Winning Formulas to Rock Your Trade Show Exhibit

No matter at what kind of trade show you intend to exhibit, the primary goal is to attract people to your booth. Whether you’re looking to generate leads or sales, neither are possible unless you can manage to lure people to your display.

Coming up with a winning design takes careful consideration. There are many factors that determine what sort of display you can create. Things like budget constraints, booth size, and position, availability of power supply and lighting options can really impact and limit possibilities, so it’s important to look at these things in detail before planning your design.

Before planning your exhibit, make sure you know the following:

• Total budget
• Budget breakdown – design and creation costs, printing costs, staff salaries, logistics costs
• Dimensions of pitch/booth size
• Location of the booth – is it a corner booth or set in a row. Try to aim for prime positions within the exhibition hall
• What’s around you – who will your neighboring booths be, are you near any show attractions, rest/refreshment areas, etc

Once you have these details, you can start the fun part – planning your booth design!

Here are some great ideas to give you that winning trade show booth:

Visual feasts

There’s no better way to draw the crowds in than with something that’s genuinely eye-catching.

Well-co-ordinated branding, booth colors, and staff uniforms will tie everything together. Taking care with these elements will help you to present your brand in a cohesive fashion. Also, consider screens that display brand messages and products in an exciting way.

Interactive displays

Make use of readily available technology such as touchscreens or tablets to create an interactive environment.

Create an app that showcases your products and allows the user to explore what you have to offer. Level it up by making it visually appealing and fun to use.

Depending on what you sell, if appropriate you could also have examples of your product range available allowing visitors to try them out and give them a demo run.

Knowledgeable staff

It’s no good having an excellent display if your staff don’t know what they’re doing or if they put the hard sell onto people. Ensure your team not only know your products inside out but are also well trained in approaching and talking to potential customers. Asking the right questions and answering queries in a knowledgeable way will give your stand that professional edge.

Your staff’s attitude needs to be outgoing, friendly and not pushy. Visitors want to feel at ease in their presence.

Great giveaways

Freebies are what makes the trade show world go round! People expect them and will be drawn to the booths that are offering the best freebies.

But, the challenge here is to find the right freebie without killing your budget.

It also needs to be relevant to your business and products. For example, giving away a memory stick when you sell beauty products or giving away soap when you are a kitchen retailer isn’t relevant and doesn’t really make sense!

Although the goodies are technically free, don’t offer something for nothing. Giving freebies is a great way to build up a list of leads to make sure you get at least an email address before giving something away.

Better freebies can be offered if someone purchases a product or service.

Competitions

Tap into people’s competitive spirit by putting on a competition with a desirable prize.

A good way to do this is by having a games console with a competitive game such as racing, bowling or shooting as it usually draws a good crowd around your booth. Or, if you’re pushed for space, you could have clue solving, quizzes or guessing games instead.

A competition is a good way to generate leads as you can request people’s contact details as a condition of entry. Make the top prize something worth competing for otherwise you will struggle to get people to give up their details.

Entertainment

People visit trade shows because they want to be entertained. The more entertaining your booth or brand is, the more interested people will be to visit.

It could be something calm like having a masseuse doing quick massages, a magician performing card tricks or something more lively like a musician.

Draw everyone to your booth by having entertainers walk the exhibition hall floor. Stilt walkers, robots or people in costume can hand out flyers or discount vouchers.

Expert talks or seminars are another popular feature of trade shows. Having someone give a speech or Q&A on an interesting, relevant subject will get the visitor numbers up too.

Refreshments

Pit stops are a welcome addition to a large trade show. Visitors will enjoy a coffee station, juice bar, snack bar or maybe even something boozy.

It’s the perfect way to get people lingering at your booth and engage them in a conversation about your products without feeling pressured.

Spread the word

Why not start your booth hype before the event. Get the word out by using your email and contact lists.

Loyal customers will want to make sure they stop by, and they may even bring a few people with them.

Offer incentives like freebies or discount vouchers or even a prize giveaway for people who spread the word for you on social media.

These ideas should set you on course for having a stand-out booth at your trade show. Not all of these options will work for you and your product or service so choose the most appropriate formula that works for you and gives the wow factor.

You’ll know you’re a success when everyone is asking when your next trade show appearance is!