Tips for Construction Trade Shows: Generate More Leads than Ever

Equipment and construction trade shows remain an effective method for dealers to meet new customers, generate new leads, and build strategic partnerships. They are a way to showcase your product and service offering, meet face to face with prospects, and get a leg up on your competition who doesn’t attend.

But you only get out of construction trade shows what you put into them. It’s important to follow several key best practices, from your pre-marketing campaign to your trade show booth design, in order to capitalize on the event as much as possible. Here are some tips you can follow before and during your next show.

Publicize your presence at the event

Before attending equipment or construction trade shows, it’s crucial that you let people know that you’ll be there. Build some anticipation about what you’re bringing, invite people to stop by your booth, and encourage people to contact you beforehand to set up meetings at the show. The best way to publicize that you’ll be at the event is by sending out several messages leading up to it to your email distribution list. You should also post about the show on your social media accounts. Make the show sound as interesting as possible and try to get people to attend!

Start thinking about your trade show booth design ideas early

Your booth is the centerpiece of your presence at the event. It has to stand out, convey what you offer quickly and concisely, and it needs to spur further conversation with your team. When it comes to your trade show booth design ideas, try to avoid anything that is too text heavy. As an equipment dealer, you want your machines to speak for themselves. Use a lot of photos, with only enough text on banners and other surfaces to succinctly convey your value. A few strategically placed bullets or lines giving a top level explanation of your services and brands is enough.

It’s important to have a professional handle your trade show booth design. They will be able to take your brand colors, logo, and copy, and put it all together in a way that looks appealing, so you can attract visitors. Make sure you give yourself enough lead time to have the booth designed and printed before the event.

Tailor your message to the audience

Many equipment or construction trade shows will have a specific angle or niche market they are targeting, for example demolition, utilities, road building, municipalities, etc. It’s important that you match your messaging before, during, and after the event to that specific audience. Highlight your services, types of machines, and equipment attributes that are most appealing to those types of businesses. This specific messaging should be present in your physical show materials, your booth, and in your preshow marketing sent to your email distribution list and posted on social media.

Incorporate offers to encourage foot traffic

Although you don’t necessarily have to have a special offer for all the construction trade shows you attend, the right offer, combined with the right trade show booth design, can catch the eye of attendees. The more people you have stopping by your booth, the more conversations you can have, and the more prospects you can turn into customers. At Winsby, when we help our clients with planning their trade show, we research the best offers for the particular niche and set them up for you.

Don’t forget post show follow up

One of the most important steps in taking full advantage of equipment and construction trade shows is following up after the show. You should send out emails thanking people you talked to for stopping by your booth and asking about their needs. Your sales people can also call them to continue the conversation and discuss what they talked about with your team at the event. Capitalize on the engagement and rapport your team built at the trade show to turn these prospects into customers.

If you have any questions about construction trade shows or need assistance with trade show booth design ideas, contact us today!