Tips and Tricks to Spring Clean your Trade Show Marketing Strategy

Your marketing strategy should be a living document. If you haven't updated your marketing strategy in the past two years, it's time to pull it out, dust it off and update it. Your marketing strategy should be a living document, flexing and stretching every 12 months with the ever-so-quickly-changing digital landscape. Reviewing your strategy often will allow you to keep to your core values, grow with your business and incorporate the latest trends in a way which works for your company. We've outlined a few tips and tricks to help spring clean your trade show marketing strategy for a success next year.

Consider this

In reviewing your strategy, it's important to look back on the year (or years) to see what worked and what didn't. Which strategy was most effective? Is one tactic out-performing another? If so, should you keep putting money and energy into what isn't working as well as the other tactics? Evaluate your need versus what you've always done.

Open discourse with your audience

If you're unsure what works best for your audience, don't be scared to ask them. Surveys are a great way to get the good stuff out of your audience.

General marketing strategies versus trade show marketing strategy

How do your general marketing strategies fit with your trade show marketing strategies? They should complement each other so your brand stays consistent. If a customer meets you on the trade show floor, they should be able to recognize your brand as soon as they step foot in your brick and mortar or visit you online.

Back it up with the numbers

The big boss is going to want to see the data that backs up your reasoning for keeping or changing tactics. Perform A/B testing with email and social media campaigns. Perform cause and effect analysis about the potential pitfalls of following or not following your marketing plan. How will your company's ROI be affected if you do not follow an updated strategy?

Recap and reevaluate

You're almost guaranteed to learn something new at every trade show. After every show, recap what went well, what didn't and what others did that you liked. How can you take out what didn't work and implement better versions of what did? Be sure to keep your brand top of mind. Don't implement any strategy that might alienate your ideal client.

Plan, plan plan

Determine your trade show goals beforehand and review afterward to ensure you are on target. What are your target numbers to hit, who is your target audience? Develop an engagement plan with your target audience, and just as importantly, a follow up plan with those customers. If you do not want your company to stay stagnate, review your general marketing and trade show marketing strategies every 12 months. If you're really diligent, follow up every quarter to make sure you're on track, ensure you're able to bend and switch plans swiftly should trends curve a way you were not anticipating. And always stay true to your core values and brand. We put together a handy brand assessment toolkit white paper to help. Have you found any strategies which have worked for you? We would love to hear them in the comments below!