One of the first milestones of “growing up” for B2B technology companies is committing to that first trade show booth. And one of the first reactions to that milestone is sticker shock. The booth, the space, the airfare, the hotel, the meals, the time. (It’s a lot!)
So the thought turns to how to track trade show ROI: Prospects met? Leads generated? Sales closed?
Sure, tracking ROI is important, but when you’re spending so much money and time on trade shows, every hour and dollar spent on trade shows must also deliver ROI.
We talked to some of our friends about how they maximize trade show ROI, asking for ideas beyond the typical tchotchkes, pre-event meeting scheduling, sponsorships, etc.
Below are their best ideas (along with some of our own): 10 hacks to get the most out of every trade show dollar.
We’ve all seen it. The booth staff at a trade show that eats together, drinks together, walks around together. A big miss.
That’s why Mark Rickmeier, CEO at TXI, a boutique digital consultancy for modern industrial leaders, says their best practice is to split up.
“When multiple people from TXI attend a conference, we try to see each other as little as possible. By splitting up, we expand our surface area of luck, allowing our firm to be many places at once – at the booth for prospecting, around the venue for networking, and in the speaker sessions for learning. Sure, it’s more comfortable just to hang with your work friends, but nothing beats spreading out for maximizing your trade show ROI.”
Trade shows are often in interesting locations, so one way to stand out is to consider hosting a city-specific experience or excursion for key prospects. That’s the advice from Monica Ginsburg, a freelance B2B writer and marketing director. “I love city tours. It’s a way to show that you’re the kind of company that goes above and beyond, and in some situations – like boats and buses – it’s a way to get people’s time with fewer distractions.”
For those looking for a city experience in Chicago, we’d recommend Bobby’s Bike Hike and Trail to Tap Room.
Isabelle Papoulias, head of strategic operations and marketing at EliteOps, has seen great success hosting panels immediately before an event.
“Many people arrive early for conferences, so a well-timed private panel discussion in front of a small group of prospects – perhaps over lunch or dinner – is a great way to show your expertise and sophistication.”
If you invite a few prospects to be on the panel, hopefully with one or two “anchor” names, you can then use that as a magnet when inviting other prospects to come. Attendees will come away with some strong new connections before the conference even begins. And to get even more bang from this effort, be sure to record the discussion for future content on your blog, LinkedIn, and other channels.
Most shows now offer apps to find prospects, but too many people ignore it until their flight to the conference.
Mike Harmon, Director of Enterprise Demand Marketing at Impinj, says, “While this may not be a ‘hack,’ doing the hard work of pre-show research is critical. When combined with direct messages to request meetings or to invite folks to your booth, happy hours, or panels, your trade show ROI is sure to go up.”
Bob Armour, President and CMO, Growers Edge, says the biggest mistake people make is coming up with some promotion that brings a big line at their booth – celebrity autographs, cool giveaways, etc. – but then limit their interactions to scanning badges. Instead, Bob says, you have to work the lines.
“The good news is your promotion brought a big line to your booth, the bad news is you have prospects just standing there getting bored and maybe even frustrated by the wait. Assign some people to work the line, identifying the top prospects, and engaging in discussion to build stronger connections.”
Something I’ve done with success three times (this is Josh, btw, if you didn’t notice my byline) is to reach out to possible leads ahead of a conference and ask for a few minutes to interview them for an article, with the goal of placing the article in a relevant media outlet (HR Tech Connect interviews led to this in TechCrunch, InsurTech Connect interviews led to this in Digital Insurance, and HLTH interviews led to this in MedCity News).
Here’s an actual email I used to request interviews at HR Tech Connect. It would be easy to revise for any conference you might be attending:
Sarah
My name is Josh Inglis, and I'm the owner of a communications firm (Propllr) that does a good deal of work with HR tech companies.
I'll be at HR Tech Connect, and I was wondering if you'd have 10 minutes to meet.
Here's why:
While at the conference I have 10+ short meetings set up with a variety of different HR tech startups to do quickie interviews on how their marketing is (or isn't?) breaking through in a very crowded marketplace.
From these interviews, which I'll record for accuracy, I'm going to write an article around the theme of how to break through in a crowded market.
I would love to layer in your thoughts, thinking that you are an experienced but (I think?) agnostic observer. Namely, I'd love to know what you see working or not, and what you wish you'd see more of or less of, from HR tech vendors.
Would you be game for that?
Josh
What I love about this approach is that it’s giving a prospect something of value (a chance to look smart in a media outlet and maybe even get some SEO and LLM juice), not taking something of value (their time).
Trade shows used to be swimming with reporters, but smaller newsrooms and tighter budgets have caused a big reduction in numbers. That said, it’s still a good idea to ask the trade show organizers for the media list (depending on your level of involvement – meaning dollars – you may or may not get it).
Look through the reporters just as you would a list of attendees and determine which of them is most relevant to what you’re trying to do and who you’re trying to reach, and then send them a short email inviting them to your booth. Your email should be very short – who you are, what you do, how you do it, and how you tie to what the reporter cares about.
Quick note: It’s hard for reporters to make time for these quick visits, as they’re often at shows to cover the largest companies and the biggest news, so be ready to hit them up after the show with a “Sorry we couldn’t meet at the show, but we’d still love to connect with you” email.
Here’s more advice on pitching reporters.
I recently spoke with an early-stage startup that was ready to put out a very important (to them) release during a big industry conference. But in my opinion, it wasn't going to be a very important release to others. I told them they shouldn't fight for news coverage at the conference, but instead wait a beat and…
Here’s more info on how to announce news (or not) at a trade show.
Aimee Schuster is a veteran marketing leader and fractional CMO, and she’s found the best trade show results come from the pre-work to capture contacts in meaningful ways.
“I find it critical to incentivize contact capture through a combination of thought leadership content, like a big industry report, and customized giveaways. Just be sure to have the right process in place for gathering the info you need.”
For example, Aimee says that instead of accepting anyone’s random business card, only allow suitable prospects to enter, preferably with a QR code or badge scan. You get another contact point with delivery of the thought leadership and then again when the winner of the giveaway is announced.
This is really creative, from Jonathan Pipek, a GTM leader and founder of Blue Manta Consulting.
“Many of your buyers have kids or grandkids, so why not give them something their families will love? Skip the generic logoed squish toy and think about what their kids and grandkids might want,” Jonathan says. “If you can snag the year's hottest toy, like Harry Potter Lego sets, Barbie dolls during the movie launch, or Squishmallows in 2023, you'll be remembered.”
The difference between an expensive marketing tactic and a transformational sales event is what you do before, between, and after the badge scans. Be the B2B tech startup that shows up with a plan: spread out, host something memorable, provide actual value, engage at a deeper level, and think about life after the conference. Do that, and every hour at the show compounds. The booth may come down, but your sales will only go up.