A trade show is a big deal. Making the decision to spend some significant time and effort (not to mention financial investment) on exhibiting at a trade show is a big deal. Successfully pulling off an excellent presence at a popular trade show by promoting your company with your tradeshow booths is an even bigger deal. So, make sure that after the show is over and all of the tradeshow booths are packed up, that you spend some time to celebrate your success and reward all of those involved for a job well done.
For most companies, exhibiting at a trade show is one of the biggest and most public undertakings that they will participate in. That’s why one of the best trade show ideas doesn’t have anything to do with the happenings at the show at all. It is the simple idea that employees, staff and everyone else in your company who was involved should be rewarded for their hard work at your tradeshow booths.
There are several ways to do this. The most obvious one is perhaps to simply throw a party for these folks when they get back in town to reward their hard work. But, it is also a good idea to kind of spread out the celebration, especially if the trade show that you are exhibiting at is a multi-day affair. In that case, it’s always a good idea to not only let employees unwind after a hard day’s work, but to actually encourage it (after ensuring the understanding that employees will exercise moderation in drink and celebration knowing that the next day is another workday).
Once the show is over and all of the tradeshow booths have been packed up and shipped back home, surprise your trade show staff with a simple office party. This isn’t only to let them celebrate their own success, it’s to recognize those employees in front of the rest of your workforce, in order to thank them for putting in those extra hours to help your company grow.
Make sure that you treat these people like rockstars and the result will be that everyone will work harder to be able to go to the next trade show and demonstrate their stuff.