Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to find new customers and make new contacts, but the only way you are going to get out of your investment in a booth, is to make it a magnet for anyone who is at the show.
One way of standing out from the crowd would be to have some custom feather banners made, and you can browse banners now to find what you want. The art of making your booth a desired destination involves bringing a whole number of different components together, so here are a few tips to consider.
Before the show
Pre-event marketing is absolutely essential if you are going to boost the numbers of people who are going to visit your booth.
Contacting prospective customers and other relevant attendees before the event, gives you the chance to not only let people know where to find you at the show but also allows you the opportunity to incentivize, by offering a special discount or a free sample, if they come to your booth.
Proven strategy
Another proven strategy that has been used for many years, mainly because it works so well, is to employ the services of a professional corporate spokesperson.
Having someone on hand who can deliver information in a polished way and give your company a highly professional image, is normally an investment that is well worth considering.
You obviously have to find the right person for the job if the strategy is going to work, but when you get it right, a professional speaker who knows how to engage a crowd and work them in just the right way, will allow your booth to attract plenty of visitors.
Signage matters
Dressing your booth in an attractive way and having the right signage can make all the difference to how successful you are in drawing people in for a closer look.
Every business will have a different budget to work with and you might not be able to spend loads of money on a host of high-end booth design features, but one thing that is usually inexpensive but punches above its weight in terms of performance, is signage.
It normally pays to focus your attention and a part of your budget on getting the signage right. It is generally predicted that you have roughly five seconds to catch the attention of an attendee and draw them into your booth, before they pass you by.
One of the best ways of catching their attention is to ensure that your signage stands out, looks professional, and encourages recognition of your business and what you are about.
Demonstrations are important
Another good way of attracting good numbers of people to your booth is to have some hands-on demonstrations going on throughout the day.
Most attendees don’t just want to look at your product, they would like to see it in action and what it is all about. People are often much more likely to invest their time and subsequently their money, if they are able to see your products and can get answers to any relevant questions that they might have.
A design that flows
You probably have plenty of ideas about what you want to have on your stand and even know the message that you particularly get across at the trade show, such as a launch of a new range, but you need to ensure that all the elements come together in the right way.
Start by making a comprehensive list of all of the elements that you want to include in your booth, from promotional materials, demonstrations, videos and anything else that you intend to use to attract and encourage people to visit you.
Once you have your list, you need to devise all of these elements into a design that manages to flow rather than looking like a load of different things that seem to have no relationship with each other.
It might even pay to ask an interior designer to come up with a layout plan, that you can use again at other show.
Pay attention to current booth design trends when considering your own layout, without copying what somebody else has already done of course. Clutter is never a good thing and less is more when you consider that you are working within a confined space, so try to keep things like brochures and flyers within reach but out of sight.
Follow some of these ideas and strategies, and hopefully you will create a booth that turns out to be a desirable and popular location.
About the author
Chris Trembath is the product design manager for the event display group of companies in Australia, USA and Canada. A ten year marketing guru he is adept in helping companies develop advertising solutions both online and offline to maximize brand exposure at events and on the internet.
