Trade Show Strategies for Retailers

I’ve been having lots of conversations about LinkedIn for events from organisers wanting to drive visibility and engagement, to exhibitors heading to upcoming tradeshows, and everyone in between. Whether you’re hosting, exhibiting, or attending LinkedIn can help you get more out of every event: ✨ More visibility 🤝 More connections 📈 More business outcomes Yet LinkedIn is often underused in the event space. A one-and-done post. A quick thank you. A flurry of activity... then silence. But here’s the thing: the event isn’t the beginning and it shouldn’t be the end. To get the most value, LinkedIn should be part of your strategy before, during and after the event. Here’s how to make the most of it: 🌠 1. Be LinkedIn Event Ready Your profile and company page shape your first impression often before anyone meets you. They should tell a clear, credible story that aligns with your event involvement. Organiser Tip: Create a LinkedIn Brand Kit for your speakers, exhibitors, and team – banners, hashtags, talking points, and example posts. Exhibitor Tip: Use an event-themed banner to show your stand details or branding. 🌠 2. Build Relationships Before the Event The most valuable connections rarely start cold on event day. The lead-up to the event is prime time to increase visibility, build familiarity, and position yourself as someone worth connecting with or visiting at the stand. Organiser Tip: Spotlight speakers, exhibitors, and sessions early and use tags to amplify. Exhibitor Tip: Shortlist people you want to meet - clients, prospects, collaborators, media and start connecting early. 🌠 3. Maximise the Event Experience Use LinkedIn to take people behind the scenes, amplify moments as they happen, and make your presence visible to those who couldn’t attend. Organiser Tip: Have someone live post from the floor, tagging participants and sharing session soundbites. Exhibitor Tip: Make it easy for people to connect with you it creates immediate pathways to keep the conversation going. 🌠 4. Keep the Momentum Going This is the stage where most people go quiet, but this is when the real relationship-building begins. Use LinkedIn to keep the conversation going. Share your takeaways. Follow up with new connections. Repurpose content into future posts. Organiser Tip: Share a highlight post and set the stage for what’s next even a “Save the Date” works. Exhibitor Tip: Send a personalised follow-up message referencing your chat. 🌟 Key Takeaways LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools you have to extend your event beyond the room. It allows you to build relationships before the first handshake, stay visible throughout the event and strengthen credibility and connection long after the banners are packed away. And if you'd like support to develop your own LinkedIn event strategy that's more than one and done, I’d love to help. Because showing up is just the beginning. #linkedin #events #eventmarketing

At the recent Workplace Health & Safety Show in Sydney, collision avoidance solutions were well represented on the floor. Great to see the innovation, but if you're new to this tech most vendors will pitch their solution like it's the answer to everything. It's not. Every technology has trade-offs. Here's how to navigate this space with confidence... The main technologies you'll see are UWB (Ultra-Wideband - workers wear tags that get tracked with great precision) and Computer Vision (cameras that detect people without needing tags). Some vendors use both. Here's what I ask vendors to understand if their solution actually fits our clients' contexts: UWB vendors: What happens when workers forget their tags? (Because they will.) Real-world battery life - not lab conditions. Does it work through metal racking and structures? Computer Vision vendors: How do you handle blind spots and occlusions? What's your actual processing latency? Low light? Dust? How are you addressing privacy concerns with workers? "AI-powered" vendors (regardless of tech): What's the actual tech stack - UWB, vision, LiDAR, hybrid? False positive rate in similar environments to mine? Show me a real deployment video, not a demo. What's your failure modes? and mitigations. The vendors worth listening to are the ones who talk about trade-offs and recommend hybrid approaches based on your specific environment. The ones to avoid claim one technology solves everything. Your facility isn't their demo video. Make them prove how it fits your context. PS: I haven't talked about dashboards, insights and analytics associated with this tech but that's also a major consideration that will likely influence your decision making. Need help - reach out. #safetytech #safetyinnovation

Investing in an exhibition stand? LinkedIn® needs to be part of your marketing before the doors open. That was our conclusion during a recent Disruptive Business Leadership event exploring LinkedIn’s True Role in the Age of AI. Roy Kowarski, exhibition specialist and Lynnaire Johnston, LinkedIn and AI visibility strategist, identified a significant missed opportunity. Companies invest heavily in exhibition space, displays, collateral and staff time, yet many fail to use LinkedIn to build interest, demonstrate expertise and encourage people to visit them before the event begins. Simply turning up at an exhibition is not enough. Before an event, an organisation and everyone representing the company need to know what it wants to achieve and how their activity contributes to it. LinkedIn can then support the strategy before, during and after the exhibition. Before the event, organisations should use LinkedIn to explain: 🔷 Why they are exhibiting 🔷 What they will be doing there 🔷 Why people should visit them As Roy puts it, “The trick is before the event to tell people on LinkedIn what you’re going to do and why they should visit you.” That requires more than a solitary “Come and see us” post. The marketing options include posts from the personal profiles of those exhibiting and from the company page. The organisation could also create a LinkedIn Event, publish an article demonstrating its expertise or feature the exhibition in its company newsletter. People can also be invited through the LinkedIn Event page, but the aim is not simply to increase attendance. Sharing genuinely useful information can position the company as the go-to organisation in its industry. That content might answer questions attendees are likely to have, share insights connected with the event theme or give people a compelling reason to seek the team out once they arrive. During the exhibition, personal profiles and the company page can continue working together to share expertise, conversations and insights from the event. Afterwards, LinkedIn can extend the relationships and visibility created, instead of allowing the entire investment to end with a celebratory photograph and a “What a great event” post. There may also be an AI discoverability benefit. When personal profiles, company pages and published content clearly associate people and organisations with an event and its subject matter, they create evidence of that involvement and expertise. That could increase the likelihood of those people or organisations being surfaced when someone asks AI about the event, its exhibitors or the specialist topics it covers. But this requires a coherent body of evidence created before, during and after the event. We explored this and more during the panel discussion which you can watch at the @LinkAbilityNZ YouTube channel. #LinkedInStrategy #EventMarketing #AIDiscoverability

Here’s a mistake I see a lot of companies make before a trade show.  They try to be everything to everyone. They walk into a show with a generic elevator pitch.  They hope people will just “get” what they do.  They use broad language to sound more flexible.  And then they wonder why no one remembers them. Let me tell you what works instead.  Pick one clear ICP for that show.  One message.  One problem you solve that matters most to that audience. If your ideal client at this event is operations leaders at mid-market manufacturers,  everything you say should speak directly to what keeps them up at night.  If your target is packaging decision-makers, your talk track should make them feel like you’ve been sitting in on their team meetings. The goal is not to prove you can help anyone.  It’s to become unforgettable to the right ones. You want someone to leave your booth and say,  “That’s the team that gets us. That’s who we need to talk to.” Not,  “What did they do again?” This is how you move from being seen… to being remembered.  From talking… to converting. Start with your ICP.  Then shape your message.  Then train your team to deliver it with clarity and confidence. That’s how you make a trade show worth it. If your team is prepping for a fall show and the messaging still feels fuzzy, this is something I help sales leaders tighten.    Getting crystal clear on who you’re speaking to and what you’re saying can change everything. 

I do dozens of interviews with top CMOs every year. I always ask what the best performing marketing channel is. And right now everyone is saying events. Post COVID events are back, but also now in an AI world, I think there's a stronger appetite to get out and connect with real people vs. just getting answers from ChatGPT. But: like anything in marketing, running events just because everyone else is doing them is a great way to set money on fire (and still not drive any incremental business). Whether it's a booth at a trade show. A VIP dinner. A 500-person conference. They can all work. They can all flop. The difference: having a real plan and strategy for that event going in. Why do it in the first place? (which continues to be the most important lesson in marketing - what's in it for me? what's the hook? why should people come to our thing?) We talked to two event experts on the Exit Five pod recently Stephanie Christensen and Kristina DeBrito — and here are 5 keys they shared for B2B event success: 1. Pick the right format. Not all events do the same job. Big splash? Go flagship. Want pipeline? Try VIP roundtables. Tiny budget? Host micro-events around existing conferences. Set real goals. 2. “Leads” are not enough anymore. Are you driving awareness? Accelerating deals? Generating pipeline? Define this upfront—or you’ll waste time measuring the wrong stuff. There are more metrics than just "did we get leads from this event" and in today's world leads are tablestalkes. 3. Align your team, bro. Sales and marketing must move in lockstep. Slack alerts for registrations. Sales meeting updates. Leaderboards. It all matters. This is a team effort. 4. Make it memorable. People forget panels. They remember custom pancakes and great venues. Was the food good? Did the WiFi work? Did Oprah show up? Just kidding. Making sure you'r reading. But think surprise and delight, not branded frisbees. 5. Put the work in on the follow up. Events don't close deals - follow-up does. Segment attendees. Create custom offers. Babysit the handoff to sales like your job depends on it. Because it does. You just went shopping and got all these fresh groceries - dont let them spoil. B2B buyers want real connection again. Events can create that. Are you feeling this desire for events? Are you doing events in your business right now? Let me know...

GTM Workflow That Turned Event Buzz Into 33 Sales Meetings Before the Event Began. Most teams still run events like this: - Sponsor the event - Blast a few “See you at Booth #14” emails - Hope someone stops by Here’s how we built a Pre-Event GTM Automation for a B2B SaaS targeting retail & e-commerce and hit 20% interest rate before the event even started. Step 1: Prospect Discovery We identified every ICP attending or engaging with the event before the event & not waiting to get the attendee list post-event. ✅ Event pages (speaker & company data) ✅ Event apps (attendees & exhibitors) ✅ LinkedIn posts with “See you at {{EventName}}” keywords ✅ CSV files (job title, location, company name) 🛠️ Tools: Clay, Apify, Serper, Trigify.io, Event Apps, CSV files Step 2: Data Enrichment & Cleanup Raw lists don’t convert. Context does. We enriched, deduped, and cleaned all profiles for location, title, and company fit. 🛠️ Tools: Clay's waterfall enrichment - LeadMagic, Prospeo.io, Icypeas, Datagma, ZeroBounce Step 3: Messaging Personalization We bucketed prospects into 3 cohorts; speakers, and attendees who were were ICPs, and exhibitors [who can be our partners], and wrote context-based copy for each. Short, high-intent patterns (<80 words). Step 4: Multi-Channel Outreach Setup Every ICP received personalized outreach across 3 channels: 📩 Email (Gmail sequences via Instantly) ✉️ LinkedIn DMs and InMails 📱 Event App messages for high-intent attendees 🛠️ Tools: Instantly.ai, Smartlead, HeyReach.io, lemlist Step 5: Positive Reply Flow ✅ When a prospect books a meeting: → Sync lead to CRM → Auto-assign an Account Executive/SDR/any team member attending the event ⭕ When there’s no booking after 2 follow-ups: → Recycle the contact into Clay for segmentation → Add to nurture sequences through: • Email drips via Intuit Mailchimp, or Brevo • SDR call follow-ups • Direct mail via Sendoso Step 6: Sales Process Kickoff Once the meeting is confirmed: → Push contact into HubSpot or Attio → Assign to AE/SDR/any team member attending the event → Official handoff to events/field sales team for opportunity management Results 163 Prospects Contacted 31 Replies (20% reply rate) - from Email + LinkedIn 16 Interested Responses (10% interest rate) from Email + LinkedIn 📱 +17 Additional Leads from Event App/Direct mail No booth chaos. Just structured GTM automation. If you’re heading to any conference this or next quarter, don’t wait for inbound footfall. Build your pre-event GTM engine now.

Do vendors really think I’m going to pick a partner because they slid a brochure across the expo table and said, “Let me know if you need anything”? Umm… have you met event planners? We are trained in logistics, negotiation, production, and reading vibes in under three seconds. We don’t have time, or patience, for vague pitches and generic follow-ups. - I do not have time for “just checking in.” - I do not want a cold calendar invite. - I do not want your 47-slide capabilities deck. You want to earn my business? Here’s how you actually get on my radar: ✅ Help me solve a real problem. Show me you get what I’m juggling. ✅ Be upfront about pricing, timelines, and how you work—don’t make me dig. ✅ Respect my time. Bonus points if your email is short, clear, and skimmable. ✅ Build the relationship before I need something. Not once I post an RFP. Because here’s the truth: The planners you’re trying to reach are booked, busy, and already fielding 300 emails a day. If your pitch feels like more work, it’s not getting a reply. If it feels like relief, support, or a solution? You’ve got a shot. Anyway, that’s my event pro PSA for the day. Let’s stop selling like it’s 2008. ✌️ #EventProfs #VendorEtiquette #ConferencePlanning #StrategicPartnerships #PlannersArePeopleToo

Real-time efficiency at trade shows using AI based on my experience at CPHI Frankfurt How my trade fair routine has changed since I started working with my own assistants I am Siggi. I know the chemistry in Asia. Trade shows require time, money and energy, and they only pay off if you work efficiently while on site. That is exactly what has changed for me in recent months. Because today, I no longer work after the trade fair. I work during the trade fair. At CPHI in Frankfurt, I stop at a booth, see a product that catches my attention, take a photo and hand it over to my own AI assistant, which I programmed specifically for this purpose. Within seconds, it delivers a solid market and product analysis. Which competitors are active? What are the dominant applications? How present is the product in Europe, and in which countries in particular? What REACH registrations exist? In short, my assistant provides exactly the kind of information I need for a focused conversation, tailored to my priorities in strategic sourcing. And that is what makes the difference. I can immediately engage on a deeper level, ask the right questions and quickly assess whether a topic is worth pursuing. The conversation instantly becomes more precise, more confident, more productive. I also use a second assistant for company analysis. Two or three photos from the booth, a product catalogue or a snapshot of a business card, and I get a structured company profile with REACH status, capacities, product portfolio and all contact details. Clear, well-organized and directly integrated into our CRM. The third component is my structured notes assistant. I speak my thoughts directly after the meeting, and within a few minutes it generates a fully formatted visit report. With a clear summary, auto-generated tasks and full traceability for everyone involved. What many underestimate is this: These assistants are not off-the-shelf tools. I built them specifically to support my work in chemical sourcing, for real operational needs, not tech demos. And there are two simple rules when working with AI. You have to know what you need. And you have to actually use it. In the past, this simply was not possible. Today, it is. And that is exactly why we should make use of it. (Personal view, not representing company position)

Trade shows don’t build pipeline. What you do before and after them does. Booth duty and badge scans aren’t enough. If you’re not prepping like a pro, you’re just along for the ride. Here’s the blueprint top reps use to turn trade shows into revenue: 01.) Before the Event: Frontload the Work Pipeline starts before your plane takes off. You need to: ⇢ Lock in meetings ahead of time ⇢ Build a hit list of target accounts ⇢ Craft a 10-second hook that cuts through the noise Execution tips: • Coordinate with SDRs to hit key contacts • Use LinkedIn, email, and calendar links to secure time • RSVP early to VIP events and happy hours • Research where your buyers will actually be 02.) On the Floor: Don’t Just “Man the Booth” Booth duty is not the job. ⇢ Stand out front ⇢ Engage like a human, not a pitch robot ⇢ Capture leads fast and clean Execution tips: • Walk the floor - hit partners, competitors, and customers • Bring a customer advocate to back you up • Skip internal chit chat - stay locked on buyers 03.) After Hours: Where Deals Actually Start The best conversations don’t happen during exhibit hours. ⇢ Ditch the pitch ⇢ Go deep with 2–3 high-value convos ⇢ Be a real person, not a walking demo Execution tips: • Know which events matter and show up early • Stay sharp - people remember how you carry yourself • Listen more than you talk 04.) Meetings: Don’t Demo, Discover This is not a Zoom call. ⇢ Ask about pain, urgency, priorities ⇢ Skip the fluff ⇢ Nail your notes Execution tips: • Show up early, end on time • Get alignment on next steps • Use the meeting to open doors, not close deals 05.) Follow-Up: Be the Rep Who Closes Loops Ghosting kills momentum. ⇢ Follow up within 48 hours ⇢ Personalize based on what they said ⇢ Share useful next steps, not generic decks Example: “Great chat after the RevOps panel - sounds like onboarding pain is a big blocker. Here’s that case study I mentioned. Let’s reconnect next week?” Remember: ↳ Trade shows are a sales sprint, not a team retreat ↳ No plan = no pipeline ↳ The reps who prep are the ones who win Want the full Trade show Guide as a one-pager as PDF? Get it here: https://buff.ly/AFnvUUt