Tips and Ideas to Stand Out at a Trade Show

Packing for your next trade show? Leave your company’s products at home.

I’m kidding. Sort of.

For those of you who frequent trade shows — especially those shows specific to the foodservice market — you have likely seen your fair share of flea market-esque booths where the general feel is more used car lot than professional sales environment.

Having just returned from the NAFEM (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) Show in early February, this approach is all too fresh in my mind.

The tendency (and previously accepted way of doing things) at an equipment show was to bring to the show as much equipment as could fit in the booth and spend the next three days showing everything you’ve got. It’s expected. It’s tired. And one could argue… it’s over.

I’m thrilled to let you know there’s a better way. Better for the exhibitor, better for your drayage budget, and better for the customer or prospect with whom you’d like to engage.

At your next tradeshow, consider making the shift from physical to virtual. Create digital tools that showcase your products, while putting more information at the customer’s fingertips. An online product catalog. A selection of videos or product animations. Providing good digital content is a great approach at tradeshows, where buyers and influencers are more and more accepting of this type of engagement.

And if done right, these tools can be used beyond the tradeshow floor, which is great for your ROI.

This doesn’t eliminate the sales person in the booth — sorry, guys, you’ll still have to invest in Dr. Scholl’s gel pads for every show — but it does give customers a chance to engage on their own terms and the sales person a valuable tool for showing products that fit that person’s interests and needs.

Read how one VantagePoint client changed its tradeshow approach and saw an immediate and impressive return.