Telling Your Story: Trade Show Booth Tips 

In today’s world of marketing, everyone is screaming for attention and consumers are bombarded with advertisements at every opportunity. Selling a product is no longer a straightforward process. Unless you have a unique one-of-a-kind product, you are going to be competing with everyone else in your niche to get your items noticed over everyone else’s.

This situation has never been more prevalent than at a trade show. Row after row of booths, each selling similar items or services.

So how do you get your booth to stand out?
The art of storytelling is a skill that has been passed down through the ages. A great story is captivating, inspires emotion and leaves people wanting more.

In order for your product or service to rise above the competition, you need to tell a genuine story that people believe in. Your aim is for potential customers to invest emotionally in what you are selling and telling the story with passion will really drive home the message that your product is the right one for them.

Leave the sales pitch behind

Most people are now wise to the hard sell tactic and pitching your products just frustrates people.
At a trade show where a hundred people will be giving the same tired pitch will frustrate buyers and leave them searching for something a bit more honest.

Think about it. Most people now ignore TV commercials because they focus on the hard sell. Similarly, internet banner adverts telling you to buy something “NOW” hardly get given a second glance these days.
For example, saying “drink our soda because it tastes better than all the others.” or “buy our sneakers because they make you run faster than all the others.” is a sales pitch that only cares about you buying the product. It’s not getting you to invest emotionally, only financially.

How to find your story

You need to get your customers to connect emotionally to the product. Be it through the reasons why the product exists, the making process or how customers or employees engage with it. Think about what inspired you and how it might inspire others.

Points to consider are:
λ What inspired you to sell or invent this product in the first place.
λ Is the making process exciting or unique?
λ What emotion or feeling do you want to evoke? Here are a few examples:
ν Nostalgia
ν Empowerment
ν Happiness
ν Bravado
ν Fun
ν Strength
ν Love
ν Comfort
ν Suspense
λ What’s the customer journey?
λ How does your company operate? Is it family based and traditional or modern and tech-savvy?
λ Make sure your story is genuine, and you believe in it yourself.
λ The message in your story needs to be concise and clear.

Going back to the soda example, a story alternative to the sales pitch could be:

“I was inspired to create these traditional soda flavors when visiting my home town. It reminded me of when I was a child and when my grandparents used to serve me cream soda during the summer vacation. Sitting on the porch with my grandparents, watching the sunset while sipping our sodas was always my favorite part of the day. These sodas are my way of preserving my memories of my vacations as a child, and it is my hope that others will be reminded of their childhoods too when they drink them.”

Straight away, you’ve got a story that takes people back to their childhood. It plays on nostalgia and happy memories of vacations. It’s also authentic and easy to believe in.

Embedding the story into your marketing

There’s no point having a great story if you’re not going to embed it into your marketing.
Create a booth display that tells the story in a visual and creative way whether it’s the company history, company ethics, production process or even staff testimonials on why they love working for you. Make the message loud, clear and distinct.

The last thing you want is a bland booth. You could be the greatest storyteller the world has ever heard, but you won’t gain an audience if nothing is drawing them to your area in the first place.
Look at the other booths. If the only different thing between you and the next person is your brand colors or logo, then you haven’t done enough work.

Have relevant freebies

Everyone loves a freebie. Product samples are the obvious choice, but if your products are large or at a high cost, then this isn’t always possible.

Any freebies you do decide on need to work in harmony with your story.
For example, a booth showcasing products with a significant focus on sustainability should give away something that’s recycled or can be reused.

Ensure the theme of your story runs throughout your marketing literatura and that it is cohesive with your display.

Incorporate interaction

Consider how you can engage customers through interaction. Perhaps an interactive display of how the product works or if the product is consumable, a showcase of the raw ingredients that people can touch and feel.

TV screens can show a movie of your story, or you could have demos or simulators available.
Dynamic and engaging displays will excite your audience and motivate them to learn more.
The aim is to get people actively involved and to make them feel like they’re part of the story.

Having a story and telling it well will ensure you stand head and shoulders above the rest at trade shows. Whatever your story is, by making it the central theme of your marketing will inspire people to invest in your product. Increased sales and leads will mean a happy ending is guaranteed!