When your company has spent money, time, and effort for a trade show booth, it’s essential that you make the most of it. Exhibiting at a trade show can surpass any marketing or growth technique. Trillions of business deals are done at trade shows every year. Planning a successful trade show booth requires planning, organization, creativity, and resilience. Once everything is said and done, how can you be sure it’s been a success? While most businesses measure trade show success by the number of leads or opportunities that come out of the experience, it’s actually the level of effort that goes into the trade show that ultimately determines its success rate. Ready for success at your next trade show? Follow our top five tips for a successful trade show booth.
A Couple Trade Show Tips
Plan Ahead
It’s never too early to start planning your booth. The businesses who start the preparation process early tend to have the most success. Designing and building a booth take time. You have to make allowances for things to be shipped and installed. Beyond the booth itself, it’s important to inform your team of travel dates so they can book flights well in advance before costs go up. You will need to secure room blocks before the hotel sells out.
Will you be launching a new product around the same time as the event? What about big news to share during the week of the show? Give yourself time to print product sheets and order giveaways. Start preparing emails and other communications for the trade show at least four to six weeks before the event. It’s important to inform trade show attendees and your audience of your upcoming presence at the trade show.
You don’t want to get bogged down by all the small details right before the show when you should be preparing mentally. Planning ahead will allow you to focus in making the most of the trade show experience.
Get The Look
First impressions have a high correlation with the long-term status of your relationship, and buyers are attracted to good looking booths. Creative trade show booths can give you a huge advantage. Use bright colors and put effort into the design of your booth. It will make the difference between visitors stopping or simply walking by.
Not all companies have a big budget, but it is important to make your exhibit stand out. Make your messaging clear and able to be seen from every direction. Have a variety of different display options to appeal to different people, including flyers, pamphlets, and reading materials. Some attendees are visual and prefer to see a video demo on a screen or tablet. In addition to having the right look, it’s important that your booth feels approachable. Smiling faces of professional booth attendants are important. Make sure that plenty of booth staff is available at all times.
Make It Interactive
If you can make your product or service interactive, people will stay. Seeing people engage with your brand will entice other trade show attendees to come see what all the excitement is about. Social proof generates trust.
Of course, not all brands are easy to display. Work on finding a way to allow your booth traffic to interact with your products or services. Touch screens can be a great way to display your business offering, as long as it is interactive. Not only does the interaction generate interest, but it gives attendees a better understanding of your value proposition. If you cannot display your business offering in a way that is interactive, consider creating a brand experience.
Another way to interact with your audience is to make your booth hospitable, and treat your booth as if it’s your home. Give people a warm welcome and offer them coffee or tea. Depending on your booth size consider providing comfortable seating or fresh baked cookies. One of the first things people notice when they walk into your home is the aroma, and cookies always smell inviting. The best way to generate interest is to sometimes show interest in others first. Giving your guests a little bit of hospitality could land you a big reward.
Giveaways
Everyone likes to win, which makes contests, special promotions, prize drawings, and giveaways major attractions to your booth. Promotional giveaways that are easily visible are an excellent way to extend your booth’s reach. The more people you get to wear your promo items, the more others will want one. They also serve as a great conversation starter for attendees.
Make sure the promotional product giveaway that you choose is something that is both relevant to your brand and useful to the consumer. This combination works best to create an item that is kept and used for the longest period of time. Some of the most popular promotional products for trade shows include pens, bags, USB drives, cups, badge holders, and notepads.
If you are offering a show special, make sure to highlight that offer and make it clear to buyers that they need to buy at the show in order to receive the discount or special offer. This information needs to be clear and posted visibly. Be sure that you require something of attendees in order to receive your specials and giveaways, such as dropping a business card or filling out a contact form or questionnaire.
Follow Up
There are many opportunities for interactions at trade shows. Remember that while you are talking to a lot of potential customers, those prospects are also talking to a lot of different companies. While you have tried to differentiate yourself, it’s tough to remember everyone’s name and product after the trade show has ended. It’s important to a plan in place to follow up with leads soon after the show. Don’t be afraid of reaching out too quickly, the longer you wait the longer they have to forget who you are and what you said. Make a plan to capture contact information in your booth and then touch base with leads a day after the show has ended.
The biggest trade show success stories come from the companies who have planned the most. Safeguard by Innovative knows that trade shows are a big investment, so take plenty of time to prepare and then give it your all. We provide our customers with access to over 700,000 different promotional items, perfect for every occasion, including trade shows! No matter what type of business you have, we can help you market it more effectively. Contact us today to see how we can get you the trade show booth items you need to stand out and be remembered.