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For many industries, especially Consumer Packaged Goods, trade shows are key to putting a company’s products and services in front of the audiences that drive the bottom line -- buyers, retailers, consumers and of course, the media. By the time executive travel, accommodations, per diems, booth rental fees, displays, printed materials and the all-too-familiar union labor expenses are all accounted for, the costs can quickly sky-rocket.

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So, how can companies get the ‘biggest bang for the buck’ from their tradeshow efforts? It’s really not that difficult or expensive. By maximizing the hidden opportunities every show offers, savvy exhibitors can turn that investment from a necessary outlay into a profit producing goldmine.

All too often, executives assume that just being there with their ‘great product’ will net the desired results. But, these executives are cutting themselves out of unseen opportunities that more aggressive competitors capture and exploit. Relying strictly on floor space and product characteristics risks being swamped by minnows as the big fish swim on by, resulting in lackluster results, wastes both the opportunity, and precious marketing budgets

Most frustrating to CEOs and CFOs, the steps to enhancing trade show exposure are both easy and inexpensive.

One of the first things to do after writing out the booth check is to ask the show organizers for their PR/Marketing sponsor opportunity kit. This packet lists several key opportunities, such as special awards to apply for, new product showcases that can yield extra visibility and sponsorship packages. In addition, some trade shows sell their pre-registered attendee lists, or at a minimum last year’s list of attendees. These should give a good picture of the cross-section of people that will attend. These resources usually cost anywhere from $75 to $150, a small expense that can prove to be invaluable to maximizing that initial $10,000 investment.

The best way to get started is to conduct brainstorm sessions to discover ways in which your company can increase exposure and booth traffic. The rule here is simple: Be Creative! Just because it isn’t listed in the materials, doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. Think ‘out-of-the- booth’. For example, most shows do not list bathroom sponsorship, but this is one location that all attendees visit at one time or another. Often, there is unlisted room to sponsor toiletries, mouthwash, hand towels, etc. A participant’s signs, logos and messages can be posted on the walls of the one place every guest visits, in exchange for the price of a few rolls of paper.

Another way to reach attendees is to find them where they live - literally. Many trade shows reserve large blocks of hotel rooms for their patrons. This creates a captive audience for an exhibitor’s message. Perhaps every guest in the reserved block of hotel should get a sample product or your corporate premium. A company exhibiting hair care products, for example, ought to ensure that every attendee wakes up to find its shampoo on their door step in the morning. Typically, a hotel can identify the guests specific to the trade show in question and will hand-deliver a mailer to the guest rooms. This will cost anywhere from $1.50 to $3 for the hotel to coordinate the delivery to each room plus production of the piece, and any charge the trade show organizers might request. However, this alone can prove to be money well spent. Better yet send a creative pre-show direct mailer to that attendee list you bought, including a ‘call-to-action’ to attract them to your booth. That assures people will arrive in town specifically looking for your booth.

Of course, the entire focus of your efforts is on your products and their showcase in your booth. Therefore, professional booth development is a key to success. Tabletops exhibiting products are cheap, but have no impact at all - or worse, look like the work of amateurs. Even if your product is new and unique, without a planned booth attention grabber, attendees will, more often than not, just pass by. Booths do not need to be monolithic high-rise attractions, but they do need that certain ‘something’ to capture the attention of the casual passerby. This can be done effectively and inexpensively given imagination and time to think it through. A booth should reflect a company’s important message points, showcase what’s new in the limelight, create excitement around existing best seller products and, most importantly, include demonstrations that have the ‘wow’ factor in them. There are several companies that specialize in booth consulting and production, from concept to finished product.

Perhaps the most overlooked opportunity at a show is the people who are not there. Not every buyer, or certainly every enthusiast and consumer in a given market, can attend a show. So how do exhibitors get out the message that they and their products were at the show? Through the messengers in attendance - the media.

To ensure that a product or company is covered in the press accounts of the show, the exhibitor must get to a reporter first, then latch on to and hold his attention. Lay the groundwork early. In addition to the attendees lists, get this and last years’ media lists. Be aware that each reporter will have dozens, if not hundreds of exhibitors hunting for his or her attention. Attempt to schedule pre- and at show meetings for the company executives with appropriate media by placing phone calls and sending news information weeks before the show. Sending a creative item relevant to your company’s product or service along with press information goes a long way as well. The key is to be respectful and creative, yet aggressive. You are not the only dog in this hunt!

Once at the show, first find the pressroom. Most of the larger, more organized shows have a special area where the media will be required to sign in for free entrance to the show. Some first time exhibitors see this room and are surprised. Inside, the savvy exhibitor has placed press kits, prepared especially for the media to announce new products and develop reporters’ understanding of the company’s history and position in the marketplace. Most importantly, it gets the company in front of the media - memorably so, if the effort is successful. Equally important is a healthy supply of press kits in the booth for distribution to patrolling reporters. Any first year marketing student knows that third party endorsement and word of mouth are very powerful tools in building a company’s viability. As such, don’t ignore the power of a well placed article on a company by ignoring even the vaguest interest from a journalist.

As with the booth design, dealing with the press is a task that smaller firms - and even some of the largest firms - often find best outsourced to media relations professionals. It is important to remember in all that is said and done at a trade show that the face a company puts on in the exhibit hall is often the face buyers, consumers and reporters will most directly associate with that firm for years, maybe forever. Well before the big day arrives, carefully select employees to staff the booth. Make clear what the company’s goals and expectations are. Develop a handbook and hold a pre-show meeting the evening or morning before the show opens -- it’s not a bad idea to have these meetings each morning during the show. All booth staff need to be properly trained on the company’s message points, be willing to introduce themselves to strangers and, above all, conduct themselves in a friendly, professional manner. Time and time again, I have seen a company’s booth personnel huddled among themselves chatting about the night before while major corporate buyers and anonymous journalists (and the opportunities that travel with them) float on by.

When the booth comes down and the attendees go home, the show may be closed but it is by no means over. Follow-ups to sales leads are very important. The many attendees who stopped by your booth and dropped business cards or swiped their attendee badge through a lead tracker are counting on you to forward them additional information -- not following up shows lack of enthusiasm and is definitely a deal-breaker. When the booth team gets home, sending a simple letter, with marketing collateral can go a long way in establishing new relationships. Store and sort the contacts you’ve made into one database and review it on a quarterly basis and after every other trade show you attend to identify the strong contacts and eliminate the dead ends.

It is important to remember that all trade shows are not alike. There are always slight variations and each must be taken on as a new puzzle, not a formula wih a solution to plug in. Regardless, one thing is certain and constant -- trade shows mean many companies in one location vying for attendees attention - and to nudge you out. Successful companies rise above the clutter and, as in all other aspects of business, maximize the return on their investment.

About the Author: Noemi Pollack is president and CEO of The Pollack PR Marketing Group. The agency handles all aspects of clients exhibiting at national and regional level trade shows. Clients range from start-up to Fortune 500 companies.