Trade Show Design Software

• Identify Your Goals and Set a Measure for Success - Whether you're going to the trade show to generate sales leads, introduce a new service,  or just generate brand awareness, make sure you know ahead of time what you want to get out of having a booth. You want to generate social media buzz on Twitter? You want to collect emails and phone numbers for qualified leads?
• Promote Your Booth - Prior to any trade show, you may want to email your existing customers or prospects. The trade show might be the perfect place to set up face to face meetings. You may also want to advertise online, send a press release, or send a direct mail piece to a qualified list.
• Plan Your Collaterals - You'll want to have both eye-catching display pieces like a multi-media presentation, banners and poster, and takeaways like brochures and flyers, and fun give-aways, or swag, like t-shirts and pens.

• Train Your Team - Make sure everyone on your team is on the same page about responsibilities and message. It may also be helpful to go over the process for following up with leads. You may want to document the process using a flowchart.
• Don't Forget About the Logistics - Don't forget about submission deadlines for things like getting an advertisement in the trade shows promotional guide and make travel plans and reservations for your team and any collaterals you plan to bring.

• Manage Your Trade Show Planning Like a Project - To keep track of all the deadlines, collateral development, promotional tasks, it's best to create at least an informal project plan.

• Follow-Up - Using a mind map, brainstorm ways to follow up any leads shortly after the trade show. What actions do you want your prospects to take? Take advantage of a special trade show offer, subscribe to a newsletter, sign up for a webinar?

If you're an organization thinking about setting up a trade show, SmartDraw can help you create maps and layouts for booths and meeting rooms.