Before exhibiting at a trade show, you should analyze your competition for strengths and weaknesses in order to maximize your effectiveness. If you take the time to understand what your clients perceive and what they are looking for, your trade show marketing program will be much more effective. When you start thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, ask yourself this question: What do your clients experience when they compare you to your competition? The client’s perspective is the only perspective that matters, which is why competitive analysis should be done from this vantage point. It’s easy to get stuck thinking about your company from the inside looking out, which will reduce your appeal with potential clients. So what do potential clients see that could affect their perception of your company?

• The first thing potential clients see is your brand. If you have a well-designed logo and a eye-catching slogan, you immediately have a leg up on a competitor with a poorly designed brand.
• Your marketing materials are another important component of your overall image. If you have a poorly designed website, ugly brochures, and outdated copy, you’ll never survive in a competitive environment.
• Potential clients are also interested in the type of people who work for your company. If your employees are intelligent, well-spoken, and courteous, your company will be that much better than your competition.
• Finally, potential clients want to know that you are good at what you actually do as a company. If you can deliver a high-quality product on time at the right price, you can overcome almost any obstacle that lies in your path toward dominating your industry.

It’s important not to get too hung up on your competitive analysis, especially if you’re looking to generate good will among potential clients. Many companies waste valuable energy attacking their competitors products and/or services instead of focusing their efforts on improving their own offerings, and as a result, they become marginalized. If you find yourself analyzing your competitors too much, refocus your efforts on more productive endeavors. Competitive analysis should be used only to find ways to improve your own offerings, not do bad mouth your competition. Here’s an example of what I mean:

In the 1990′s, McDonald’s invested millions of dollars to provide cleaner restrooms to their customers. After doing competitive analysis, they realized that cleaner restrooms was one way they could improve their business and improve customer service when compared with their competition. Most customers never noticed their efforts, but the results were monumental according to consumer analysis specialists. They never bothered to bad mouth the lack of cleanliness of their competitors restrooms, they simply allowed the results to speak for themselves. Take the McDonald’s approach.