Make the Most of Your Trade Show Experience

One of our clients, a leading economic developer in the Southeast, used to think attending conferences and trade shows was a waste of time. And many other economic developers feel the same—with good reason. They’ve shelled out a good chunk of change to travel to the “Next Biggest Trade Show,” only to spend four or five days sitting in a booth, watching people walk by, watching business happen elsewhere. They don’t meet with any qualified leads, and they leave the conference in no different a position than when they arrived.

Others spend the conference with a bustling booth, meeting plenty of contacts—only to get home and realize none of the businesses they met with are a good fit for their area. Nothing much was accomplished at the conference, and the trip seems, in hindsight, to have been a waste of precious funds.

When you allocate money for a trip, you want to make the most of that money and the time you’ll spend traveling and attending the show. You want to meet with qualified contacts that will actually translate into leads for your area. To do this, you must do two things. First of all, you’ve got to get the word out that you’ll be attending the show. And next, you’ve got to set up pre-arranged meetings with businesses that are open to discussing your area. Scheduling meetings for the conference allows you to have your contact’s full attention, and it also allows you to confirm ahead of time that the business is actually interested in your area. You’ve got to do this early, though—before competing areas contact the businesses first.

Another way to maximize the money and time you spend on trade shows is to take advantage of the show’s host location. By targeting companies within 60 miles of the location and scheduling meetings either during the conference or for a day or two after the show’s end, you will, to borrow the cliché, “kill two birds with one stone.” If you’re attending a conference in Chicago, don’t neglect the huge number of local businesses that may be excellent targets for your area.

After working with EDM, the aforementioned economic developer has changed her mind about trade shows. With a full schedule of pre-qualified meetings set by EDM for multiple shows, she saw firsthand the results that can come from a highly successful conference attendance. We contacted the companies ahead of time and qualified them for her. Instead of sending her a massive list of companies that may—or may not—be interested in her area, and may—or may not—be expanding or relocating, we did the work ahead of time to make sure that all her meetings were with companies that were a good fit for her area. We also set up meetings with companies located near the conferences, to maximize the time and money her group was spending on each show.

Contact us to find out more about what we can do for your next trade show.

Donald Flor
Economic Development Marketing (EDM)
(800) 962-0035 ext. 102

2009 Conferences to Watch

MD&M West: February 9-12, Anaheim, CA
Renewable Energy World Conference: March 10-12, Las Vegas, NV
International Biomass: April 28-30, Portland, OR
WINDPOWER 2009: May 4-7, Chicago, IL
Bio International 2009: May 18-21, Atlanta, GA
EASTEC 2009 Exposition: May 19-21, Springfield, MA
MD&M Midwest: September 21-24, Rosemont (Chicago), IL
Solar Power 2009: October 19-22, San Jose, CA
MD&M Minneapolis 2009: October 21-22, Minneapolis, MN

Click here to find out more about Economic Development Marketing’s conference marketing services.