Prepare Yourself for a Kicka@% Tradeshow Season
2025 is here and with it comes a new trade show season. There’s no secret that trade shows are powerful opportunities to showcase your brand as well as connect with prospects and industry leaders. Impactful booths require well-thought-out plans and a carefully executed strategy—whether you’re a seasoned exhibitor or preparing for your debut event.
To help you prepare for an amazing 2025 trade show season, we’ve revised our event checklist; making it easier than ever to stay focused, organized, and on-brand. This guide will help you optimize your efforts from pre-planning through follow-up.
Let’s get ready for a kicka%# tradeshow season!
STEP 1:
Pre-Event Planning
Set Clear Goals:
Establish an Event budget
Define your objectives (lead generation, brand awareness, networking).
Establish KPIs for measuring success.
Do Your Show Homework:
Define your target audience and craft personas.
Create a master list of trade shows and events happening within your company’s market as well as those relative to your target audiences, and sort them by priority.
Request attendee information from the event host—job title, demographics, industry, and any other segmentation that you’ve identified as vertical segments.
Know the (other) sponsors of the event—especially if your competitors are in attendance.
Confirm booth size and layout with organizers.
Ensure Wi-Fi and internet connectivity plans are in place.
Marketing Materials::
Order printed materials: brochures, flyers, business cards, catalogs.
Prepare digital assets: presentations, videos, and social media graphics.
STEP 2:
Create a Standout Booth
Creating a booth that’s the talk of the conference doesn’t always have to cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. Here are some “standout booth” elements to consider:
Booth Essentials:
Eye-catching booth design—pops of color, clear mission message, simple graphics, organized materials, space for attendees to gather, space for collateral or samples, etc.
Banners and signage.
Tablecloths, stands, and furniture.
Lighting for displays.
Booth Essentials:
Product samples or demo units.
Order forms, contracts, or lead capture forms.
QR code or NFC-enabled cards for digital contact sharing.
Order printed materials: brochures, flyers, business cards, catalogs.
Prepare digital assets: presentations, videos, and social media graphics.
Create branded giveaways (pens, tote bags, water bottles).
Booth Tech Must-Have’s:
Extension cords, surge protectors, adapters.
Backup drives for presentations or demos.
Spare batteries and tech repair kits.
Tablets, laptops, or interactive screens for demos.
Charging station or power bank for devices.
Booth Considerations:
Interactive displays
Hands-on demos or product samples
Floor graphics
Overhead graphics
Table and floor signs, banners, and digital displays
Seating or networking space that encourages people to mingle at your booth
Professional event spokespeople or models
Fun yet purposeful SWAG—everyone has pens, think outside of the norm
Team Prep:
Train staff on booth roles, key messaging, and product/service knowledge.
Provide a schedule for booth coverage and meetings.
Assign a social media team member to capture event highlights.
STEP 3:
Pre-Event Communication Strategy
Generating pre-show hype is part of the recipe for steering people toward your booth. Regardless of your competitor’s attendance or absence, don’t be afraid to make your presence known and your intentions clear. Have a new product reveal? Get people excited! Have an amazing give-away? Get people excited! Planning on leading lectures or demos? You get the idea, get people excited!
Use social media, e-marketing, your website, and even direct mail to promote your booth.
Create an event hashtag!
Send personal invites to clients and prospects you think (or know) will be attending to stop by your booth.
Take advantage of any baked-in event communications. Submit messaging and brand assets that correlate to your event strategy.
Update company email signatures with event details—booth number, dates, hashtag—for added exposure.
STEP 4:
Post-Show Communication—Keep The Good Vibes Going
The show is over, the booth is broken down, now what happens? This is a critical moment for all vendors. Keeping event leads warm with a solid communication plan, sharing show highlights, extending show promotions, extra incentives, you get the idea!
Following Up:
Organize and prioritize collected leads.
Use surveys to request feedback from attendees about your booth or product.
Use surveys to collect internal team feedback to refine future trade show participation.
Invite new contacts to connect with you via LinkedIn.
Send personalized thank-you emails or follow-up messages. Assigning leads to automated Marketing campaigns is proven to be highly effective, however, don’t forget to reach out personally to those you personally connected with at the event.
Don’t delay! If it takes you two to three weeks to circle back to leads, they could be cold or worse, have found another company to satisfy their need. Make time to reconnect with priority leads.
Don’t be over-eager! Just as important as it is to not wait weeks before reaching out, don’t start blowing up their email and phones immediately either. Wait at least 48 to 72 hours before contacting.
Evaluate Performance:
Measure KPIs against goals.
Debrief with your team to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Stay positive. Stay humble. Stay amazing. Not every great trade show conversation is going to lead to a sale, a client, or a conversion. That’s OK! Learn from what is working and what isn’t and make changes for the next show.
Trade shows in 2025 are as much about technology and innovation as they are about personal connection—this checklist ensures you’re ready to excel in both!
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