Maximising trade show success: My top three tips

This year, Dr.PAWPAW has recently been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade and this is an achievement we take great pride in.

I am also a UK Export Champion and truly believe that international and UK trade shows are a must for any business looking to grow its national and international market. Why? It’s a great way to engage either with the consumer or with your trade and understand what people are liking about your products, your services and your brand. In the past years of attending trade shows for my business I have developed some key strategies, and today I will be sharing my top three tips to ensure you are making the most out of the trade shows you have planned for the year.

Tip one

Do your research before attending the show. Try to find out how you can maximise the opportunity. There’s one particular show that we do, called the ECRM, and each year I will read all profiles of the retailers that are coming into my room so that I know exactly what they are looking for and maximise the time we have together. There is no point in trying to sell them a product that they are not looking for. Maximise the time you have and listen.

Tip two

Always be energised. I’m still shocked to see people at the shows I attend that don’t seem bothered to be there, usually sitting at the back of their stands eating, drinking and not talking to the people that have come to see them. Part of our trade shows strategy at Dr.PAWPAW is to have some of our team members at the front of the stand at all times, always trying to engage with the audience. Even though you might think everyone knows your brand and there’s no need for this type of strategy, there are always going to be people still having to discover it or keen to learn more about it. The point of this show is to be there to do business and to meet people, while also letting your brand identity shine through.

Tip three

Whilst the trade show obviously is the main work, I still believe that the hard work really begins after the show. All too often we get very excited. The attendees that might have said that they want to list your brand are very enthusiastic during the show, however when they leave and return to their offices, they might start to have doubts. It’s so important that you follow up, reminding them of the reason why they decided to speak with you in the first place. And when I say “follow up”, I mean follow up again, and again, and again. Make sure they do not forget that they like your brand and believe in it.

As soon as we get back from these trade shows, the team will add all emails of the contacts we met at the event onto our email marketing system, and we will email the list once, twice, three to four times even for approximately a month, so that it’s really clear to the attendee what the brand is about. We will then of course send dedicated emails, referring back to notes of what the individual customer was interested in, in order to show personalisation and care.

Finally, it’s really old fashioned, I know, but picking up the phone is a great way to see how things can maximise the impact of the trade shows you are attending. move forward. It’s a great way to close any deal. 

If you’re new to incorporating trade shows into your business strategy, these three tips will help you show up prepared and turn every opportunity into meaningful partnerships and successful deals.

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