There are several common mistakes people make when they embark on a trade show event, and don’t go thinking that it is only the newbies who trip up – too many old hands with veteran experience make the same mistakes too! It is crucial that you take action to protect yourself from the banal, familiar, routine style of thinking and planning that means you take it for granted that these common mistakes can never happen to you!

Common Mistake #1 – No Marketing Plan

It isn’t just that you need to have a marketing plan, it is more than this – you need to implement your trade show exhibiting plans into your overall marketing strategy. Anything else is simply throwing sales mud against the wall and hoping some sales will result out of this. This is lazy, inefficient and unlikely to be profitable!

You need a marketing plan which emphasizes your business objectives and targets your market prospects effectively; a key issue is differentiation of your company and product offering from your competitors, many of who will also be exhibiting too.

Common Mistake #2 – Failure to Set Trade Show Goals

How do you know if your trade show has been a success or not? What Key Performance Indicators (KPI) should you be measuring and comparing? Will you measure success based on number of visitors to the booth, the number of quality sales leads generated or the number of sales you make? How will you calculate Return on investment (ROI)?

Setting goals and objectives which are specific to the trade show event is crucial, as is ensuring your trade show team understands what their individual responsibility is to achieving these goals and have the support to achieve that success.

Common Mistake #3 – Weak or No Follow Up of Leads

Many exhibitors have a tendency to take a breather after the trade show and effectively take their foot off the gas. The problem is that during the trade show, promises and undertakings have been made to contact attendees who agreed or requested a sales call or sales collateral, and even worse, your trade show competitors are not resting but following leads up! It is essential that management ensure all leads are followed up appropriately; this demonstrates commitment and professionalism, plus it increases the business opportunities and sales which result from exhibiting at the event in the first instance.

Common Mistake #4 – Poor Pre-Show Marketing

Do not rely on event management to do all the marketing legwork – they won’t! It is your responsibility to promote your attendance at the specific event and to this end you should be: