How To Exhibit: Trade Show Planning Timeline and Checklist

Planning your trade show exhibit starts well before the show. Typically, a year out you should be pre-planning the show by setting your goals and understanding how trade show marketing will get you there.

1. Determine the role trade shows will serve as part of your overall marketing and sales strategy. Then secure buy-in within your organization.
2. Define at least one overarching main goal or objective you’d like to achieve by attending trade shows. Some examples are…
   • Boost brand awareness in a new or established market
   • Connect with would-be customers to generate leads and sales
   • Network with industry professionals, investors, or potential business partners
   • Gain competitive insight from other companies in your industry
3. Develop a list of specific trade show events you’d like to exhibit at over the next 12-24 months.
4. Create a calendar of important dates for each trade show you’d like to attend–to take advantage of early bird discounts, not miss exhibitor application deadlines, etc.

Now that you have a general idea of the trade exhibitions you’ll be attending and why, you can begin planning out some of the broader details, like logistics planning timelines, budgeting and booth design planning.

1. Refine your trade show goals to set realistic, obtainable, and measurable success metrics for each trade show you’re interested in attending.
2. Register and reserve your trade show display booth space with the trade show event and request full details on trade show exhibit booth
3. Identify your booth space needs­–along with your exhibitor resources for booth accessories, banners, marketing collateral, equipment, and promotional items.
4. Develop a detailed trade show budget estimate and forecast your return on investment.
   • Rough breakdown of trade show cost percentages:
     • Exhibiting Space – 30%
     • Booth Staffing & Travel – 20%
     • Show Services – 20%
     • Exhibit Design – 10%
     • Shipping and Drayage – 10%
     • Promotional Material – 5%
     • Miscellaneous Costs – 5%
5. Develop a trade show marketing plan that utilizes a mix of promotional methods to reach prospects. Your trade show marketing plan should be divided into three sections:
   1. Pre-Show Marketing,
   2. At-Show Marketing, and
   3. Post-Show Marketing

Refine and exact your marketing strategy including details like specific goal numbers, exhibition booth designs and take-aways. At this point you should be done with planning most of your exhibition materials, including your trade show booth.

• Write a compelling sales message that gets across the key points you want to communicate at your trade show exhibit in 30 seconds or (preferably) less.
• Partner with Artisan Colour to help you further determine and refine your trade show exhibit design, layout, and graphics needs.
• Identify high-impact trade show giveaways and promotional strategies you will use to attract visitors to your trade show display exhibit area–order items.
• Determine small format marketing collateral–the literature and marketing materials you will share at the trade show­–to begin design and printing.

Logistics such as reservations, transportation and finalizing marketing collateral should be mostly completed or planned at this point. Pre-show marketing and promotions also begin.

• Continue working with Artisan Colour on your trade show display booth, exhibit items, and small format marketing materials.
• Determine staffing requirements, develop booth schedules, and plan training sessions.
• Identify how you will ship or transport your display and other items to the trade show.
• Begin making travel arrangements.
• Launch pre-show marketing initiatives. Invite your contacts to visit you in your booth at the trade show. Offer an incentive for visiting your trade show booth.

Time to get excited about the trip and trade show. With all the previous planning, this phase is getting the final details in order and confirming details and strategy from the marketing and sales teams.

• Register booth personnel for exhibitor badges.
• Finalize print production of trade show booth display, promotional items, and marketing materials with Artisan Colour.
• Continue pre-show marketing initiatives.
• Finalize all travel arrangements.
• Confirm shipping date and delivery dates in adherence to your specific trade show planning timeline.
• Schedule dinners or other meetings to be held at the trade show with prospects, distributors, or customers.
• Put together trade show follow-up packets to send out immediately after the trade show to your new leads or contacts.

With the planning completed, it’s time to get ready for the trip!

• Re-confirm shipping arrival dates for your trade show booth display, promotional items, and other print materials.
• Double check that all action steps on timeline have been covered.
• Print out exhibitor badge ahead of time to avoid long lines at trade show registration.

• Execute at-show marketing initiatives.