If your company is looking to promote themselves and their product to a large volume of targeted customers then setting up a stand at a trade show is definitely the way forward. For those new to organising such things, planning and preparation are everything when it comes to attracting people to your product and generating some new business leads.

Organising your display is by no means a short term task as you must decide well in advance which event would be most appropriate for you to advertise at. Try to attend a variety of similar trade show events so you can see what your competitors are doing. Take note what methods of marketing seem to be attracting a crowd and pay particular attention to those stands who dont seem to stand out as it is their methods of promotion you will want to stay well away from. Make sure that you bring a notepad and pen with you so that you can write down as many ideas as possible.

Subscribe to trade magazines so that you will be well informed of upcoming events where you will be able to promote your company. Once you have found an event which you think your company will benefit from, make your application and pay the required fees well ahead of time. It is at this point that you should get in contact with the organisers of the event in question with any specific requests that you may have. These may entail particular presentational aspects of your stand such as sound systems, screen displays or perhaps even vehicle access. If you can – try to get your application in as quickly as possible so that you have an early pick as to where you stand will be. This will enable you to choose an area of high traffic, giving you the best chance of being exposed to the highest volume of people possible.

As with any method of marketing, it is important that you keep track of all outgoing costs relating to the event. This should include your application fee, booth rental, any travel costs as well as any costs incurred as a result of giving any promotional items. If the event you are attending isn\’t local then another outgoing cost to consider would be hotels and food. You should make a point of reserve any accommodation at the earliest opportunity as other event attendees are likely to be competing for these rooms.

On the day of the event, ensure that your stand is attractively decorated in such a manner that it stands out from your competition. Any staff which you employ to work at the booth should be friendly, approachable and knowledgable about your products and services. Ensure that you have plenty of literature available on your stand so that any visitors will have a record of what you are promoting. It should also go without saying that you should go armed with plenty of business cards so that your prospects will easily be able to get in touch and follow up on any interest.

Even if you don\’t have previous experience of organising a trade stand, a lot of careful preparation will go a long way to successfully promoting your company.

Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK installers of interactive displays.

Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (http://www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK installers of interactive displays.

Author Bio: Edward Kendricks writes for CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), UK installers of interactive displays.

Category: Advice
Keywords: technology, tv, business, interactive display, trade show, marketing, promotion, sales