Top 10 trade show tips for exhibitors and 5 ways to measure if you are doing it right

There are plenty of reasons why you have considered presence of your company at a trade show. However, if you invest in an exhibition booth you want to make sure that you attract as many potential clients as possible. By the virtue of this fact, it is crucial to know how to allure your future clients. In order to gain this ability, it is worth familiarizing yourself with trade show tips for exhibitors presented In this article.

When discussing the success of your participation, it is good to know how to measure the effectiveness of your performance. This information enables you to get the insight, which trade shows are worth attending in the proximate future.

Trade show tips for exhibitors defining the visual attractiveness of the booth

TIP #1 Small booth design that makes a huge impact

First of all, you should design your booth in the way which mirrors your brand image, as well as its color scheme. It is important because it allows guests to identify and instantly reach your booth even if they have only a vague perception of your company. Otherwise, if you — for example — decide on the other color scheme — you may cause confusion among the attendees and lower your chance to promote your company.

TIP #2 Attract people with a huge visual identificator

The other important aspect means that you should avoid a, so-called, false modesty and do your best to highlight the unique strengths of your company and featured services or products. If your company is, for instance, known for a broad variety of keychains, utilize a large-scale keychain with the logo of your company. Choose just one thing the attendees should remember after the show. Make it big and unforgettable.

TIP #3 Go wild with visuals to stand out

Another crucial issue is showing the individual character of your company. To put it precisely, you should establish a booth in a way that differentiates you from your competitors. This means that you should ignore all cliche-ridden solutions and design your booth, keeping in mind “out-of-the-box” philosophy. Make a use of digital graphics display. Use floor stickers. Be innovative.

TIP #4 May I offer you a hot beverage?

Apart from that, display booth marketing involves some inconspicuous features which you should not downplay. To put it briefly, your booth should be enriched with the relevant equipment. Such facilitation makes it possible to beguile potential visitors with amazing drinks and snacks. It is obvious that some attendees would like to drink a cup of aromatic coffee or herbal tea when they converse directly with you or your representative. For this reason, it is important to make sure if you have small wares, espresso machine and the access to fresh hot water. Keep in mind, that a wrapping of a fudge and a paper cup are also places, where you can put your logo.

TIP #5 The size (of a booth) matters. Or does it?

Another pivotal issue is determining how much space you need during the trade show. When you are not able to indulge yourself with a substantial footprint, there is no need to worry. There are many managers who claim that even the small booth may be helpful as long as you manage to arrange many close relationships with the attendees. You can find the answer how to do that in the next paragraph.

Trade show marketing ideas or how to catch the eyes of the visitors during the show

TIP #6 Less is more when it comes to a product display

First and foremost, trade show marketing ideas should incorporate the interaction with the attendees. Those who will visit your booth will probably want to check your product. Make it as simple as possible. Don’t clutter the display. This trick will probably stir the attention of the attendees. They will focus precisely on the product, and won’t get distracted by the unnecessary razzle-dazzle and thus they will get a profound understanding of your offer.

TIP #7 Involve your loyal customers

Another smart tactic when planning your presence at the show comes down to gathering your current customers. Basically, there are three reasons why it works well. Firstly, it is a lot easier to continue previously established business relationship, especially if it was a mutually pleasant experience. Secondly, your loyal customers may be the source of positive reviews and valuable feedback for the new attendees who are curious about your services or products. And last, but not least – there is this saying: Monkey see, monkey do. A crowd around your booth will attract new prospects.

And where can you find your customers? You don’t have to play a stalker or hire a private eye. A software like Eventory Planning will help you pick the events where your contacts plan to be as well. Enhancing the decision process with this kind of data will help you benefit more from each event you visit.

TIP #8 Give people a reason to spend more time at your booth

Moreover, if you have enough space at your disposal, you may offer free workspace. If you share your desk space, plugs, and cozy chairs, your brand image will be associated with a super-positive experience.

TIP #9 Selfies that build a reach

Furthermore, it is good to allow your visitors to take selfies close to your booth. This strategy especially comes in handy when you are able to include your product or service into a grand background so that it will be visible on the photos. So think of something that will be selfie-worth. I’m looking at you, huge, branded keychain!

TIP #10 Free stuff is always a must in a trade show booth

Last but not least, you should consider incorporating some promotional giveaways. Aesthetic mouse pads, practical keychains as well as elegant pens make the attendees perceive your company more warmly. Also, they are an ad-space that you have for your own in prospect’s bag.

How to assess display booth marketing success?

The evaluation of your presence at the trade show may seem somewhat complex. How to measure event ROI if you are an exhibitor? It might be tricky, however, there are popular key performance indicators from the perspective of exhibitors.

TIP #1 Estimate the value of acquired leads

Firstly, you should estimate the value of acquired leads. To do that, you need to compare the number of leads before the show with the leads that you have gathered after the show. If you pre-segment them properly according to their interests and the sales funnel stage, you should also learn the estimated average value of the lead.

TIP #2 Check the social media impact

Secondly, you should examine accurately the interest which appears in the social media. It is highly probability that you had used social media in order to proliferate the information regarding your participation at the trade show. However, it is also worth using this channel of communication in post-trade assessment. To put it more concretely, you may examine the number of shares, likes, followers, mentions, downloads, hashtags and so on. Those data will give you an overview how your presence at the trade show has affected your brand awareness.

TIP #3 Customer meetings

Thirdly, take a closer look at customer meetings. Unlike the common misconception, the aforementioned phenomenon may appear also after the trade show. If your presence at the trade show was marked with the distinctive salient features, it should result in many attendees meetings even when the show is over.

TIP #4 Pay attention to the press coverage

Apart from that, you should pay attention to general press coverage that refers to you even if you are concerned with display booth marketing. If there are any positive mentions, regardless of the fact, if they are press releases or TV spots, you may be sure that you have done the right thing.

TIP #5 Check how many people have visited the booth

As was previously stated, the number of attendees who visited your booth is extremely important for your success. This is the reason why you should measure a trade show booth attendance as a follow-up key performance indicator. For example, consider using QR codes virtual business cards. Ask the organizer if they enable an app such as Eventory Scanner and put the technology to a good use. Other ideas are more old-school ones. For instance, you may put a guestbook on the counter and encourage people to leave a word or two.

Wrap up

There are many ways to attract people to the booth during a trade show. However, generating a huge traffic is not the end of the task. You will have to walk the extra mile and measure the performance if you want to tell if all the investments brought the tangible results.

Did you like our list? Is there anything else we should mention?