Questions to Help Determine Your Objective at Tradeshows

Trade shows is an effective way of promoting your business by putting yourself out there and meeting your target market face-to-face versus the one-sided print ads that many companies put in newspapers in hopes of getting new customers. Using trade show exhibits to advertise your products or services is a great way of bringing awareness to what your company has to offer, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have an objective.

The first step in planning your trade show participation is having a set goal in order to know what you are trying to accomplish at the event. Without this, you will have no way of knowing whether or not a show was worth the money. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you determine what your objective at the event is.

• Why are you going to the convention?

Do you want to build new client relationships or maintain the ones you already have? Do you want to advertise a new product? Or are you purely trying to stand up against your competitors who will havetrade show displaysat the same event?

• What’s your overall message?

What is it you want your audience at the convention to know about your company or products?

• Who is your target audience?

Are you trying to reach consumers directly or business executives with buying power?

• What results are you hoping to get from the trade show?

Would you like to bring home a certain number of new sales or leads?

Once your goal for the event is determined, the rest of your trade show booth planning is downhill from there.