Tradeshows can be a great investment for getting exposure and leads or a waste to time and money…it depends what you do and how you manage the show.
Studies have shown that 80% of attendee impression and memories of a booth, product or service are based on the people working the booth. Are your people talking to each other, reading the newspaper, eating lunch, working on their computer or actively engaging with the people walking by the booth? Attendees throw out 90% of the materials collected before going back to the office. Are you just handing out literature to everyone who walks by or are you using literature to reinforce a conversation with a prospect? Or even better, do you use it as an after the show follow-up? In fact, are you following up quickly? Tradeshow leads can get cold quickly, so have your follow-up strategy in place before the show.
The average person visits fewer than 10% of the booths. You have about 5 seconds to engage people as they walk the show.
A lot of people come to shows to bring home "gifts" for the kids or the office. If you are using giveaways, are they relevant to what you do or what you are promoting at the show. If not, you are just providing free gifts.
Are your booth workers prepared to ask the right questions to identify needs and problems of prospects? Be sure booth workers are not just providing answers/solutions before asking open-ended and clarifying questions.
The long hours and aching feet can pay off if you make a good impression and use the show properly.