It’s show time… March kicks off the industry’s ‘show season’ with Northern Restaurant and Bar at Manchester Central, then HRC, IFE and The Pub Show returning to London’s ExCel. More than a hundred shows will follow this year offering a powerful opportunity to harness influencers, buyers and prospects.
But which ones should you attend? How can you best identify which to invest in? And, if you do decide to invest, how can you make sure you’re getting best value?
Read on for our take on getting the most bang for your buck from trade shows. And some food for thought to feed into your planning process.
Which show?
With so many to choose from, it can be a daunting task.
Think about: which channel you want to influence and which influencer or buyer in that channel you want to reach.
Most shows supply a detailed visitor breakdown splitting out visitor job titles and their influence on purchasing.
Our events calendar, released next month, will consolidate all this insight, and break each event down by month, channel, and key attendee. For a copy, sign up here.
Showing up in the right way
A stand is the obvious way to show up. But it can be costly – £300-400/m2, plus creative, stand build, product or samples, manpower to set up, host and break down the stand. This can deliver value. But there are other options too.
You could:
- Sponsor a culinary competition or get product into a demo
- Curate a panel or feature on the speaking programme
- Partner with a complimentary brand – provide products for their stand, or share cost of a stand
- Support or sponsor existing show features
Show me the money: getting value
Value means different things to different people. So, setting a clear whole business show objective is key. Is attendance purely for brand awareness? Or are you looking for qualified leads, to have certain conversations, or make a sale?
If you have a stand, make sure it has a clear purpose and focus based on this objective. And spend some time briefing everyone who will be at the show to ensure purpose, brief and output are clear.
Maximising your stand investment
A show is always a big investment – in cash terms, and time too. Think about how you’re going to get the most from it by splitting focus into pre, during and post show.
Pre-show
- Be clear on the reason you’re giving to drive people to your stand, talk or activation
- Make sure your show collateral is up to date – company biog, logo and contact details
- Look at trade media ‘show previews’ and submit content
- Make sure your media materials are in the press office or show press pack
- Think about how you’ll drive people to meet you e.g. personal invitation, LinkedIn outreach, social media or something more creative
During the show
- It sounds simple, but make sure your stand is always manned
- Provide samples and tastings of your product to visitors
- If a member of your sales team is not available, make sure you can give contact details and a sales pack to any interested customers [and take their details to follow up]
Post show
- Consider your follow up plan – who will own the data, what’s the follow up process?
- Keep an eye out for show round-up articles and features you can submit to
If you’d like help reviewing or managing your sponsorships, or to make sure you’re getting maximum returns from the investments you’ve already made, give us a call. We’d love to help.
