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February 201
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EDA Office of Foreign Trade • Riverside County, California • USA
Five Tips for Getting the Most Out Of
An International Trade Show
1.
Set Your Goals.
You should think about your ideal customers and identify
the best shows to reach them.
the US government
website to help exporters, has a list of trade shows and resources
and your local Commercial Service office can also advise you.
2.
Assess Your Participation Level.
You have many options – go to the show as
an attendee, participate in the US pavilion or have your own space. You can also
sponsor events or have special advertising in the catalog or the show website.
3.
Make Sure You Have the Appropriate Look.
The show will have specifications
on display size and content but make sure you follow the guidelines, particularly
for shipping.
(
Hint: use a professional freight forwarder for trade booths
–
it is worth the extra cost.)
Also bring along LOTS of business cards!
4.
Map Out Your Strategy.
Don’t spend your time behind the booth.
and don’t wait for visitors to come to you. Figure out a strategy to visit
all of the relevant booths
(
particularly in the mega-shows like CEBIT
with dozens of pavilions)
.
Set up appointments in advance.
5.
Build Relationships.
Don’t be a wall flower – attend the evening social
events, even if you are bone tired. Also be a respectful visitor – learn phrases
for welcome, please and thank you.
(
Resource tip: “Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands”
by Terri Morrison has business etiquette for more than 60 countries.)
John W was seething behind his booth
at the US pavilion at the massive CEBIT
expo in Hannover. “No one is coming
by my booth. Coming here has been a
complete waste of my time and money.”
I was the US Consul General in Hamburg
and John was directing his complaints
at me as an American official. “I’m not
getting the leads I was promised.”
Now I knew that the US Commercial
Service never promised him specific
leads when he signed up for the booth
but I listened to his story. He had
shown up the day before the event,
his marketing collateral was tied up
in customs and he was behind the
booth all day waiting for customers.
He was so tired that he skipped all
the evening networking events.
John made many common mistakes
that led to his poor results. Here are
five tips to avoid those pitfalls and
get the most out of a trade show:
International Exhibition NASA 1
