Many have pronounced tradeshow marketing dead. But with the right strategy, hard work, and flawless execution, tradeshows can still be a productive part of your marketing plan.

Here are 12 ways to breathe new life into your tradeshows.

1. Start planning early

Maybe you have received a call from a tradeshow sales rep offering an unbelievable discount to replace an exhibitor that just backed out two or three weeks before the tradeshow. But getting into a tradeshow at the last minute is almost never a good idea. It shows you are being reactive with a major investment of time and money, and that is never a good sign.

If you start planning well in advance, however, you have the opportunity to obtain a quality booth space, get on the speaking agenda, secure adequate sales engagement, and plan appropriate pre- and post-show promotion. Your chances of having a positive experience are much higher.

Remember that most of the tradeshow cost is T&E (travel and entertainment), collateral and sign production, drayage, labor, rentals, etc.—so a last-minute deal on the exhibit cost is not really much of a deal.

2. Make sure the audience is a good fit

Most shows will publish a Web page for attendees that includes a "who should attend" description. Read it to determine whether the show is a good match for your target market.

In a LinkedIn discussion about the topic, one of the participants suggested asking for the previous year's attendee list. It doesn't have to have full contact information; the company name and title for each registrant would give you a good idea if the audience is right.

Ask for the entire list so you can fact-check the salesperson's claim about last year's attendance number, and also to gauge wheat-to-chaff ratio. Don't expect every registrant to be from your target audience, but determine whether the ratio is acceptable.

3. Get on the presentation agenda

I talked to a colleague recently who told me she has pared down her tradeshow participation plan by doing only the ones at which she is able to get a slot on the presentation agenda. Pretty smart.

It is much more likely to be worth attending a show if you can get on the agenda; it is validation that your message is on target for the audience. Conversely, it might not be worth doing a show if you are not on the presentation agenda. Exhibiting alone might not be a large enough value proposition to warrant the investment in tradeshow marketing.

Tradeshow attendees in North America are so jaded about walking the exhibit floor, especially at the executive level, that exhibitor presence alone might not be worthwhile. A speaker slot ensures your message will be delivered to a large audience and gives your speaker a chance to mention your booth number for follow-up discussions.

4. Establish a service level agreement with sales

Do not do tradeshows without appropriate Sales buy in. Tradeshows should be a shared effort between Sales and Marketing.

Work with the sales manager to establish a service-level agreement for Sales to work hard to promote your participation before and after the show, engage attendees during the show, and follow up aggressively and systematically after the show.

If you can't get Sales to agree, you are better off just renting the list of attendees and focusing on marketing for lead generation.

The service-level agreement goes both ways, so be sure to outline all the investment and hard work Marketing will deliver, and be sure to stick to your commitments.

5. Negotiate for the full list of registrants

A one-time blast or a pre- and post-show blast will probably be offered as part of the exhibitor package. That might be good enough, but negotiate for unlimited use of the full list, if possible.

6. Promote your participation to customers and prospects prior to the show

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Is Tradeshow Marketing Dead? 12 Tips to Resuscitate a Classic Lead-Gen Tactic

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Hebeisen is a Boston-based marketing professional with over 20 years of experience as a practitioner and team manager in B2B technology marketing. Reach him via LinkedIn and his blog.