2020 saw most trade shows canceled or rescheduled, with wide-ranging impact on show organizers, venues, and vendors—not to mention exhibitors. If you had previously relied on trade shows for a big chunk of your annual leads and sales, the disruption likely caused concern, but it also opens up an important question: What can you do if your trade show gets canceled? There are ways you can use the time to your advantage, and there are trade show alternatives that can help you pull in new leads and sales too.

Refresh or Re-Purpose Your Trade Show Exhibit

Chances are you won’t be pulling your exhibit out of storage to attend a show this year. But there’s a silver lining here. If your 2020 trade shows are all canceled, you have time to take stock of your booth and make necessary—or desired—improvements.

Time for an update?

Is your booth more than five years old? If so, it’s likely that at least some of its components need repairing, replacing, or updating. You may not want to entirely replace your existing booth, but there are some simple, affordable, and effective ways to give it a quick facelift:

• Update your signage and graphics.
• Replace the flooring.
• Upgrade structural elements, like display stands, cabinets, and shelving.
• Modernize your exhibit with new technical elements, such as a digital slideshow or VR display.
• Add interactive elements that make your booth a more engaging experience for visitors.
• Update your swag – Are you still giving away promotional pens or keychains at trade shows? This could be a good opportunity to come up with fresh swag ideas that will help generate interest at future shows.

Refit for a new purpose

Another option, depending on your situation, might be to refit your exhibit for a new purpose. For instance, your trade show exhibit could be suitable for display in the lobby or elsewhere at company HQ. Or it might find a new lease on life as a portable display for product demonstrations. A third possibility could be to reuse some of the components, such as graphics or signage, while recycling structural elements for use in an entirely new trade show booth.

Find New Ways to Interact with Customers

Attending big, crowded trade shows might be out right now, but there are other ways to get your products in front of customers and find new leads. There are several trade show alternatives that might work for you instead:

• Host or attend a virtual event instead – If the trade shows at which you normally exhibit are offering virtual alternatives, check them out and see if a virtual booth serves your purposes. Companies are starting to provide virtual product launches on their websites, which include a 3D immersive environment that users can explore.
• Become an event sponsor – Do any virtual events provide you with the audience demographic you’re trying to reach?
• Exhibit at an outdoor event with a mobile exhibit solution – These can include customized shipping containers or customized vans or trucks. Taking your exhibit outside means there’s room for people to social distance while checking out your products.
• Small local events can be ideal for many businesses, such as service providers – They provide the opportunity to connect with your audience and may help you find new leads and sales to keep you going until trade shows start up again.

Distribute Your Exhibit Content

If you’ve been in the habit of creating content for use specifically at trade shows, you might now have prepared content that’s just going to waste.

What if there’s another way you can use it? Depending on the content, there are several options for repackaging or repurposing it to fit a new brief. For instance:

• If you have a digital slideshow or product demo, turn it into a presentation that you can give online in a virtual webinar.
• Repurpose written content like brochures into blog articles, email blasts, or social media content—or all of the above.
• If you have enough good content, you may be able to turn it into an entire digital marketing campaign – Or just use what you have as the foundation for a campaign to run the course of what would have been your event season.

Revamp Your Website

A well-designed company website, stocked with plenty of valuable content, can be a hugely effective lead-generating tool. How does your website stack up against those of your competitors? If yours is lacking in some elements, you now have the perfect opportunity to fill in the content gaps.

Not sure where to start? Consider the following:

• Look at what your competitors are doing—and then do something different that makes you stand out.
• Think about where your own expertise lies, and create content on that subject.
• Most importantly, focus on your audience – Who are they? What industries are they working in? What problems do they have that your company can help solve?

Expand Your Social Media Presence

If you’re not yet active on social media, this is a great time to start. People who are at home more often are spending time on social channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. If your company is already on social media, what can you do to grow your audience? Somewhere out there are the people you’d normally be meeting at trade shows—and you can use social media to find them and start the process of turning them into prospects.

Develop a Digital Marketing Campaign

Many companies that rely on trade shows for lead generation haven’t made serious forays into the world of digital marketing. If you’re in that position, a swift pivot to digital might be in order. Updating your company website and expanding into social media are great first steps here. But there’s more you can do to make digital marketing work for you—from website SEO to PPC advertising to email marketing and data analytics.

If a Trade Show Is Canceled, There Are Opportunities Out There

If your trade show gets canceled or postponed, it doesn’t mean your exhibit is a wash. Take the time to rethink and reset your trade show strategy, and even branch out into new areas of promotion.

We can help! Contact the creative experts at ProExhibits for new ideas that can put you ahead of the competition.