5 Ways to Maximize an Unusually Slow Trade Show

Many exhibitors struggle with low traffic at their trade shows because they either don’t know how or aren’t willing to put in the work required to get more of the right people into their booth. However, there are also rare occasions when an exhibitor does everything right and still finds themselves at a trade show with lower than usual booth traffic.

Unfortunately, even if the low traffic isn’t your fault, your company’s profitability may still depend on your exhibiting results and the blame for any poor performance will likely still land on your shoulders… In other words: it’s your responsibility to make the most of any “the show must go on” opportunity and, whether your show is challenged by Coronavirus (COVID-19), extreme weather, or something else entirely, these five tips can help:

1. Be prepared for anything!

Even if attendance, overall, is lower than expected, don’t scale back too much. Especially if you did your best to prepare for this event, you may be pleasantly surprised (and subsequently overwhelmed) by the volume of professionals who do visit your booth. Instead of only sending a skeleton crew to work your booth, create a backup plan so that, any team member who can participate can be useful in the booth or elsewhere in the convention city (depending on your specific needs hour-by-hour).

2. Expand your efforts to attract other types of value.

Instead of relying on making your money back through the most typical traffic-dependent goals (like raising awareness or generating new leads), shift your focus to other types of exhibiting value that are easier to secure in low-traffic situations. For example, you could create “evergreen” content to include in your upcoming social media and email campaigns, ask extra questions to educate your team and yourself on what really matters to your audience and industry, explore potential partnerships and media opportunities (anything positive you have to add or share, despite negative circumstances, is especially valuable and press-worthy!), and publicly demonstrate your enduring support of your industry/event organizer.

3. Adapt a more flexible on-site engagement plan.

At a typical trade show, efficiency is a big key to any smart exhibitor’s success. However, with more time to spare, you won’t have to rush attendees through your booth. Instead, after completing your qualifying process, feel free to add on some additional dialog by kicking off a series of “mini-conversations” with any relevant connections (pro-tip: preparation makes perfect here – brainstorm topic ideas and practice your “quick closes” in advance, if possible). This way, you can extend your engagement and spend more time with your favorite booth visitors without feeling trapped, since another perfect stopping point is always only a minute or two away.

4. Embrace the (extra powerful) excuses you’ve been given.

During tough times, many professionals will feel your pain and feel compelled to help. As a result, any additional “value add” post-show outreach is more likely to be considered seriously (especially by those who genuinely wanted to participate but were prevented from doing so). Take advantage of your follow up time by reaching out in the right way. Don’t waste the opportunity by spamming important contacts; but, instead, share your experience and lessons learned with an upbeat attitude, introduce interesting professionals to others in your network, and invite contacts to meet up virtually (video calls) or one-on-one (when reasonable) to replace any on-site interactions you had hoped to enjoy.

5. Give the show another chance.

After the show is over, you’ll have a memorable story to tell and closer bonds with anyone who was able to be there with you. However, what you won’t have is a “fair test” for the event itself or for any new ideas you planned to incorporate into your exhibiting efforts… If possible, make plans to try again next year (after all, you picked this event on purpose, right?) and work with the organizer to see if there are any other ways for you to collaborate/connect with their members until then.

In the end, every trade show has its challenges (even when there aren’t extreme situations to endure) and your responsibility is to make the most of what you have to create the best possible result for your company, your audience, and yourself. With the above tips (plus the hard work you will have already put in before the show opens), you can achieve more than you expected… and add some extra crazy “remember whens” to your list of favorite exhibiting accomplishments.

** Looking for even more ideas to boost your top quality booth traffic at any trade show? Join me at EXHIBITORLIVE for my half-day workshop! Details and registration here.