How founders can get the most out of trade shows

This article reflects solely the opinions of the author. It does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of his employer.

Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Still hesitating about whether to buy the ticket for Tech in Asia’s next conference? Fret not, this is not an advertisement, but an attempt to simply share effective offline marketing strategies for entrepreneurs.

Every startup begins small. At the beginning, no one might take any notice of your startup due to the lack of branding and customers. Trade shows and conferences are in the school of outbound marketing tactics which includes television/radio advertisements, telemarketing, mailed brochures, newspaper and magazine ads. Trade shows are the perfect platform for companies to form relationships and showcase their products to prospects.

Many would argue that inbound marketing is more effective and scalable. The truth is that lead generation will remain poor until people know and trust a brand. If your business’ target audience does not have a space to gather online, or belong to the generation of traditionalists and Baby Boomers, inbound marketing shouldn’t be your only medium. This is largely due to the fact that inbound marketing is mostly delivered through technologies that are widely adopted only by the more tech savvy generation.

What happens if your startup decides to adopt trade show marketing but is feeling anxious about it? Good event planning can make a difference, but the question remains about how to navigate such events successfully.

I have organised, spoken at, sponsored and attended startup events all over the world in the past 4 years. Speaking partly from experience, these are some lessons we can learn from those events.

Selecting the right events to attend

Photo credit: Lifehacker

You first have to decide which events to attend, as every industry has a large number of trade events. Be clear about your agenda for attending these trade shows. Start by having a list of all the events in your target industry.

Are you trying to get media exposure, more investors, secure major customers or something else? Assess each event according to your goals.

Many conferences state the speakers, audience and schedule on their sites or on Eventbrite, so you can have an idea about the type of interactions that can take place in each event. It is also a good idea to check with past attendees, social media and sites like Quora and Reddit for reviews to get a feel of the event without attending.

Once you have done that, check your budget for how much you can spend per quarter on events, and allocate your funds accordingly. Based on your quarterly budget, work backwards to see if attending that event is beneficial in both non-quantifiable and quantifiable ways.

Prepare for the event

To prepare for the event, make a list of key people you plan to meet. They could be the media, potential partners, existing and potential customers, vendors and investors.

Get their contacts through the conference networking tools, LinkedIn or friends and send an email with an appropriate subject head like, “Can we speak at [Trade Show ABC] for 5 minutes?” to get a meeting scheduled beforehand.

Get a meeting scheduled with key people beforehand.

If you would like to reach out to the media, prepare a single page media document to jumpstart a conversation around media angles and create excitement around your startup. This could be a new product, partnerships, a big customer acquisition or anything news worthy. Don’t forget to post on your social media platforms that your company will be attending the event.

What if you are not invited to VIP dinner or exclusive night activities? You can still host your own dinner on another night. A great way to secure high value prospects is to get your friends to invite a high profile personality. The rest of your invitations can feature that person’s name to attract others.

Two pro tips: pick a killer venue as people like to dine at a swanky locations. Potential customers also prefer to talking to existing customers for reference.

Things to look out for on the day of the event

If you decide to set up a booth, think about picking a good location with high footfall, using impressive decoration, and present something meaningful to engage passersby long enough to view your product or answer to your call to action. If resources allow, your team can be proactive on the floor to direct people to your booth.

Photo credits: Tech in Asia

The opportunity to speak in front of a crowd for 30 minutes or so to introduce your startup to potential customers will be time well spent. You will save time introducing yourself to each individual at your booth, as people have already seen you on stage.

Landing speaking engagements are tough, so it is crucial to build relationships with event organisers. Start at small events and align your talk with your expertise so that you become a recognised expert. Soon, you will get more speaking gigs and get invited to exclusive speaker’s dinners to network.

At major events, you might end up meeting hundreds of people, few of which are key contacts. Use CamCard to scan business cards, make notes on how you met acquaintances, and send emails to remind them and give them a call to action. If an attendee doesn’t have a business card, politely ask for their LinkedIn profiles.

To end off, to be outstanding among swarms of Facebook and Google ads is as painful as buying lottery tickets. These inbound marketing methods can be thought of as the ongoing development of a relationship.

However, you can’t have a relationship without an initial introduction. Trade shows and other outbound marketing efforts greatly increase the probability of that “first sight” so that a business relationship can develop thereafter.

Startups should growth hack, move quickly and learn from mistakes. It is sometimes necessary to do things that do not scale in order to get your first 1,000 customers.