Exhibiting at trade shows can be extremely effective. But it can also be a big investment. Upfront costs include renting floor space, designing and building the booth, and, of course, shipping expenses. Equally high costs include the time and effort your team spends to prepare for and attend the show. So how can you get the most for your money?

Start by thinking like your customers. When you align your communications strategy with your customers’ point of view, your return on investment will be greater.

Unfortunately, there’s often a gap when it comes to trade show communications. It’s easy to get stuck in your own viewpoint. After all, you’re spending tens of thousands of dollars to tell the world how fantastic your products are. And, you’re doing it in a very competitive trade show environment. The natural response is to shoutout your benefits louder and larger than the rest.

From your customers’ perspective, trade shows are a puzzle they need to solve. They come with a purpose. Once there, they will be hit with hundreds of competing messages. They see names of numerous products promising somewhat similar benefits, making it hard to decipher and discern.

How can you help current and future customers easily connect with you? Here’s five steps to leverage communications to increase your trade show ROI:

1. Adopt a customer’s point of view: This is easier said than done. Learning what customers think is important. More important is learning how they think. What’s their decision-making process? How do they evaluate choices? The best approach is to talk to existing customers long before the show. Ask them about past trade show experiences, frustrations, and benefits. Learn the problems they need to solve and the roadblocks they face. Then articulate them in your booth. If you can’t talk to customers, talk to your people who do, your salespeople.
2. Address your customers’ needs. Customers are looking for solutions. But they may not immediately connect how your features and your benefits will solve their problems. Create messages that tell them. They need to know why they should buy from you. Save complex technical explanations for a more detailed narrative. Keep your messages simple, catchy and memorable.
3. Organize your booth according to the problems you solve. Your products and solutions can still take center stage, but make it clear how they solve your customers problems. If you were the customer trying to solve a problem, how would you want to experience your booth?
4. Step into your customers’ shoes. Once you have a solid understanding of what customers want and need, and the messaging that will catch their attention, approach the show as if you were a customer. How would you prepare to attend? Look at the show’s website. What would you hope to see by going there? Does it meet your expectations as a customer? If there’s a gap, how can your company solve it? How can you help your customer navigate the show floor in advance?
5. Help customers find you. Include multiple touch points before the show begins. Use maps, numbering and social media to direct them to your booth.

• Create an email campaign that addresses customer problems your organization can solve.
• Create a show landing page on your own website and provide direct answers to questions your customers might have.
• Provide a digital map of the exhibit hall and your booth location.
• Provide a schedule of show events and best times to come to your booth.

By speaking to your customers’ problems and helping them navigate the show floor, you can make companies want to find you. Aligning your approach to your customers’ points of view will increase your rate of return on the large investments you have committed to the show.