While food is a great way to enhance the trade show experience for your potential clients, it also comes with its share of challenges. Before planning your next event, learn the best practices for serving food to trade show attendees and whether or not you should commit to the investment. 

For more information about effective trade show advertising with Oser Communications Group, speak with one of our qualified event marketers by calling 520-721-1300.

#1: Consult with Trade Show Organizers

Before deciding to incorporate food into your trade show repertoire, speak with an event organizer about the venue’s specific food policies. Larger venues like city convention centers may have pre-existing contracts with local catering companies and will expect you to follow specific guidelines regarding food service. Ask if any fees exist and what kind of food they will allow into the building.

Depending on their guidelines, you might find food service more trouble than it’s worth. On the other hand, catering managers often make planning convenient for you by providing high-quality food services at a discounted rate. 

#2: Brand Your Food Items

Offering food at trade shows creates an inviting environment that will likely increase foot traffic to your exhibit. This allows countless opportunities to promote your business and increase your brand awareness among prospective clients. Take advantage by branding your food items with company logos, stickers, QR codes–anything to make your packaging as attractive as possible. 

Memorable branding helps you stand out from the crowd and form lasting impressions with your trade show attendees long after the event has finished.  

#3: Serve Tasty Food

Food quality represents your company. Only serve food you have sampled previously, and always consider the presentation of your offerings. Avoid messy food items, such as ice cream, that can easily melt or require additional accommodations to store properly.

To avoid potential health liabilities, some venues may have restrictions on the food you bring in. Prepare food fresh, with a list of ingredients handy to account for possible food allergies. Coordinate with event organizers and catering managers to ensure you have everything to keep your food fresh and safe to serve to guests. 

#4: Plan to Bring Litter Receptacles

How well you maintain your event space reflects on your company. This makes cleaning up after your guests especially important, as trade show floors can quickly accumulate discarded plates, cups, and leftover trash. Plan to incorporate additional booth staff while attending your event so you can delegate tasks among your associates and focus on marketing your company and engaging with trade show attendees.

Want to Boost Your Trade Show Experience?

Depending on if the trade show space allows food and if you can come up with a fresh, mess-free menu, food can be a great option to stand out at your next event. 

Build more leads and attract more trade show attendees with the right knowledge and applicable tools. With over 60 years of industry experience, Oser Communications Group can provide you with the expertise you need for success. For the best trade show advertising and advice, contact our team by visiting our website or calling 520-721-1300.

Trade shows offer businesses a unique opportunity to gain exposure and connect with potential clients in their respective industries. Participation comes at a cost, however, in terms of both time and money. In this guide, learn the foundations of measuring trade show ROI and how to maximize your success during future events.

Contact our team at Oser Communications Group before your next big event. We’ll help improve your company’s trade show performance. Learn more about our services by calling 520-721-1300.

Calculating Trade Show ROI

Your return on investment, or trade show ROI, measures the amount of revenue generated by the trade show compared to the expenses of your company’s participation. Expenses include everything from transportation and lodging, promotion and trade show advertising, exhibition fees, and incidental expenses. To calculate immediate ROI, use this formula: 

Total gross sales ÷ Cost of attending the trade show 

For instance, a trade show that generated $100,000 in gross sales with $20,000 in incurred expenses would result in a dividend of “4.” Express your ROI as a ratio, in this example, 1:4, meaning your company generated $4 for every $1 invested. In this case, your sales exceeded your total investment, which amounts to a positive ROI.

Attracting Potential Leads

Measuring ROI at a trade show event should focus on the particular needs of your industry. Garner interest from your target audience by investing in pre-show promotions. 

Showcasing specific features about your products and services online or through social media before the event gives your followers more incentive to visit your exhibit and can increase foot traffic from desired leads during the actual event, according to recent trade show statistics.

Determining Objectives

Before attending a trade show, start by defining your company’s marketing agenda or sales goals by answering basic yes or no questions. Would you like to create 200 qualified leads at your next event? Maybe your company aims to collect 100 new business cards or reach a certain hard sales number. 

Unlike trade show ROI (return on investment), return on objective measures how your company’s participation at a trade show helped meet these objectives or not. Establishing your objectives and reason for attending a trade show will help anticipate your ROI and measure your overall success after the event.  

Tracking Leads

A trade show program gives you access to a customer relationship management system (CRM), which allows you to input information about your leads during the event. 

CRM apps provide valuable trade show metrics regarding your potential clients during an event. For example, you can perform surveys for your customers and ask what initially attracted them to your exhibit or how likely they are to recommend your product to friends in the future.  

Your CRM can also track which customers contribute to your company’s revenue. 

Want to Enhance Your Trade Show ROI?

Over the last six decades, our team at Oser Communications Group has served business startups and Fortune 500 companies in Tuscon, AZ, as the premier source for trade show advertising. Increase your trade show effectiveness by contacting us at 520-721-1300.

VR has taken the world by storm thanks to its impressive ability to render immersive and engaging real-time experiences. VR tech has found an interesting niche in trade shows and has only become more widespread as the technology has gotten cheaper. Virtual reality environments are a powerful medium for advertising. With that in mind, let’s talk about some virtual reality booth ideas for your next trade show.

Contact Oser Communications Group today to discuss our trade show advertising services!

Show Off Wares

One of the best uses of VR is to show off or demonstrate your products. For instance, Volvo hosted a test drive virtual reality experience that showed off the look and feel of driving their latest SUV model. You can use interactive experiences like this to onboard people to your products and convince them to ask for more information. 

Tell Stories

VR is also a powerful technology for telling stories that encapsulate your brand and messaging. The capacity for VR tools to create an alternate virtual environment means you can take booth visitors on a customer journey or teach them about your company’s social impacts. The immersive nature of VR and sensory booths can make brand storytelling more visceral and personal, leaving attendees with a memorable experience. 

Product “Demonstrations”

You can also design a VR product “demonstration” to show visitors what using your products is like or illustrate their pain points. For example, some tool companies have started creating VR apps that simulate what it’s like to use their tools. These kinds of demonstrations are great because you can sell an experience without the actual product hardware. 

Tips for Designing Interactive Experiences

It is essential to appropriately tailor your VR experience to your intended market. VR is merely the medium for your message, not the message itself. Don’t use a VR experience simply for the novelty; the VR element should be a crucial part of how you showcase your brand. Below are some tips on how to craft an engaging virtual reality booth. 

• Keep things short. Overly long VR stints can bore visitors. Ideally, you want to move through your line of booth visitors quickly and turn them into qualified leads. Keep the interactive exhibit to less than three minutes. 
• Don’t overcomplicate it. Not everyone is a gamer and is used to VR. Make sure you provide instructions, so visitors know exactly what they have to do. Guidance can be via text or voice narration—whichever fits the virtual environment better. 
• Make a comfortable environment. Ensure your virtual reality booth environment is suitable for the VR experience. For example, the Volvo VR experience we mentioned earlier would be best when the participant is sitting down. Adjustable headsets and motion controls can help people avoid motion sickness. 

Trade Show Advertising and Marketing

Oser Communications Group is your number-one choice for trade show advertising and marketing. Call us today at (520) 721-1300 to schedule a consultation or to learn more about the best booth location at trade shows.