It’s Showtime! The Importance of Event Management at Trade Shows

Trade show success involves much more than booking a venue and inviting your audience. Trade show event management is a complex ecosystem that involves everything from ensuring the booth design components are set up on time to delivering measurable results for stakeholders. It’s about balancing creativity with logistics and transforming an empty exhibit space into a vibrant marketplace of ideas, conversations, and commerce.

Set Clear Goals and Identify Your Target Audience

It’s essential to begin planning in advance to have a successful trade show event. Give yourself time to set clear goals, consider your strategy, and identify your target audience. You should begin planning up to a year in advance to have enough time to execute a strategy and booth design for trade show success.

Research Trade Shows and Select the Ideal Venue, Location, and Time

You can only control so many things with your individual booth, but if you attend a trade show with low attendance, you might not achieve your business objectives. That’s why you should start researching events early and carefully analyze their potential.

When choosing whether to attend a trade show, consider the factors that will help you achieve impactful results and a high return on investment. As you’re researching events, take key factors into account, like hotel availability, proximity to businesses, and access to transportation. In addition, avoid events that overlap with major holidays or other popular industry events. 

With these factors in mind, you can choose an event that will have a better chance of success for your business. Once you find a trade show that looks like the right fit for your brand, you can secure booth space, assign members of your team to attend, make travel arrangements, and design an exhibit that attendees are sure to love.

Define Your Key Performance Indicators to Measure Success

Don’t simply rely on how full the trade show looks to measure your success. Having reliable and measurable key performance indicators that align to your business objectives is paramount to gauging your business’ individual success.

Here are some KPIs you can measure at the show:

• Generated leads
• Number of sales
• Booth dwell time

You can collect these data points with digital activations, such as heat mapping technology to map how attendees move through your booth and by scanning attendees’ badges during the show.

Design a Booth Layout that Boosts ROI

You have several options when designing your exhibit booth designs. Create a private seating area or pod where you can converse with attendees. Or, integrate digital activations smoothly throughout your booth to enhance engagement and capture leads. You can set up touchscreen kiosks with interactive games or virtual reality headsets to take attendees to another dimension. You should integrate these features in a way that makes sense for the overall layout of your booth and your business objectives. 

Manage Your Team Effectively Before and During the Show

Choose individuals for your team who understand your target attendee and exhibiting goals. Look for natural problem solvers who can calmly and efficiently navigate the unexpected. These individuals should be approachable and knowledgeable because their attitudes can influence attendees’ perception of your booth.

During the show, it’s essential to support your team with the right resources so they can quickly resolve issues. Giving your team the ability to respond to questions and challenges efficiently will ensure smoother operations during the trade show.

Follow Up with Leads and Stakeholders After the Show

After the show, it’s important to follow up with any leads you’ve captured to convert additional sales, thank all attendees for coming to your booth, and deliver any sales items after the show. This is also an excellent time to gather data from the show and follow up with any stakeholders who invest in your business.

About Skyline Exhibits

Are you a trade show marketer? Your time and money are valuable. You need a show-stopping trade show booth to capture the attention of even the most distracted attendees. With Skyline Exhibits, you get just that. For over 40 years, Skyline Exhibits has fabricated custom trade show booths with stunning graphics and digital activations that engage trade show attendees. Not only that, their team offers next-level customer service through each step of the process, from the first discovery call to the moment you see your trade show booth light up on the show floor. They offer a variety of displays and booths to fit your needs and even offer logistical services to streamline your next event. If you’re looking to advance your trade show strategy, Skyline Exhibits can help you and your team excel.

Explore custom trade show booths at https://skyline.com/