Prior to arriving at the trade show (or conference), material on the show will be gathered: mailings from companies, web-site news, etc. These will be used to plan the actual visit.
On arrival at the trade show confirmation will be made for the location of target companies, and also any changes or news regarding the targets – e.g. time of a new launch or relevant product or other company presentations. Any such changes will be incorporated into the visit plan, adjusting this as needed.
Target companies will be observed prior to being visited – to identify key attributes of their exhibition presence (e.g. stand type, size and location, people manning the stand, visitor throughput, etc.). The target company will then be approached, and depending on the objectives for the specific company, the stand representatives will be asked questions, asked for demonstrations or for product literature, etc.
Following each stand visit, the results of the visit will be written up in note form - for later inclusion in the trade show report, and any debriefing sessions.
Trade shows are an invaluable source for information on competitors and the whole industry. Our trade show intelligence services are designed to make the most of exhibitions and conferences as sources for competitor intelligence.