Trade Show Support
Univa America goes beyond the basic support services for trade show exhibitors; we work with each individual client to provide the detailed preparation needed prior to the show and the attentive follow-up required afterward to ensure success.
Are you nervous about being an exhibitor at a trade show overseas?
Are you confident that you press release will reach appropriate media?
Do you want to know how to design and set your booth apart from the competition?
Trade show exhibits require detailed planning and oversight to be effective. Particularly if your company is based in another country, the idea of carrying out the minute planning needed prior to the event, thinking through the flow of the work so that the event will run smoothly, and following up after the show can be a daunting challenge. You might be worrying, “Are the preparations really perfect?” “Will we get any appointments to discuss deals?” “Can we really run a booth overseas?”
Drawing on our staff’s extensive business experience and networks in Japan and the United States, Univa America offers marketing consulting and trade show advisory services tailored particularly to Japanese companies that are entering or expanding their sales in the US market. At the same time, through our affiliated firms in Japan, we are able to offer similar services to American companies seeking to exhibit at trade shows in Japan.
Exhibiting products at a trade show is an important element in marketing strategy, offering a practical and highly effective way to test your product’s appeal in the US or Japanese market. However, to achieve your objectives at a trade show, a lot of issues need to be considered and resolved, and detailed planning before the event is critical. By using Univa America’s Trade Show Advisory Service, our clients can rest assured that their exhibit will run smoothly and professionally.
Pre-show Planning Period
Target Industry Research and Approach
The industry representatives who attend and participate in trade shows are your company’s potential customers. Whether or not you notify each target organization in advance of your presence at the trade show makes an enormous difference in the number of visitors you’ll have at your booth. In addition to the normal notices and guides that the trade show sends out, We prepare private invitations for each target company, distributes releases to a focused group of industry-related individuals and organizations, and supports our clients in setting up appointments for business meetings during the trade show.
Media Approach
In addition to the trade show press release, Univa America can distribute a single-company press release broadly, using not only the media list from the trade show organizers, but also our own networks and research to reach the most appropriate targets. We create a press release that can attract media interest by stressing the different and unique aspects of our client’s product, and we distribute releases multiple times prior to the trade show. Having a pre-show media strategy sets companies apart in terms of self-promotion and post-show media exposure.
Survey Preparation
One of the keys to a successful trade show experience is getting the maximum amount of feedback about the products displayed in a limited timeframe. In order to effectively gather contact information and product feedback from visitors to the booth, Univa America works with its clients to prepare the necessary questions and create a product survey form in English for use during the show.
Production of Promotional Materials
When participating in a trade show, it is critical that you have English-language materials such as company brochures, product pamphlets, and sample order forms that can be distributed to interested visitors. Here again, Univa America provides total support. We work with native-English-speaking translators and US-based designers to create text and design appropriate for the US market, oversee the production of materials for use at the trade show, and make sure that those materials get safely to the trade show site and then to the booth.
Pre-Show Training for Booth Personnel
Univa America prepares a training manual prior to the show in order to first clarify the objectives and goals of the company’s exhibit, and then to provide the necessary information that the staff will need to work together and achieve those goals. The manual sets out the overall flow of work and the division of labor, for example, to make sure that the booth runs smoothly. Ideally, we suggest holding a comprehensive training session several weeks before the trade show begins, based on the manual, and then conduct a briefing again just before the show begins.
During the Trade Show
Show Management on Site
When participating in a trade show overseas, knowing how to communicate with the visitors to your booth is crucial. On the day of the show, our staff will take the lead in conducting surveys with visitors to the booth in order to get greater feedback on the products, and that information will be analyzed and compiled into a report following the show. This information offers an important basis for a future US marketing strategy. In addition, our staff will supervise the booth during the show, helping to respond to any situations that may arise and offering advice and guidance as needed to the booth staff.
Post-Show Follow-Up
Follow-Up Work
Using such things as the questionnaires and a leader (equipment that inputs data on the attendees at the show), Univa America sorts out the relevant industry representatives’ contact information, and creates a prioritized follow-up list. Particularly for those visitors who should be contacted immediately, we can support our clients by acting as their US representative. By getting in touch right away on our client’s behalf, potential customers see our client’s company as providing fast, high-quality customer service. We understand that the time and actual expense required to participate in a trade show—and particularly one held in another country—is not necessarily a small investment.