For the last several months, we’ve all dealt with conferences and meetings that have transitioned to virtual events. While virtual is the current norm for certain types of gatherings, the biggest industry trade shows have struggled to find appropriate virtual footprints. Those of us who find those shows so energizing know they will return in some live and in-person form—whether in six months or a year. And it’s not too soon to brush up on the strategies that will help you polish your presence at trade shows and live events and can also bring more focus to the virtual conferences you attend or sponsor. Here’s a step-by-step approach.

Whether you are new to a show or have long-standing commitments to one or several industry shows, it’s helpful to behave as if every show is a “clean slate” and ask:

“Why are we investing in this show in the first place?“

Given how expensive exhibiting at or even attending a show is—and the many other ways that investment could be spent—this simple question is pivotal to your strategy for achieving specific and quantifiable goals for the show and for your business. Understanding and articulating the “why” can also energize the entire experience of prepping for a trade show and focus the efforts of the diverse teams involved.

“Why we’re at this show” can link to:

• A product launch or repositioning strategy
• A branding initiative
• A ground-breaking innovation or organizational announcement
• Booked meetings and the corresponding sales expectations
• The likelihood of expanding your prospect list by X percent
• The halo effect of being at a prestigious show, the biggest show, the “signature” show
• Competitive considerations/competitive intelligence
• All or none of the above

“We go to this show because we’ve always gone to this show” is not a valid “why.” If you cannot attribute positive ROI to the “whys” you’ve identified and the investment you will make in time, people, booth creation and setup, T&E and ALL related expenses, then press the pause button.

Owning the floor can only happen when you own your specific target audience at that show AND you’ve identified who from your organization will best fulfill on the business mission of the show.

For your target audience:

• Recap the types/titles/level of people expected to attend the show, which you can get from the show organizers, your sales rep if you are a sponsor or have booth space, or on the show’s website.
• Match up the macro attendee profile with the ideal and exact micro audience(s) whom you want to engage. Try to quantify with a number so you understand how many people fit your target audience profile, because only a subset of the larger audience are the people you hope to engage.
• Be prepared to have multiple targets at the same show. As an example, my agency often attends big home building/construction and design shows for our clients. Within the broad audience attending the biggest shows, we have four micro-audience targets: builders, contractors, distributors and architects. Each audience is interested in—and motivated by—very different things.

In terms of who from your organization should attend, only send people who know the product and the prospects, and will “work the show” enthusiastically, including putting in their shifts at a booth or, virtually, at the virtual booth or networking room. It’s disheartening to see sales reps or other team members at the booth who so obviously do not want to participate in a trade show day and come out only for the E part of T&E. Leave them back at the office.

The more you know about and understand your target audience(s), the faster you’ll get to the What. What has to do with the reasons people—your target audiences—attend and what the company and attending staff can do to engage with them.

For your target audiences, identify:

• What their goals are for attending the show
• What they expect from exhibitors
• In their daily jobs, what their needs are—met and unmet
• The best ways to communicate with them at the show and post show
• The best booth draws, promotions, experiences that demonstrate the brand and tell the brand story

For the company and the staff attending, identify:

• What the goals are for this show in quantifiable terms
• What resources are needed to reach those goals
• What the staff roles are at the show and a structure for the days
• What the best way is to align target audience goals with your goals for the show
• Given who you want to engage, what is the ONE idea or communication concept that you want people who come to your booth—or meet you virtually—to come away with? And how do you show that?
• What the best way is to capture data at the show