If you have ever exhibited at a trade show, you are aware of the outrageous costs associated with showing your face and brand to hundreds or thousands of potential buyers. You rent the floor space and create your extravagant booth; you swipe credit cards left and right to pay for electricity, labor, furnishings, and carpet. But that’s just the beginning. There are travel expenses, lodging, and meals for you and your staff, entertainment, shipping expenses and the list goes on and on. Yes, you are spending a lot of dough on the essentials….but what does that mean if your presence at the trade show is forgotten?

A trade show without promotion is like a vacation without luggage….short lived and quickly forgotten! Promotion is vital when exhibiting at a tradeshow. If you fail to create a lasting impression with your prospects, then you run the risk of spending lots of money and time for little return. Here are a few ways to promote your booth and leave a lasting impression.

Send out a pre-show mailer that is intriguing. Stay ahead of the game and be prepared.I’m not talking about a boring postcard or letter that can be mixed up in your junk mail…I mean a bulky mailer with a useful promo item that the prospect actually likes. I suggested to one of my Apparel clients to mail out a lightweight full color lanyard that is consecutively numbered to all of the buyers on the pre-show list. A note was included in the envelope that prompted the prospect to wear the lanyard and visit the booth during the trade show to see if they had the winning number. The prospect was not only wearing the lanyard, but they were drawn to the booth and received a 60 second sales pitch and a prize if they had the lucky number. Lightweight, inexpensive, and a moving advertisement all in one easy promotion.

Create a fun and interactive Booth to attract attention. 83% of trade show attendees have buying power, according to Merchant Circle. That’s a huge number of potential clients passing by your booth because you look and sound identical to the 5,000 booths surrounding you. So how do you create a fun and exciting booth environment? Well, start with the basics similar to when you were a kid. GAMES! You liked games when you were 5 and admit it…you still like games. For example, at a Food Hospitality Trade show, I suggested to one of my clients that they set up a “Wheel of Fortune” Game. Depending on where the loud wheel stopped rolling, the player had the opportunity of winning a branded prize or a USB drive loaded with the company’s information on it. In no time, the company would not only be drawing a crowd of people around their booth who wanted the next chance to play, but they were also receiving the opportunity to speak to their prospects and pass out information in a fun way!

Please stop cutting down trees! Brochures, flyers, business cards are all a great way to hand out information and a fabulous way to fill a trash can! If your buyer is not in an immediate need for your products or services then your piece of paper will most likely never make it to their office or be filed away in a cabinet for future reference. Instead of paper, try handing out a Micro-Fiber glass cleaning cloth with your information on it. These cloths range from 3″x5″ to 8″x11″ and can be used for many other things besides cleaning. If your prospect is not in an immediate need of your service, they will know exactly how to find you when they are ready because you’ll be branded inside their laptop bags.

Do something with your leads! Don’t wait too long to let your stack of leads wither away. Make sure to follow up every lead you received at the show and send a small thank you gift for stopping by your booth. I suggested to one of my trucking clients that they send a Key Klasp keychain, which they printed their logo on one side and a thank you note on the other side. This special keychain allows you to remove and place keys on your chain without struggling to pry the wire open. Show them that you DO care and you DO remember them, just as they should remember you.

Trade Shows have and will continue to be a successful marketing method because of the exposure you can receive with potential buyers. But you must keep in mind that there will always be competing exhibitors at the same trade show, and the extra “Umph” that you need to steal the attention of your prospect and to put YOU in the top of their minds will be your promotions.