Start with the buyers you want to meet and the applications you want to discuss. Use those priorities to choose the outreach, product information, and sales materials that need to be ready for the show.
Before the show
Reach the right buyers
The people who will actually be in the building, by name where possible.
Application-specific content
Not general company news.
A concrete reason to stop
A formulation problem you solve, not a slogan.
On the floor
Booth design should answer three questions from ten feet away: what do you make, who is it for, and why should I stop. Product should be touchable, and applications should be visible without a conversation starting from zero.
Inside the conversation
This is where a linear slide deck fails. A buyer asks about a gluten-free application, then a certification, then capacity. An interactive presentation follows that path; slide 14 does not.
After
Follow-up should continue the same story the buyer already saw. That is only possible if pre-show campaigns, booth, and presentation were built as one system, which is how we approached Western Foods at IFT FIRST and Expo West.