Networking and connecting with your current and potential customers are key to any tradeshow booth's presence. However, in a world of short attention spans and advertisements in many forms all across the board, how does a company compete for attention on the tradeshow floor?
This is the question that racked my brain as I walked around the International Elastomer Conference this week at the Cleveland Convention Center. I took note of some of the attention-grabbing techniques companies were using. It seems the exhibitors at the show are trying new things to make those connections; and it shows.
Take, for example, the putting green at one of the booths or the sandwiches at another that you could smell from at least two rows away. These things were both quite the draw for attendees. And it seemed as if they came for the food or the fun, and stayed for the conversation. Which begs yet another question, is it worth budgeting for these kinds of special touches at conferences?
I can't help but think the traffic would be less than quality and by the standards of many businesses today, that is how success is measured as far as marketing efforts are concerned. Don't get me wrong, I think personalizing a booth is a great thing, and being the talk of the conference floor must have residual benefits.
Tracking the additional traffic from these marketing techniques would help answer whether it's beneficial or not. Measuring how many people came to your booth and what brought them in seems very important to make a show as successful as possible.
Companies invest a substantial amount of money to exhibit and for a marketing plan to make the show beneficial. Without measuring a show's success and following up on leads and prospects afterward, it would all be for null.
So making measurement a part of the review process after the BBQ or the putting green, or Hexpol's Harley Davidson giveaway is a must. Evaluating the impact and return on investment should be part of that strategy.
It's all about audience. And an International Elastomer Conference's exhibitors seems to be trying new things to attract that audience.
What's the most creative swag or marketing technique you've seen at a tradeshow? Tell us in our comments section or on Twitter using #ConferenceSwagFavorites.