Image Credit: Nick Hagen Photography via NAHB International Builders’ Show
Exhibiting at building and construction trade shows is a great way to network, generate leads, and increase brand awareness. However, if you want to guarantee success and a good return on investment, you have to do more than just reserve a space for your booth and show up hoping for the best.
From pre-show marketing tactics to post-show lead follow-ups, trade show exhibiting requires months of planning and preparation. A trade show marketing plan can be very helpful in getting the best return on your investment. It is also a really great way to establish your goals and determine how you’ll measure your progress in achieving them.
With all of this in mind, here are some trade show marketing tips and tricks to help make sure that your next exhibit is a success. In this article, we will also discuss some easy ways to improve your building industry trade show marketing efforts to attract new clients, upsell current clients, and generally grow your professional network.
Who Attends Building and Construction Trade Shows?
When looking at building and construction trade shows to attend, you can often find reports published by the organizers detailing the breakdown of attendees. This information can include attendees’ profession, their role within that profession, and which geographic location they come from, among other information.
Professions often represented at a construction trade show include:
- Architects, designers, and engineers.
- Contractors, builders, and developers.
- Governmental employees.
- Manufacturing companies and other service providers.
- Consultants.
Job positions represented include CEOs and owners, sales and marketing staff, and project managers.
Some shows will target all those involved in the building industry. Others will target specific groups, for example, a trade show aimed at architects and interior designers.
Who Exhibits at a Building Industry Trade Show?
Those that exhibit at construction trade shows will also vary. Shows may be focused on manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers targeting potential clients. Others may see architects, contractors, builders, and the like promoting their businesses.
As a building materials supplier, you will want to focus on exhibiting at shows that appeal to those that will use your products most, like architects, developers, or contractors.
However, you may want to attend shows where your clients exhibit. You can walk the show to meet potential partners, pick up on trends, and connect with current clients.
Benefits of Exhibiting and Attending Building Trade Shows
There are many benefits of both attending and exhibiting at building and construction trade shows, including:
- Lead generation and networking opportunities.
- Increased brand awareness.
- Gaining sales and specifications.
- Managing client relationships.
- Discovering industry trends and what competitors are doing.
Tips for Success at Building and Construction Trade Shows
If exhibiting for the first time or you want to increase your returns, follow these top tips to get the most from a trade show.
1. Plan for Building and Construction Trade Shows in Advance
Planning your presence in advance of the trade show is crucial. This step includes researching the best shows to exhibit at, setting budgets and a goal for ROI, and designing a highly optimized trade show booth.
Research the Shows You Can Exhibit at and Be Selective
The first step in being successful at building and construction trade shows is discovering which shows you can exhibit at and choosing those that should bring the best returns.
Look at who will be at the show (attendees and exhibitors), how many people are expected to attend the show, and what events are offered outside of trade show hours (such as networking events), among any other criteria that are important to you.
Set a Budget
A budget is crucial when planning for trade shows. Estimating return on investment is also important and can help you determine an appropriate budget. After confirming a show, take the exhibitor fee from your budget and split the remaining amount over all other costs relating to the show.
The following equation is used to determine trade show ROI. You can estimate a budget by inputting your desired ROI and return and solving for “x” to find an ideal trade show budget. Remember to be realistic with returns and ROI to avoid overspending and even making a loss.
Trade Show ROI = (Return (revenue generated from trade show) – Investment (costs related to the trade show)) / Investment x 100
Some common trade show costs include:
- Transport and accommodation.
- Shipping.
- Marketing and display materials production (posters and banners, catalogs, samples, etc.)
- Booth staffing (if you will be paying staff outside of normal working hours.)
- Giveaway items.
- Booth furniture.
Prepare Goals and Promotions for the Show
Once you’ve decided which shows to attend and know who will be attending, plan your trade show strategy. You’ll need to determine your trade show goals, so think about why you are going to the show and what you want to achieve.
Common goals to achieve at building industry trade shows include:
- Connecting with current clients to keep relationships strong, upsell them, or gain additional sales and specifications.
- Building brand awareness.
- Networking and generating leads.
- Promoting new products or product lines.
When you have your goals decided, begin planning your promotions and how you will measure and attain success relating to these goals. Including metrics in your goals is crucial. For example, you may want to obtain at least 100 new leads at the show and close sales with at least 20% of those leads within a month after the trade show.
Promote Your Presence at the Show and Schedule Meetings
Promoting your presence at the show in the months leading up to it is crucial too. Use your website, emails, and social media to tell your audience you’ll be at the show, what your booth number is, and what you’ll be promoting.
Also, reach out to anyone you want to schedule meetings with. These contacts include current clients and prospects you’re trying to close or introduce to your building materials brand.
Many trade shows also offer ad spaces to purchase on their website or in emails to attendees and show programs. If there are many attendees you want to target and make aware of your presence, paying for these ads could be worth the investment.
2. Optimize Your Booth
One of the most important parts of building and construction trade shows is booth design. Your booth must be on-brand, appealing to attendees, and promote your message and building materials effectively.
When planning your trade show booth, start by checking booth guidelines, including dimensions and what’s included with your space, if anything. Double-check when you can begin setting up and when setup must be completed by. Then plan your time accordingly, especially if you have a complicated setup.
Some elements to consider in your booth design include:
- Hanging signs, posters, and banners.
- Modular displays.
- Light fixtures.
- Seating areas for meetings.
- Interactive elements – such as a touch screen with brand information or products that attendees can interact with.
- Areas and equipment for demos.
- Tables and tabletop displays.
- Table skirts.
Building Industry Trade Show Booth Design
When designing your booth, keep furniture and inventory minimal. The design elements, like posters, banners, and other signage, should be on brand (for example, in your brand colors) and eye-catching without being overwhelming. Make sure your brand name, logo, and tagline, if you have one, are prominent and on all marketing materials.
Ensure you have space to display building materials samples and prototypes. After all, attendees are at the show to find high-quality building materials, so showcase your offerings effectively.
If you plan to have a lot of meetings, set up a comfortable space to sit and discuss your products with clients. Also, make sure any materials you want to give them, like samples, catalogs, or sell sheets, are easily accessible.
3. Focus on Showcasing Your Building Materials
You must showcase your building materials as best as possible at your booth. You can tell attendees about all the benefits and features of your materials, but showcasing actual product samples and prototypes has to be a big part of your display.
Ensure you bring samples to give away and have a variety of materials on display. Also, create samples that have all your company information on them, including your logo, website, email, and phone number. If you have space, you can also add social media handles.
4. Capture Information from Everyone that Visits your Booth
A primary goal for most companies at building and construction trade shows is to generate leads and collect prospects’ contact information. Therefore, you need an easy method for collecting this information at your booth.
A good way to do this is by asking prospects to add their information to a CRM via a tablet while at the booth. If they opt to hand you a business card, add their information to your digital database as soon as possible.
Offering resources in return for their information is often a good idea. These resources could include sending them an eBook, white paper, or case study covering an industry topic or your building materials. A discount code for their next order is also a great lead magnet.
Stay Top of Mind with Attendees
Along with collecting information, you want to ensure leads have your information and keep you top of mind as a building materials supplier. When using lead magnets, they will get some of your information (such as an email address) when they receive the resource.
However, if not using lead magnets or if you want to send more direct correspondence, send emails after they leave the booth. Personalize emails to highlight what you discussed at the booth and potential next steps. To do this, ensure you take detailed notes when talking to any client or prospect.
Offering branded swag can also help keep your brand top of mind. Try to create swag items that are useful to those in the construction industry and will actually be used. Branded power bank phone chargers have been very popular with recent trade show attendees. Other items to consider include sticky notes, tape measures, or notepads.
5. Make Good Use of Your Time After the Show
When the trade show ends (each day and for good) there are still ways in which you can network and nurture leads. Ways to accomplish this include attending events when the show closes each day and connecting with leads once the show is over.
Network and Attend Events
When building and construction trade shows end for the day, don’t make the mistake of calling it a day. There are often events held that you can attend to mix with industry professionals. At these events, you can discover new prospects and connect with people or companies that could send you leads in the future.
Follow-Ups are Crucial
After the trade show ends, you must focus heavily on following up with anyone you connected with, from current clients you discussed a new project with to brand new prospects and industry professionals that can pass leads on to you.
Ensure these follow-ups are personalized and cover what you discussed at the show. Always include an outline of what you think the next steps should be and point the contact to resources that could help move them through the path to purchase more quickly and efficiently.
6. Measure Trade Show Success
To determine your actual trade show ROI once you begin getting sales and specifications from clients you met at the show, use the already mentioned equation:
Trade Show ROI = (Return (revenue generated from trade show) – Investment (costs related to the trade show)) / Investment x 100
It can take time to get sales and specifications from leads you met at the trade show. Therefore, keep track of every sale you get related to the trade show and check ROI periodically.
It is a good idea to check ROI from the show once a quarter. Your ROI at around six months is usually accurate, although you may still get some sales after that.
In doing this, you can determine if you should go to that particular show again. Knowing total ROI also helps to determine which other types of shows to attend and how to adjust and improve your presence and promotions when exhibiting again.
In Conclusion
Deciding which building and construction trade shows to exhibit at and creating a successful exhibitor strategy can be daunting. However, preparing for trade shows and achieving a high trade show ROI doesn’t have to be challenging.
By keeping these tips in mind, you should be able to use trade shows to your advantage, gaining new leads, sales, and specifications.
