Cosmoprof is the leading distributor of salon products in North America, including professional salon color, supplies, and retail products. The company distributes over twenty-five thousand products from the leading beauty industry brands. While being the most significant beauty supply and product distributor in North America, Cosmoprof North America is the leading B2B beauty event of the year. This beauty industry tradeshow offers the entire beauty industry an opportunity to network among each other as well as foster relationships with potential vendors. In preparation for the Cosmoprof North America 2019, we have created a checklist for everything you need to do before, during, and after the event.

Before

Create a Primary Goal for Cosmoprof

Are you attending the tradeshow strictly for brand recognition, sales opportunities or both? Direct your messaging and strategy towards that objective. Once you have your objective set, create a specific goal. Maybe you want to get the attention of a few critical vendors, or publications. Your goal might be aggressive, and you may want to land a contract during the event. Whichever it may be, set the goal and work towards accomplishing it. Having a set goal will allow you to maintain focus during an otherwise chaotic event.

Decide on Your Main Message

Your brand should already have the main message, but how does that message translate in this space? You may need to tweak your messaging since you will be speaking directly to vendor representatives and not consumers. What can your product do for a vendor’s business? How will your product increase its bottom line? Aligning your messaging with their objectives is key to landing a contract with an outstanding vendor.

Pick your exhibiting space at Cosmoprof

Find your ideal space on the venue map and try your hardest to get it. It may seem impossible to get the spot you want, however being kind to the right people can go a long way. Having the right exhibiting space can make or break your brand’s experience at the tradeshow. Also, your activation may need a specific kind of space, like a corner spot for demonstrations of your product. Getting the right place is a priority to have optimum success in showcasing your brand.

Design your tradeshow banner and collateral

Make sure your branding is everywhere on your marketing materials for the show. Your name needs to stick in the mind of those who matter. It is wise to double-check that your banner is not too busy as to keep your brand name and message clear and concise.

Pre-show marketing

Blog posts, social media messaging, and marketing emails are all substantial pre-show marketing collateral to disseminate. There might be potential vendor representatives that have their eye on you and only have a specific amount of time at the event. Confirm that you are on their list of stops at the show through the right marketing before Cosmoprof.

During

Be ready to demonstrate the product or service.

You will need to know every small detail about the product(s) you offer. From the inception of the design, aspects of manufacturing, the packaging strategy, and every little function that it has. Those that have an interest in your product have only a small amount of time at your booth; you need to make it count.

Use Social Media to promote your presence

Live post your involvement on your brand’s social pages. Live posting allows those looking for you to locate your booth quickly. Also, others can see your dedication and commitment as a business owner. You can even go as far as doing a giveaway at your booth for the first fifty people that show you the post you published while at the event. Increasing audience involvement is impressive and shows that you care for the audience of your product. The digital marketing possibilities are endless while you are at the event since there are thousands of attendees and they all have their phones out.

Make sure you have plenty of samples of your products

Whether you are doing a demonstration of the product or giving out free samples, both will need to be in high volume. Have your team members sit in shifts for presentations or offer demonstrations to the attendees if it is permissible. The event is long, and you must showcase your product the entire time.

Start thinking about next year, this year.

Make a list of all of the things that you see that you should have done. Also, include all of the things that you should not have done and all of the things that you might want to do next year. You’ll learn new things each time, thus making your activation even better every year.

Make your booth exciting

Bring tons of product and make your presentation exciting. The packaging of your product is most likely already permanent; however, you can make the presentation of your products of the packaging original for Cosmoprof. Executing the presentation of your product uniquely will catch eyes and prove to vendors that you are an innovative and creative brand. You’ll want to be eye-catching at a show with over two thousand exhibitors.

Take Pictures

It might seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget. You’ll want a lot of pictures, thousands of photos. You can use these images for marketing materials, social media, future business proposals, and many more different opportunities in the future.

After

Follow up with leads

After collecting business cards throughout the event, having discussions with different people, and shaking hands with hundreds of people, you will have a long list of contacts. Reach out to those whom with you had a serious and engaging conversation. These are the ones that will assist in propelling your business.

Evaluate your participation

The number of visitors – Recording the numbers of visitors will allow you to prepare better next year if you may have sold yourself short on product or staff this year. The number of serious business conversations – Counting the number of newly established connections goes hand in hand with following up on leads. Make sure to record the names of those that are serious about endorsing your brand. Connect with them as soon as the show ends to further the relationship. The number of newly established contacts – Counting the number of newly established contacts can help you rectify the cost of the tradeshow. If you landed a lot of different connections, then the show starts to pay for itself as those people will start talking about your brand and potentially contract your brand for retail sales. Appearance in press and media – Appearance in press and media is one of the ultimate goals (aside from landing a massive contract on the spot). Having a presence in the press and media can help further validate your brand as well as increase brand recognition.

Promote your participation in a Tradeshow, Conference or Event on your homepage, through publications in professional journals and press releases.

The promotion of your participation in a tradeshow is vital for the entire experience. Through the promotion of your attendance, you can increase your brand awareness and the tenacity for your brand. Those that attend tradeshows are serious about the success of their brand and also firmly believe in their brand. Show potential vendors that you mean business by promoting your tradeshow experience. Following this list can assist in your preparedness before, during, and after the show. Your advanced preparation will allow you to focus on networking and showing the passion you have for your product. Properly documenting the experience will also make the tradeshow experience pay for itself over time. Having the ability to include your presence at a tradeshow in marketing collateral, website content, and social content is extremely valuable. Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas 2019 is on Sunday, July 28th through Tuesday, July 30th at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.