to save you time and money while ensuring a successful exhibit.
Trade Show Calendar
Want to know when and where 3,500 exhibitions are held around the world each year? ExpoMarketing’s handy calendar lets you search the trade show directory by location, date, industry, and name of the event. The calendar also includes links to trade show websites for easy connection to the hosting organization regarding sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities.
How to Plan a Trade Show in 90 Days
Getting a late start on your trade show planning? This useful guide will help you get organized, build your team, plan your budget, design your exhibit, and do everything else required to put on a successful exhibit all within 90 days.
Trade Show Budget Worksheet
A carefully planned budget will help ensure you invest enough money in your trade show exhibit to achieve your goals without overspending. Use this worksheet to plan for all expenses, from design and build to space rental, shipping, labor, staff travel, and accommodations.
Drayage Blog
Don’t get blindsided by thousands of dollars in unexpected drayage charges after the trade show. Drayage charges cover the services required to move your trade show booth materials from your carrier to your booth space, and can often total thousands of dollars. This blog explains what drayage is, how drayage charges are calculated, and includes examples of drayage costs.
6 Tactics for Turning Trade Show Interactions into On-Site Sales
HubSpot, a marketing software that helps businesses convert visitors into leads and customers, offers six timely tips for driving more sales at your next trade show exhibit, including how to make connections before, during, and after the event.
Trade Show Lead Generation Ideas and Research
To help exhibitors with lead management, Exhibitor conducted the 2015 Sales Lead Survey with the intention of helping marketers make informed decisions. The results of this survey was turned into an infographic and show how leads are tracked in the sales cycle.
Email Follow-Up Templates
A successful trade show exhibit is nothing without good follow-up. This Hubspot page offers timely follow-up advice as well as a link to 36 free sales email templates.
Trade Show Call Tracking
Call tracking, or placing unique call numbers on your trade show marketing pieces, enables you to gather data about prospects to target your post-trade show marketing budget more effectively.
Social Media Marketing Integration
Fourteen great tips on how to incorporate social media into your event marketing, including how to generate pre-show buzz, social buzz during the show, and effective socializing after the show.
Trade Show Etiquette
Staff training and booth etiquette can make or break your exhibit. These three tips offer helpful hints on staff appearance, customer service, and thought leadership.
Digital Word of Mouth to Turbocharge your Event Marketing
Tradefest lists the biggest and best-known trade shows and events both in the US and around the world. It then goes one step further, tracking down previous attendees and exhibitors who have already been to these shows and asks for their honest feedback on how it worked out for them. The platform is a free resource to gain insights and build a smart event marketing strategy. Never miss an opportunity somewhere and always go where the action is. The core concept of Tradefest is based around sharing feedback, aggregating a global community of event goers and thousands of reviews on business events in one place.
A little “resourcefulness” goes a long way when launching a trade show booth. So start planning early, use these resources to guide your planning and implementation, and you’ll increase your chances of achieving your trade show exhibit goals.
