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Trade Show Marketing During the Summer Months

When summertime rolls around, the trade show events tend to take a break along with their attendees. There are many people who choose to vacation during the summer months, making this the perfect time to plan ahead for your fall and winter time trade shows.

If you feel you’re lacking the motivation to focus on your trade show marketing during the summer, make sure to keep these tips in mind so that your stamina stays in full force.

Create a Basic Checklist

If you don’t have a checklist for your trade shows, then how do you know when you’re prepared for each of them? You can’t, and this is precisely why you need a checklist.

Your trade show checklist should look something like this:

• Is the booth space reserved and paid for?
• Does it provide access to electrical outlets?
• Is it on a corner (any upgrades in location available)?
• Do you already own the required trade show display and accessories? or have you scheduled a rental booth?
• Do you have the graphics ready? Do any graphics need to be updated?
• Have you released a promotional campaign for the event? Why Not?!
• Do you have a trash can in the booth? Do you need to schedule cleaning?
• Do you have your booth staff planned? Do they need any training or practice?
• Are you offering attendees free WiFi access if it’s not already available? or a free charging station?
• Are your speakers/hosts already employed/hired?

Keep Track of Exhibit Inventory

There’s nothing worse than showing up at a trade show only to find that you don’t have everything you need to set up.

This is why you should keep track of your exhibit inventory. One of the best ways to keep track of your inventory is to prepare a schematic ahead of time.

All items that are going to be placed in the booth should be outlined on the blueprint with corresponding numbers on a piece of paper that tracks the UPC code of each item.

All boxes of inventory should be accurately labeled and accounted for in your inventory software. You will likely want to keep only one product out at a time during the event to prevent theft.

Another tip for keeping inventory is to take digital pictures of your booth once you get it set up and store these copies in your trade show software.

This is another great way to enhance inventory management and track any thefts that take place.

Research Show Schedules

If you’re not interested in the shows that you’re attending, then how do you expect the attendees to be interested?

You should use the summertime to search for shows that are perfectly aligned with the industry you operate in, and most importantly, you should be excited about attending the events.

Studies have shown that the more engaged a company is within the industry it operates in, the more likely customers are to become engaged, too.

You can also use the research that you conduct to optimize your marketing efforts that you use to attract the right attendees to the shows.

Create a Post-event Plan

So, what happens after each trade show?

Do you simply recollect all the great memories you’ve made, or do you act upon them?

You should be deploying some type of trade show management software that helps you measure event success.

You can use the inputted data to create a post-event plan that fits your vision and goals.

This is exactly why you should the summertime to find software that meets your measuring, analytical, and post-event plan needs.

The Takeaway

Don’t waste your summer pouting about a lack of trade show events. Instead, use your time wisely to plan out the best trade show success you’ve ever had.

If it’s time to update your trade show booth, give us a call to talk about how we can design a new booth that contributes to the overall effectiveness of your trade show marketing program.

Want to learn more about marketing your exhibit? Check out our articles on what makes a product go viral and why you need trade shows in your marketing strategy.