Team Haitna’s Experience At the Dallas Small Business Expo 2020

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The small business industry has been booming over the last few years, so we thought being part of the Dallas Small Business Expo 2020 would be an excellent opportunity to interact with brands, co-founders, and CEOs of various companies. Team Haitna participated in the event where we got to impart our knowledge about digital marketing and meet all of you.
We are at our happiest when we can help small businesses with their marketing queries. That’s why we’d like to share the five things we learned at the expo. Plus, should you decide to participate or attend next year, we’ve highlighted a few pointers about some mistakes to avoid.

Five Things Our Team Has Learned from Dallas Small Business Expo - 2020

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1. Networking Opportunities

One of the biggest benefits of participating and attending the Dallas Small Business Expo is the organized and organic opportunities to network with key players in your industry. Apart from the ‘speed networking’ events, which introduced us to many emerging companies, Team Haitna enjoyed meeting new and established business owners on the expo floor.

2. Knowledge Exchange

The Dallas Small Business Expo has some of the best companies exhibiting, and with them comes a wealth of expertise and knowledge. Whether you’re attending a lecture/ workshop or meeting with business and department heads, you get the unique opportunity to learn about a host of things, from new trends in the industry to technology updates.

3. Promotion Opportunities

If you’re launching a new product or service or want to gain more clients, exhibiting at the expo is a great way to promote your brand. You get immediate feedback, sales, and leads by exhibiting in a space that caters to a wide demographic. Team Haitna enjoyed interacting with local start-ups and giving them an up-close look at our services that could help them grow their business.

4. Key Interests/ Pressure Points

Interacting with so many people and businesses brings the pressure points and interests that companies face to the forefront. Knowing these key interests helps us plan strategies for the future that offer solutions or target those interests. Thanks to the expo, we now know that we should provide more content marketing services that target local and small businesses in their initial growth stages.

5. Exposure

Whether you’re exhibiting at, sponsoring, or attending the Dallas Small Business Expo, it will give you exposure to your target demographic, industry experts, and people within your niche from around the country. It’s great for brand awareness, visibility, and collaborations. Being exposed to so many people comes with the perk of generating quality leads and partnerships that can propel your business.

Avoid These 7 Mistakes At Your Next Business Expo

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1. Come Prepared

Fellow exhibitors or attendees who visit your booth will expect you to know everything about your brand. Come prepared for any questions that pertain to your products, services, employees, company growth, etc. You never know which lead can turn into a potential investor or prospective client, so be prepared.

2. Stand Out

There are 100s of companies exhibiting at the Dallas Small Business Expo, so your company branding and booth have to stand out. Before the event, create a cohesive booth plan along with print and marketing materials that tell your story from miles away. Appearances are everything when it comes to brand identity, including well-groomed employees and a well-organized booth.

3. Prepare for Media

Trade shows as large and popular as the Dallas Small Business Expo get a lot of media buzz before and during the event. Journalists, bloggers, social media marketers, SEO experts, designers, app developers etc., are also among the people attending, so your booth’s staff must be equipped to give intelligent insights, be interviewed, and be in the spotlight.

4. Contact List & Business Cards

When attending an expo or exhibiting, it’s essential to bring ample business cards with updated information and your contact list (digital or a traditional book). Networking and lead generation are two main benefits of trade shows, which depend on getting and receiving contact information. Do not forget your business cards and contact book at the office!

5. Define Your Goals

Many companies purchase booths at expos without considering a crucial element - your company’s goal. Why exactly are you showcasing or attending the expo.? Is it:

• Lead generation
• Attending keynote speeches to gain knowledge
• Build collaborations
• Network
• Sell products, etc.

Clearly define your goals before attending so that you can maximize your efforts to achieve them.

6. No Follow Up

Once the excitement of the expo dies down, it’s time to start following up on leads. Don’t wait for a week to go by; call up/ email clients and interesting contacts while your company is still fresh in their minds. Following up on your quality leads shortly after is a great way to leverage the momentum from the expo to build relationships and convert them into clients or partners, etc.

7. Logistics

There are many moving parts when exhibiting at an expo, such as:

• who will set up the stall,
• how long will your trained staff be operating the booth,
• who will attend the events,
• lunch breaks, etc.

The easiest way to stay in control of everything is to write up a checklist beforehand. Seeing tasks written down makes it a lot easier to plan.

Dallas Small Business Expo - 2020 - Pricing

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Entry Pricing : FREE
Booths (depending on size) - $2500 to $18000 - Map
45 min Workshop - $2000
Booth add-ons - $150 to $6000

Dallas Small Business Expo - 2020 - Location & time

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Dallas Market Center,
Dallas, Texas
Date : February 27th, 2020

Key Takeaways from Dallas Small Business Expo

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• Team Haitna enjoyed meeting and interacting with companies, brands, personnel, and founders at various stages of their growth.
• Opportunity to exchange knowledge and get insights on digital marketing and other topics.
• We learned about new products, companies, and trends.
• We gained quality leads that we’re eager to follow up on.
• Excellent footfall throughout the day.
• The Dallas Small Business Expo was great for media and prospective client exposure/visibility.
• The event was well organized, and the staff was willing to help with any task we had about the booth or pre-event/post-event follow-ups.