Planning for Next Year's Trade Show

More Bang for Your Buck | A Stitch In Time...

Now that you have all of this valuable data compiled from the show – estimated ROI, observations, and recommendations – you can start thinking about next year! Ok, maybe you want to take a little bit of a break – but don't wait too long – there are things that can be done right now for next year that will help you get an ever higher ROI on your next show.

Get More Bang for Your Trade Show Buck

In addition to being an exhibitor at a show, you can gain more value for your time and money spent there by getting one of your experts to be a speaker at a function or session. Most companies have experts in their field that are qualified to speak at seminars, and if you check with show promoters now about next year, you'll be ahead of the game.

Contact show promoters to make sure that you're on the list to receive their Call for Papers (sometimes called Call for Posters). Then, speak with your internal experts about speaking at next year's show, and develop possible topics.

When the Call for Papers arrives, follow the instructions and submit your topic. You aren't guaranteed a spot by submitting, but if you make it a practice to do this each year, you will eventually land a spot. And when you do – take advantage of it! Notify your existing clients that you have an industry expert speaking at the show; issue a press release to industry publications announcing your expert being chosen to speak at the show; and notify registered show attendees about your participation in the show – both the booth and the speaker.

A Stitch in Time…

Trade shows tend to sneak up on us all, and we end up rushing to get things like give-aways, booth graphics and show materials. And boy do we pay the price! For your next show, use our handy Trade Show Planning Calendar to stay utterly organized and take care of items as far away as 1 year out. Follow it and you'll be so calm come show time, your colleagues won't recognize you! And by doing things on time, you will save money on rush charges, shipping and other unnecessary costs that can greatly hurt your Trade Show ROI.

Tag Your Database

All of the leads that you collected from this year's show should be entered into your sales database. Make sure these leads are "tagged" as trade show attendees so that you can easily run a report from your database and find them next year – many people attend the same trade shows year after year.

Then, prior to next year's show, contact these customers to set appointments, invite them to events or sessions where your expert will be speaking, or just to let them know what booth you'll be in. You get a higher ROI from trade show attendees who are already familiar with your company than you do brand new ones.