Bridal trade show marketing can land you lots of new customers. Trade shows are a great source of revenue for businesses in the bridal industry, from those who sell wedding apparel to stationery and wedding favor vendors. Since these events can be very expensive to participate in, you've got to fine-tune your bridal tradeshow advertising abilities to make the most of the experience.

To maximize your sales and leads at the show, you'll have to set up a great exhibit that will attract potential customers. You'll also need plenty of marketing materials to give out. Lastly, you have to follow up on leads. Here are a few tips for increasing your sales from the wedding trade show traffic you get:

1. Get the word out about the trade show in advance. You may see your bridal trade show sales increase just by taking out a few ads in wedding magazines.

2. Create a great exhibit with wedding trade shows advertising materials. This includes large displays as well as fliers and handouts.

3. Stock up on wedding trade show giveaways. Get your logo printed on these items and hand them out to everyone who passes your booth.

4. Follow up on the leads you get. Convert your attendees into customers using your post-bridal trade show sales skills.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Do some wedding trade show marketing in industry magazines

Advertising your participation in a trade show beforehand can help you draw attention to your booth during the actual show. If potential customers know you're there, they'll be looking for you. In many cases, bridal trade shows are open to the public, so putting an ad or even a short article in a wedding magazine can help you gain exposure.

I recommend: Consider advertising in the event directory at Brides.com. You can do the same at The Knot, which also offers a print version of its magazine.

Attract potential customers with bridal tradeshows advertising

At a trade show, your advertising concept should be twofold. First, you'll want to attract customers to your exhibit to begin with, then, you'll want to sell them your product or service. So, you'll need large banners and displays to entice people to come to your exhibit as well as smaller brochures and fliers to give out to attendees once they get to your booth.

I recommend: Announce your presence with the large format signs at FastSigns. Have custom brochures printed up at VistaPrint and put them in the display stands available from Azar Displays. Distribute marketing materials at such events as BrideWorld Expo.

Make attendees remember you with wedding trade show promotions

Potential customers will see literally hundreds of vendors while they're attending the trade show. To help them remember your company, give out customized promotional products with your logo on them. You can give out small items to every attendee who comes to your exhibit or you can do a raffle to give away larger items.

I recommend: When you attend shows like the National Bridal Market, give out sample wedding favors customized with your company's name by Products With Personality. Also consider the wedding chimes at Papemelroti. You can put the sample products into paper bags from Branders.com.

Follow up with customers from your wedding trade show traffic

After the show, you've got to follow up on the leads you've gained. You can do this with sales calls, but it's less expensive, and less intrusive for the customer, to send out postcards. These serve as no-pressure reminders of your business.

I recommend: Browse through the bridal industry postcards at Postcard Mania. You can also find postcards at Cheep Cheep Postcards, which can even mail the cards for you.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To further attract customers to your booth, you can send out bridal tradeshow marketing mail before the event. You can use any type of direct mail or email to let your clients know that you'll be attending a specific event. This is a great idea if you work with wedding planners.