Trade shows let you meet a substantial number of potential customers face-to-face at a reasonable cost. The should be part of your marketing plans to both generate leads and to create brand recognition. In “Trade Shows - What Goes on Behind the Scenes?” I talk about the strategy and planning that goes on before every event.

While it may look to the casual observer like exhibitors just “set up their tents” and wait for attendees to make eye contact and then usher them in for a sales pitch; a lot of strategy and planning goes on first. Planning in advance ensures successful events. Yes, a trade event is a marketing campaign, much like a direct mail campaign, and should be part of a company’s overall marketing strategy.

PrintCEO Blog - on November 30 - posted comments from industry speakers, pundits, and editors from WhatTheyThink (including me).

This past week WhatTheyThink.com ran a series of videos from its analysts and commentators on the trade shows print services providers should exhibit at or attend. We all know the importance of attending printing industry trade shows and events if we want to stay on top of the latest technologies and trends, but we should also have the trade shows our customers and potential customers attend on our list.

When you do invest in trade shows and other “in person” event, always - always - follow up promptly. There’s nothing worse than getting a call from a sales rep who opens the conversation reminding me that I stopped by their booth at an event months ago.

I found a reference on Exhibitoronline.com that was baffling! Freeman Decorating – an exhibit rental and management company – tracked its rental properties for over a year and found that more than half of its rented exhibits were shipped back with the leads left inside the rented reception counters, completely forgotten. Pretty pricey wastepaper, eh?