Trade Show Marketing Blog

There are 6 billion human beings on this planet, and the vast majority of them would recognize Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Nike by sight. Chances are that you will never be able to elevate your company’s brand to this level of worldwide recognition, but by following some basic principles of branding you can build a strong identity for your company within your own niche market. If a potential client recognizes your company name or logo before they reach your website or dial your phone number, they are at least twice as likely to purchase your product or contract your services.

So what can you do to make sure that your company gains brand recognition within your niche market? Listed below are a few suggestions that are proven to work for companies large and small.

Suggestion #1 - Decide on your final branding images today and never change them. Many companies change their logo every time design fads change, which is an enormous mistake. You can never build brand recognition if your brand is always changing. The funny thing about design fads is that they always come full circle. If your logo is out of style today, it may be back in style tomorrow, so don’t change it.

I always recommend using a simple design with a few simple colors. The more simple and clean your design is, the less likely it is that your design will go out of style in a few years. Creating a timeless logo and sticking with it is the best way to increase brand awareness.

Suggestion #2 - Include your logo on every business-related document you possibly can. Any time it makes sense to include your logo instead of your company name, do it. This includes articles, financial documents, letterhead, envelopes, promotional literature, and catalogs. If you sell products, make sure you brand them well with your company logo. Many companies even choose to brand their employees by insisting that they wear polo shirts with the company logo on their chest. I probably wouldn’t take it that far, but be sure to use your logo once you’ve spent the time to design it.

Suggestion #3 - Promote your company’s brand at niche trade shows. There’s no better way to get your company’s brand out there in your industry than by exhibiting at a trade show. Find a trade show that caters to your target audience, and have a professional exhibit designer create a trade show exhibit that fits with your company’s brand. At the trade show, pass out business cards, promotional items, and trade show literature that is covered with your company logo. In a matter of days, everyone who is anyone in your industry will be exposed to your marketing material.

In Conclusion

Managing your company’s brand can be a daunting task. Many companies hire professional marketing firms to handle all aspects of their branding. Marketing firms understand the challenges associated with building a brand identity, and they can help you make a lasting impression on your niche market with a powerful brand portfolio.

At MODdisplays, we are obviously biased toward trade show marketing as a strategy to increase B2B sales, but there is much more to B2B marketing than exhibiting at trade shows. Business spend upwards of 85 billion dollars per year to promote themselves to other businesses, and the trade show industry only accounts for 17.3 billion dollars per year. Businesses also promote themselves using online advertising, magazine advertising, direct mail, and cold calling; and business invest billions each year in market research and public relations. Despite the massive size of the business to business marketing industry, there are still general rules that large companies tend to follow in their marketing campaigns. The general B2B marketing principles can be applied to businesses of all sizes.

Tip #1 - Keep your branding and company image consistent. Businesses “re-brand” themselves constantly, which is a great way to destroy any hard work you’ve put into your marketing campaign. Unless your business is recognized worldwide, you don’t have the luxury to change your logo and the design of your website year after year. It’s important for businesses to realize that every aspect of your marketing campaign must be consistent with an overall theme and with a set of marketing goals (see Tip #2). Do not try to reinvent yourself every time you plan a new marketing campaign or you will end up confusing your potential clients.

Tip #2 - Develop a set of measurable marketing goals, and design your campaign to meet those goals. Businesses with disjointed and confusing marketing campaigns often have no idea what they are trying to achieve with their marketing program. Setting goals gives your company a strong marketing focus, and allows you to measure your success. If one aspect of your marketing campaign is not contributing to your overall plan, eliminate it and try something new.

Tip #3 - Make use of unconventional and creative marketing methods. Business to business marketing is a massive industry, and nearly every aspect of B2B marketing has been honed and refined by experts over the last few decades. Because the industry is so well developed, I’m not suggesting that you attempt to reinvent the wheel and defy decades worth of trial and error. However, every successful marketing program distinguishes itself in some way through the use of creative and unconventional marketing schemes. How will you ever set yourself apart from the other companies in your industry if there is nothing unique and creative about your marketing approach? In general, it is important to stick with the tried and true methods that have been proven to work, but don’t forget to be different.

Tip #4 - Think carefully about your target audience before you plan out your marketing program. The marketing methods you use need to be directly proportional to the products or services you are trying to sell, and they need to be carefully target toward your potential clients. You would never want to use telemarketing as a way to solicit multi-million dollar clients, and you would never use online advertising to appeal to older generations. You would be shocked to learn how many companies pay no attention to their clientèle and focus instead on what marketing style is most interesting to them at the time.

Tip #5 - Effective business to business marketing is going to cost money, and lots of it. If it was possible to reach thousands of potential clients for free, your industry would already be saturated with slackers and freeloaders. Unless you’re absolutely brilliant, marketing will cost you. I would estimate that your marketing budget should account for about 15% of your operating budget unless you’re an online company with very low overhead. Companies that fail are companies that don’t invest in marketing.

At MODdisplays, we specialize in trade show marketing. We believe in a simple, modern, clean approach to exhibit design with an emphasis on sustainability and responsibility. This approach has distinguished us from our competitors and helped us to quickly establish as one of the industry’s leading retailers of portable trade show booths. We started with a marketing plan and measurable goals, and we have stuck with our plan from day 1. This B2B marketing advice is derived largely from personal experience and trial and error.

Thanks for reading!

The primary goal of any exhibitor should be to leave a lasting impression of your company in the minds of attendees, so branding should always be your first priority. However, once your brand has been established, you can work toward creating a unique message for the expo that embodies the ideas of your company, and your table top display and exhibit graphic systems are a great way to do that. Here are some examples of company slogans or messages that have been ingrained in the minds of business to business buyers:

• UPS - Synchronizing the world of commerce.
• AT&T - Your world. Delivered.
• FedEx - The world on time.
• Apple - Think different.
• Microsoft - Your potential. Our passion.
• Yahoo! - Do you Yahoo?
• General Electric - Imagination at work.
• 3M - Innovation.

These slogans and many others are known worldwide and are directly associated with an idea related to the company. Think of a corporate slogan as a way to say something about your company’s personality in addition to just the company name. Different types of buyers are attracted to different company personalities, so crafting your slogan carefully can help you convey a message to your clients about the type of environment you work in.

Our experienced graphic designers have worked with countless exhibitors to craft their company image for specific trade shows, and they are standing by to help you with your event. If you want to incorporate a slogan into your branding effort, we can help you create that slogan and incorporate it into your pop up display or modular exhibit. Please call 877.663.3976 (toll free) for details.

Beth Mandel recently brought my attention to a post on her blog that describes reputation management at trade shows. This problem can be extremely daunting for exhibitors, and the critical advice of marketing companies can help you overcome the nightmare of mismanaging your brand at a trade show.

Trade shows are complex, fast-paced environments where business deals can be closed or missed in the blink of an eye. Professionalism and legitimacy are two important goals that any company should have when attending a trade show. Even if you have the best products and services available, mismanaging your brand could result in a devastating loss at your trade show.