Websites and Trade Show Exhibits

There are at least three different areas where you web marketing can support your trade show efforts.
1. Before the show, use your website and email list to entice customers and prospects to visit you at the show.
2. During the show, use your website as a go-to destination for “further information”, special “web only” offers, and follow up “premiums”.
3. After the show, use email to follow up the prospects and leads you’ve generated at the show. Direct them to your website for your special “post show” offers.

In this article I discuss the first of these areas – using your website and email list to generate pre-qualified show traffic. I will look at the other two in the next two articles in this series.

Using Your Website as a Focal Point Well before your first show, create a special “theme” for each event you plan to enter. The shows themselves may already have a theme, so you might want to use that as a starting point. Then think of a special promotion for each show. These themes don’t have to be worked out in great detail. All you want is a “hook” for your promotion for each show – focus on a specific product line, or new product; or tie it in with the month or season.

Once you have your themes and promotions mapped out, have your web designer create a page within your website that focuses exclusively on your trade show marketing program. List each show you’ll be entering. Be sure to mention the theme and location of each show. Give special prominence to your first event. And then when the first one is over, concentrate on your second event, and so on.

Now your special trade show web page gives you a focus for your entire campaign. And this, in turn, gives you a very clear promotional objective -- to drive people to your website to find out about your current “show specials”. Driving Customers and Prospects to Your Website Now that you have the tools in place, how do you drive prospects to your website?

First, use email. Make sure all your sales people include links to your trade show web page on all their email correspondence. If nothing else, they should have a “signature” that includes a short message something like this:

“See our Spring Show Specials and Save 10%” at www.trade-show-tips.com/springspecials.html

If you have an opt-in customer or prospect email list, be sure to mention your trade show webpage in all regular mailings. If you don’t have a list, start building one.

Set up a series of "auto-responder" messages promoting your shows. An auto-responder is an email message that is sent out automatically in response to an online request. You can easily do this by putting a “Click Here for More Information” link on your email messages or trade show web page. When an interested person clicks on the link, they are automatically sent a reply message giving them them detailed information about your promotions.

You can even program an auto-responder to send out a series of messages at timed intervals. This is ideal for sending automated “follow up” messages and reminders.

Second, use offline advertising. Mention your trade show web page in all your normal offline advertising and promotional efforts, and especially in all your correspondence with regular customers – things such as invoices, statements, etc.

Pay special attention to the promotions being run by the organizers of the show. As Colin Green of www.bestofshow.com says “find out what publications the show is using to attract an audience….If it is targeting the right audience, then direct your promotions – advertising, editorial etc. - to those publications and less to those that are not used by the show.” Why? Because this is the audience that will be coming to the show, and by promoting to them you will be reaching the very people who are likely to visit your booth at the show. In other words, you create “brand recognition”.

Turning Web Visitors into Show Visitors Once you have attracted a prospect to your special trade show web page, you want to make the most of this opportunity to get them interested in attending the show.

Don’t just give away show passes. Instead, include a “show exclusive” offer for one of your own products. The visitor to your website clicks on the link to your “Click Here for Special Show Offer” and is taken to a page with a coupon redeemable only at the show. Or take online appointments to conduct personalized demonstrations. Include a form on your page where an interested prospect can request a demonstration of your product. Automate it (using an auto-responder) so that when they submit their request they get an immediate response detailing the time and location of the demonstration. You can even specify things you would like them to bring to make the demo more productive.

Another technique is to have a draw for a reasonably valuable and highly visible prize. Say you are selling a golf related product. Make arrangements with one of your suppliers to give away a golf bag, a complete set of clubs, or one of those self-propelled carts. Allow web visitors to enter the contest online, but stipulate that only people who are registered and present at the show are eligible to win.

These suggestions barely scratch the surface. There are literally hundreds of ways to integrate trade show marketing with web marketing. With a little bit of imagination you should be able to come up with a few winners.

To see examples of some of the techniques mentioned in this article, see the link below. In the next article in this series I will discuss how to use your website as a promotional tool during the show. -------------------------------------------------

Rick Hendershot is based in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He spent many years as an advertising consultant, and small business owner, and currently handles the marketing and online promotion for TradeShow-Display-Experts.com, a supplier of popup displays, rollup displays, trade show graphics, and other innovative trade show marketing products.

Rick also publishes two regular ezines called Trade Show Tips, and Small Biz Tips. Rick can be reached at rh@small-business-online.com.

To see examples of some of the techniques mentioned in this article, go HERE.

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