You will see our booth just as you enter the exhibit hall.

Skyline would love to see you in our booth, #1325, at EXHIBITOR2012, March 5 to 7, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It promises to be an excellent show.

Many exhibit marketers have renewed their strong trade show schedules, and are looking to expand their booth spaces to take advantage of the face-to-face nature of trade shows.

But because our industry tends to lag the economic cycle, there are also exhibit marketers attending EXHIBITOR2012 who are in expansion mode, just now making up for the reductions they made during the downturn.

But all exhibitors have adjusted to the new reality:  They need a responsive exhibit partner who can augment their smaller team, boost their trade show results, all the while maximizing their highly scrutinized budget.

We look forward to meeting with exhibit marketers who attend the show, to demonstrate how we can help enhance their exhibiting success.  If you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206 when registering.

5 Reasons To Visit Skyline At EXHIBITOR2012:

Free Trade Show Seminars

Skyline will host 12 “bite-sized” seminars in our booth.  You can get the best nuggets on insights about 6 popular trade show topics such as promotions, social media, booth staffing, exhibit design, and more.  We will present each 10-minute session twice during the show, every hour on the hour that the show hall is open.

Here’s our free seminar schedule (you may want to print it and take it with you to the show):

Expert Advice
After each seminar we will take Q&A from the audience, answering questions about the session topic or any trade show or marketing questions you have. You can also visit the booth at any time to talk with our experienced staff.

Useful, Elegant Gifts
Attendees to our seminars will receive a cool, aluminum-clad notebook.  The elegant notebooks give you a place to jot ideas and reactions to our seminars.  The aluminum covers also evoke the clean, elegant look of our metal exhibit systems.

Chocolate
To complement our “bite-sized” seminars we’re offering bite-sized chocolates.  Stop by anytime during the show when you need a boost, and get a crunchy, creamy nugget of Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

Meet With A Trusted Exhibiting Partner
Whether you are an existing Skyline customer wanting to see what’s new, or an exhibit marketer looking for new ways to achieve trade show success, you can request a meeting with us.  Just click here to ask for a date and time to meet, or stop by to visit us in booth 1325.

Trade shows are a valuable marketing medium.   But they’re also hard work.  You need help you can depend on to succeed.  We hope to see you at our booth at EXHIBITOR2012.

Again, if you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitor’s Association recent Indy’s Super Bowl Shuffle caused quite the stir in Indianapolis when it was released this week. 

Most of the outcry was due to those who thought the video was unoriginal and reflected poorly on the city.  Admittedly when I first viewed the video my reaction was, well…the same.  But when I learned of the context of which it was to be used I gained an appreciation for the video.  ICVA removed the video and posted the following on Twitter:

 @visitIndy Nov 30, 8:33pm via Seesmic

We decided to remove our SB Shuffle video.  It wasn’t intended to be a promo for indy- it was to introduce our sales team @ an industry event

The video was actually intended as a pre-show promotion for the Holiday Showcase trade show in Chicago coming up on December 15. While the roll out of this video was flawed, if we look at the video for it’s intended use, it really hits the mark for trade show promotion!

1. Have fun:  Be willing to laugh at yourself!  The ICVA produced a cheesy parody based on the 1985 Chicago Bears video.  With the chorus of  “We’re so bad, we know we’re good,” it’s obvious they were even poking fun at themselves.  Being able to show your fun side and willingness to laugh at yourself makes you more approachable on the trade show floor.
2. Promotion:  The video was posted to YouTube and an email was sent to the meeting planners directing them to the page.  In this case, this is where the execution of the promotion falls short. Consider using the unlisted video feature on YouTube to make your video viewable to the audience you provide a link.  Also, in creation of your video really tailor your video to your audience. Hindsight being 20/20, I’m sure if the ICVA had thought about creating some type of introduction to the video to make clear that this was for an industry event and not intended to promote the city, it would have been received entirely different.
3. Drive Traffic:  The piece was created in a fun way that would give the ICVA great visual recognition at the show and even talking points.  Creating a fun video that gets people talking will also get people talking at your trade show booth providing opportunities for engagement and relationship building.
4. Highlight your products/services: The ICVA did a great job of encapsulating some of the great hotels in our fair city.  Give your audience a tease of what they will get to see at your trade show appearance.  This can also be a great way to roll out a new product or service.

Using video and fun parodies to promote your next trade show appearance is a great tool to drive traffic.  Just make sure you consider ALL of the posibilities when it comes to creation and promotion.

To do your trade show promotions the right way, pick up the Creating Effective Trade Show  Promotions guidebook.  Get your free copy of this 76-page guide that takes you through the entire process from setting goals to execution to measuring results by clicking here.

Trade show promotions drive more traffic to your booth.  Yet, there are nearly an infinite number of promos and giveaways, and almost as many ideas about how to do promotions better, too.  So what should you do first?

These 10 tips are the hidden gems, secrets, and guideposts that I’ve uncovered in the 20-plus years I’ve been doing, reading, and researching trade show promotions.  Follow these best practices to ensure your trade show booth a hub of meaningful activity:

1. Invent a great product demo to do in your booth, to pull in attendees, get them involved, and start valuable conversations.
2. Giveaways are worthwhile because they get more people to enter your trade show exhibit and help you be remembered after the show, but can attract the wrong people if their appeal is too broad and beyond your target market.
3. Set client and top prospect meetings in advance if at all possible, by offering them something of value such as a gift, access to decision makers, or exclusive information.
4. Promotions are great conversation starters — but your booth staffers have to keep the conversation going, rather than let the prospect walk off.
5. Discounts and show specials help you close the deal when you get rare face-to-face time with hard-to-reach prospects.
6. It’s a guy thing: Choose giveaways and promotions that appeal to the demographics of your target audience.
7. Assertive, friendly, and persistent crowd gatherers are worth their weight in gold-dipped foam stress balls.
8. Before the show, reach out to attendees at minimum with email that offers something of value, potentially with direct mail, and for top prospects, by personal telephone calls.
9. Put more effort into social media for trade show promotions — but only when you are already maximizing traditional pre-show and at-show promotions.  Your social media efforts should be proportionate to the social-media adaption rate of your target audience.
10. Giveaways that tie into your marketing message are much more memorable after the show.

I hope you get more attendees into your booth eager to engage with your booth staffers thanks to these ideas.  What is your own top tip for trade show promotions?  Please share it with us in the comments box below.

I hope you get more attendees into your booth eager to engage with your booth staffers thanks to these ideas. What is your own top tip for trade show promotions? Please share it with us in the comments box below.

This article is one of a series on Top 10 Tips for various key trade show topics:

>Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Booth Staffing

>Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Lead Management

> Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Exhibit Design

 Find more of the most effective strategies and tactics exhibitors are using today in the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper. Click here to request your free 32-page copy. 

Done right, promotions increase tradeshow booth traffic, make positive impressions, deepen relationships, and boost memorability.  Done wrong, they can waste booth staffers’ time, be a drain on your trade show budget, and erode your reputation.

Here are 8 wrong ways to use trade show promotions that exhibitors unfortunately do again and again – and how you can avoid making these same mistakes yourself:

1.  Get the cheapest giveaways possible

That thing you bought to give to booth visitors?  It has your company logo on it.  Do you want people to equate your brand with cheesy, cheap, and poorly made?  And when it breaks in two weeks, do you want your logo on it?  Nope, I thought not.  So invest in quality, as befits your quality brand.

2.  Pile giveaways in your booth – then ignore the people they attract

You heap an enticing stack of giveaways on the edge of your table, and lo and behold, the trick-or-treaters appear.  They grab and dash, and you feel helpless.  Instead, either put the giveaways further in your trade show displays, or out of sight altogether.  Better yet, guard them with a capable booth staffer, who can quickly qualify attendees with a single question.  You may find your giveaway trap is worth it, if you can find enough qualified leads amidst the treasure hunters.

3.  Offer giveaways that have no tie-in to your message.

Is your strategy to buy the latest cool gadget as a giveaway?  While people will love it, that gadget will not help them remember your competitive advantage.  Want to be remembered for the right reasons?  Find a giveaway that is appealing AND that you can memorably hook into your marketing message or theme.  That way, you create a deeper, more meaningful impression your booth visitor will remember after the show.

4.  Don’t tell your booth staffers about your promotions

Skip telling your staffers about your promotions.  Then, have that awkward moment when an attendee hands your staffer your pre-show mailer inviting them to come get your at-show giveaway, only to be met with a blank stare.  Feel how your company (and professional) reputation takes a hit.  Unprepared staffers won’t know about contest requirements, fulfillment expectations, or how to tie your giveaways to your marketing messages.  So train them.

5.  Offer a prize or raffle – without qualifying entrants

Want a big list of people who just want an iPad?  Raffle it off at your next show.  Unfortunately, that list will be pretty useless when you get back to the office – unless you are an iPad salesperson.  Instead, require attendees to answer a few qualifying questions on an entrance form first, so you know who are the good prospects right away.  Better yet, only do a broad-appealing raffle like this when most of the show attendees could be prospects for your products.  Otherwise, you waste a lot of time talking to non-buyers.

6.  Treat your customers like strangers

Don’t reward your customers for their loyalty.  Give them the same $1.29 giveaway you handed over to everyone else.  Let them feel how special you think they are for giving you their valuable business.  Don’t like the way that feels?  Then have a second, higher-level giveaway stashed away that’s only for clients.  A welcome bonus – you’ll be surprised how often when you give that to a client while thanking them for their business, that they answer you by saying, “You know, we do have this new project coming up…”

7.  Hire a celebrity, then ignore the line

Celebrities, especially those within your industry, can draw a crowd.  But that crowd is worthless if your staffers ignore the line waiting to meet the celebrity in your exhibit.  Staffers can engage attendees by talking about the celebrity, but then also ask them about their needs, and record their answers.   So your staff will know who the qualified leads are before they get the celebrity’s autograph.  The same applies to other entertainment you hire that gets a line forming.

8.  Give a great gift – but then don’t follow up

After you’ve invested $5, $10, $20 or more on a high-quality, memorable gift with your best prospects, you let those valuable opportunities die on the vine by not calling them after the show.  Sure you can hope the gift alone will compel them to pick up the phone and place an order with you.  But their desk will be cluttered with work that piled up while they were at the show.  Instead, be sure to prioritize your leads by quality, so your sales force can reach out to those top-level prospects while they are hot.  And tell your sales people what giveaways the leads received, so the sales people can refer to the gift in the follow up call, and tie the goodwill of the gift to them.

Promotions are a powerful tool for trade show marketers.  But like all tools, they need to be used the right way for full effect.

What other wrong ways have you seen exhibitors use trade show promotions?  Share with your peers in the comment box below.

Learn more ways to do trade show promotions the right way! Click here to get the 76-page Creating Effective Trade Show Promotions book, filled with articles, worksheets, checklists, and ideas to boost your booth traffic.

Congrats — you’re no longer the trade show rookie.

You’ve trained your booth staffers to work the aisles.  You’ve asked for (and received) a trade show display with bold images and clear messaging.  And you know how to put together a trade show promotion that gets more people to your booth.

Been there, done that.  Now, you’re ready for something more.

So here are 6 advanced trade show strategies and tactics you can use that will stretch – and grow – your trade show program:

1.  Select Vertical Market Shows

All too often exhibitors can get caught up with doing their best in front of their competitors.  So they invest substantial time and capital in a large trade show booth at their main industry show.   And while plenty of potential customers can attend your big industry show, some, more savvy exhibitors have left that crowded battlefield in pursuit of only their very best prospects.  You can, too.  Find the shows, which may be smaller, where your best vertical market clients gather.  Once there, re-examine your whole approach.  Can you focus your exhibit graphics message and promotions to appeal more directly to that vertical market audience?  Do you have employees with greater expertise in that vertical market you can bring as booth staffers?  And is there more than one vertical market worth this extra effort?

2.  Exhibit At International Shows

It’s most likely that if you are reading this, you are an American.  (If you are not, pay no attention to this – you already are much more likely to exhibit internationally).  Over the last few years, there has been a surge in U.S. companies testing the waters overseas – especially since the GDP growth rate worldwide has been double the growth of the United States.  Exhibiting internationally is a worthwhile way to grow your business – and it’s definitely an advanced strategy.  You have to deal with customs (both the laws and the culture), time zone, language and currency differences, and starting over from scratch, since your company and products are probably unknown there.  If you want some help getting started, Skyline offers a free white paper called International Exhibiting – click here to get a copy.

3.  Set Appointments For Meetings In Your Booth

Exhibitors’ objectives progress through a sequence:  First they exhibit to get awareness of their company, brand and products, second they exhibit to get leads, and finally, they move up to exhibiting to get lengthy face time with their clients and best prospects.  Focusing on meetings requires a new way of thinking.  You have to see your trade show program not as an isolated marketing touch point, but as a key component in your selling cycle.  You have to work with your sales team to identify and entice known attendees to set aside considerable time to meet with you while they are at the show.  You need promotional activities that will resonate with people who already know you, and you want them to really come to your booth.  You need to bring higher-level employees who can advance the sale, and the people who your clients want to take time to see.  Your exhibit design changes, too, because you are more likely to add an element of hospitality.  This strategy leverages the face-to-face nature of trade shows to their fullest.

4.  Add Video and Interactive Technologies

Whether it’s a video on a monitor, flat screen, or an iPad, you can create more visual stopping power and give your staffers presentation and demo tools with video and interactive technologies.  Videos that are short, punchy, and have high production values get attention.  Exhibitors with highly technical products can grow into interactive technologies to help their staffers tell a detailed, consistent story, while keeping attendees more engaged.  The advent of touch screens and iPads make them even more appealing and user-friendly.  Creating content and sourcing these tools require a new skill set that many exhibit managers simply don’t have.  That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, just that they have to work with either their company’s ad agency, or go looking for vendor that has experience making videos especially for trade shows, and interactive technology that helps booth staffers be more convincing.  One tip: design your trade show exhibit with the technology in mind from the beginning, rather than trying to bolt on the tech after the fact.

5.  Tie Your Lead Gathering Closer To Your Company Database

You’ve gone beyond just gathering business cards from your trade show visitors – you get a scan from their show badge that adds some vital qualifying data, or even use your own lead cards to write down more information you gleaned while talking to them.  Now go even further, and tie your lead gathering tighter to your company’s sales and marketing CRM database.  Perhaps it’s getting the data file from the lead retrieval machine you rented from the show, and importing that right into your database.  Or it’s buying (rather than renting) your own lead retrieval machines that you ship to every show, which has a consistent lead format you define for easier importing into your CRM.  Or maybe even using laptops or iPads that, with Internet access in your booth, let staffers enter leads directly into your company database in real time.  That way you can prevent mistakes from bad handwriting, get a head start on reporting results, have a better chance at tying leads to sales, start fulfilling the leads before the show ends, and most importantly, forward your A-quality leads to the appropriate sales rep for immediate follow up.

6.  Measure More Of Your Trade Show Activities

Go beyond just counting leads, and even measuring the ROI of your overall trade show program, and use measurement on a more granular level to help decide how to actually improve your trade show program.  Count the qualified leads each booth staffer brings per hour, so you can decide who staffs the next show, and who stays home.  Measure the impact that major parts of your program give (such as promotions, presentations, interactive technology, and sponsorships) versus their costs, to better allocate your budget at future shows.  And if ROI is not your objective, find a way to measure your objective anyhow, like using surveys before and after a show to measure the brand impact your show program created.  Also, rather than looking at each measurement in isolation show by show, start comparing each show to one another, and at each show over the years.

Which strategy of these strategies is best for you?  Meet with your team and brainstorm which ones will garner the greatest boost for your efforts.   Then dive into these advanced strategies and tactics. You’ll increase your results, grow your skills, make yourself more valuable – and make your job more interesting!

If you’ve used these advanced strategies and tactics yourself, how did they work for you?  Are there other trade show strategies you graduated to once you’d mastered the basics?  Share your experiences with us in the comment box below.

Get more great ideas on advancing your trade show program with the What’s Working In Exhibiting White Paper, in which over 170 exhibitors told what they were doing to improve their trade show results.  Click here to get your free copy.

Skyline hosted webinars called “What’s Working In Exhibiting” on July 13th and 14th, 2011.   Thank you so much for your participation and your questions about how to get the most of of trade shows, be it promotions, show selection, booth staffing, lead management, and more.

As promised, here is the pdf of the actual presentation content.  (If the pdf viewer is not loading on your browser, you can go to the actual pdf file by copying and pasting this URL into your browser window: skyline.com/images/webinars/WhatsWorking_July-13-2011_Webinar.pdf

During the seminar we offered several items.  If you did not attend or did not ask during the webinar, just click to request your copies:

• Measurement Made Easy CD computer program
• What’s Working In Exhibiting White Paper
• Info on Skyline’s portable displays and modular inline exhibits
• Info on Skyline’s custom modular island exhibits

Thanks again for attending!

The use of video for trade show promotions has become increasingly popular. Recently I met with Dave Anderson, Principal of Stream Three Creative an Indianapolis video production firm that assists in clients taking advantage of the power of video.

In this segment we discuss some of the benefits of using video in your trade show display.  We’ll discuss everything from the power of video as a relationship-building tool to engagement and budget.

In this segment with Dave Anderson, Principal of Stream Three Creative. Dave and I discuss using video on the trade show floor in your display. We cover topics such as taping promo’s before the show, collateral after the show and live streaming.

Video continues to increase in popularity. We’ve had clients want to integrate video more often into their trade show booths, which is why Skyline has new products like the DesignView Presentation System, the Large Monitor Station and Mirage Monitor Mount, to give them multiple ways to present video.

I hope you found this helpful if you were planning on using video in your trade show booth – and perhaps inspired you to consider video if you were not planning it before!

Trade show marketers are using more technology and social media as part of their jobs. Find out more in The Evolving Role of Exhibit Marketers, a detailed research report that shares how other exhibitors have adjusted to changes in the economy, their companies, and their jobs. Click here to request your free copy.

When visiting the Fancy Foods Trade Show in New York City, I took some time to visit the various trade show booths representing various states. I was sampling the impressive array of food and drinks offered as treats at each booth.

I noticed that the trade show display for a certain southern state had a young woman giving away samples of gourmet seasoned cashews and anticipated enjoying a cup of them. I wasn’t disappointed – the gourmet nuts were so warm and delicious, I circled around in order to get another sample.

Staffer Skimps On Treats

The staffer at this trade show booth recognized me and she obviously didn’t appreciate my extreme fondness for the treat she was handing out. When I got to the head of the line, she carefully counted out six small cashews that amounted to less than a third of my previous serving.  Her entire demeanor said that she didn’t appreciate my attempt to get more of their great tasting snack.

Weighing Goodwill Against Cashews

While it may be understandable that the young staffer wanted to make sure she had enough cashews for every visitor to her trade show booth, she failed to weigh the potential goodwill of a visitor against the value of a few cashews.  I walked away from the booth disappointed in that state’s brand of southern hospitality.  The young woman had not represented them in a positive light.

Perception Is Everything

The staffer giving out the gourmet cashews looked at me as simply an interloper trying to get an extra treat.  But what if she had looked at me in a different light?  If she had stopped to consider that I was a potential client, she could have created an opening to praise her state and cement a new business relationship.

If she had smiled and welcomed me with enthusiasm, she could have created some goodwill and ensured that I praised her state to others.  She might have said, “Welcome back!  I guess you just couldn’t resist our yummy gourmet cashews! Here, have an extra serving, and be sure to tell everyone you got them from the our trade show booth, where gourmet treats are just the beginning of our big welcome!”

Lessons Learned For Your Staffers

Reviewing the actions of this trade show display staffer, you’ll realize that there were several moments when she had the opportunity to make a wonderful impression for her state, but chose the wrong action:

1. When the staffer inadvertently turned me off and no doubt some other visitors as well.  Don’t let your facial expressions damage your brand identity.  You may be frowning at someone in particular, but plenty of others will see you and turn away.  No one likes to approach someone who looks unhappy or upset.  Remember body language is fast and powerful and is 55% of our communication.
2. The trade show booth staffer chose to save a handful of nuts and in the process lost my interest.  Your trade show booth display may be the only opportunity your company has to make a great impression.  Does it really make sense to skimp on the little things instead of focusing on the big picture?  Relax a bit and don’t be afraid to be generous.
3. The staffer missed a golden opportunity to build a stronger relationship with a visitor to her trade show display. If she’d taken the “Welcome Back” approach, her entire state might have benefited from it.  Look at every interaction as an opportunity to strengthen a relationship, maximizing your business’ positive image.
4. Staffers represent your brand and remember 90% of what visitors remember about your company at a show will be based on your booth staff.

Your staff can make an elephant-sized impression on your booth visitors.  Make sure they understand how their use of giveaways — even gourmet cashews — can have a big impact on how your brand is perceived.

Don’t let your booth staffers pass up the chance to make a great first impression. Find out how to engage your visitors, get tips and more by requesting your free copy of the Booth Staffing Guidebook by clicking here.

Skyline hosted webinars called “Social Media for Trade Show Promotions” on June 15th and 16th, 2011.   Thank you so much for your participation and your questions about the various main social media sites, and how to leverage them to get more people to your trade show booth.

As promised, here is the pdf of the actual presentation content.  (If the pdf viewer is not loading on your browser, you can go to the actual pdf file by copying and pasting this URL into your browser window: skyline.com/images/Social-Media-for-Trade-Show-Promotions-by-Skyline-Exhibits.pdf

During the seminar we offered several items.  Click to request your copies:

• The Evolving Role of Exhibit Marketers White Paper
• What’s Working In Exhibiting White Paper
• Info on Skyline’s portable displays and modular inline exhibits
• Info on Skyline’s custom modular island exhibits

We also mentioned three blog posts that you may find useful:

• YouTube Videos for Trade Show Promotions
• Overcoming The 3 Biggest Hurdles To Using Twitter
• How To Write Your Social Media Plan In 8 Steps

Thanks again for attending!

Correction — We gave the wrong URL in our presentation about how to find the directory for conference groups in LinkedIn.  It’s actually www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory with a capital “D.”  Also, you have to be logged into your LinkedIn account to see the searchable directory.  Sorry for the confusion!

Pre-show promotions are one of your best methods to get people to visit your trade show booth.  And you need that help, because the average attendee only visits about 20 booths – while the average trade show has about 400 exhibitors!

Pre-show promotions are direct marketing for trade shows.  You use direct mail, email and telemarketing to invite trade show attendees.  And while you have other pre-show promotional methods (ads, social media, room drops), exhibitors have told us in surveys that these three are their favorites.

It’s an old saw for direct marketers that the success of your direct marketing relies first on the list, second on the offer, and third on the creative.  Since list building is the most important (and probably the least discussed!) we’re going to cover it in this blog post.

To build a great list for your pre-show promotions, get names from one or more of these 5 sources:

1. The Show Organizer: This is your best list source, as they know who is actually coming! Get both the list of this year’s pre-registered attendees and last year’s actual attendees, and merge them together.  Order only the part of the list that matches your prospects, filtering the list by industry, job title, company size, and whatever other choices the show producer gives you that help you target your audience.  Filtering the list is more important if you only want to reach a small portion of the attendees.  Most importantly, don’t order the names of your competitors.

If the show organizer doesn’t give you the ability to segment the list before your buy it, consider getting the whole list and then manually deleting at least your probable competitors.  If it’s for direct mail and you have an expensive mailer, take even more time to weed out the wrong recipients.

Append email to your list if the names of the attendees were given to you without emails.  You may have that person’s contact name already in your company database, but knowing they’ll be at the show you are exhibiting at makes them even more valuable.  Even take the time to visit their company website and figure out what the email pattern is for your targets – is it first.last@company.com or is it flast@company.com?

Do this especially for the very valuable list from the show organizer, but you can also do these steps after you’ve gathered names from all your list sources (show organizer, company marketing database, sales, and other sources).

Some show organizers will not allow you to directly receive their attendee list for your promotions, but will send your promotions for you.  In that case you send them your email and they forward it to their attendees, or you send your mail piece to a mail house, and they mail it for you.

Timing on when you get the pre-registered list is tricky.  Get it too early, and you won’t get the names of the people who will register closer to the event (and that proportion is higher than it was a few years ago).  Get it too late and you risk your mail package arriving after the attendee has left for the show.  (And don’t mail your pre-show promotions standard/bulk rate – send them first class so they get to attendees before the show!)

2.  Your Previous Leads From That Show: Many people attend the same show year after year.  So go back to your own leads database and pull the previous leads you collected from the show over the last three years.  Those same people may be further along the sales cycle and you will have more success with them because they already know you, having visited your trade show exhibit.

3.  Your Marketing Database: Your marketing department may have also built a database of likely prospects, too.  So ask your marketing department (if that’s not you!) to get you a list of clients and prospects that live in the show’s geographic region or who are in the show’s vertical market.

4.  Your Sales People. Your sales people probably know more about the best prospects than your marketing database reveals.  So tell your sales people you are exhibiting at the ABC show, and ask them to set up meetings with their existing clients and best prospects that will be at the show.  Those can be some of the most productive meetings you’ll get from the entire show!

5.  Other List Sources: If you can’t get lists from the show organizer and your company database is anemic, you can also buy names of potential attendees via a list broker.  Ask to get names of people who fit your target market: Industry, company size, job title, and location.  They’ll get the names from the top industry publications, associations, and list compilers.  You may even get names from the media company or association that owns the show!

Combine the lists into one file, and take out any obvious duplicates, so you don’t mail them the same invitation multiple times, which is annoying and expensive.  Check the list for completeness: Put the whole list into Excel and sort the list by various fields, such as state or city or email address.  Find the names that are not complete, look them up on Google, and fill in the missing data.  If you don’t have the time and experience to merge/purge the list, work with a mail house who can.

One last point – almost certainly you have received these names from the show organizer or the list broker for one-time use, the trade show.  If you are going to send multiple waves of pre-show promotions, get permission up front, and pay for that.  But don’t add any rental names you did not already have into your company database.

It can take some finesse to build a strong pre-show promotions list.  But it’s worth it!  You’ll have a much better chance of attendees receiving your great offer and creative promotion, and then visiting your tradeshow display.

How else have you built a great list for your pre-show promotions?  Let us know in the comment box below.

Learn more about pre-show promotions and other key trade show marketing best practices with the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper, yours free by clicking here.

If you’re really serious about improving your pre- and at-show promotions, there is no better source than the 65-page book, Creating Effective Trade Show Promotions.  Get your copy by clicking here.