|
trade show booth ideas
home |
more trade show marketing articles
 No
one wants to have a trade show booth that is known as the local "ghost town" of
the trade show. If you're going to to put the time, energy, and money into
exhibiting at a trade show or convention, you want to be sure your trade show
booth is popular and draws a crowd, and that you get plenty of trade show
traffic (and that your trade show traffic is composed of qualified prospects,
and not trade show lookie-loos that will just eat up your time and take your
trade show giveaways and run.
So what makes for a good trade show booth, or better yet, a great trade show
booth? How do you ensure your trade show booth is one of the popular trade show
booths, if not the most popular trade show booth at the show? How do you stand
out from the other trade show exhibits and exhibitors and differentiate your
company? What can you do to get more attention and generate more traffic, leads,
and hopefully even sales at your trade show exhibit? Is it possible to have a "champagne and caviar" level
tradeshow booth on a "shoe-string" small business budget, or do you have to
spend a small fortune to compete with the big dogs of the trade show display circuit?
Had enough of the questions, and are you ready for some answers? Do you want
some
trade show booth ideas?!
 1.
Idea ~ Pre-Show Planning
The importance of planning before your trade show can not be overstated. Before
you even sign up to exhibit at a trade show, conference, convention, or other
marketing event, you need to have a plan. You should
know why you are exhibiting, and why you are exhibiting at the specific trade
show you signed up for. You should have a defined marketing message and a goal
for the trade show. You should have established a budget (including investing in
cutting-edge trade show display), and have shown that
you will make money by exhibiting at the trade show, and not lose money. You
need to let attendees know in advance that you will be at the trade show. Tell
them what your exhibit booth number is and invite them to stop by. Let your current
customer know as well. Think about the various options for trade show giveaway
ideas and make sure you have some effective trade show giveaways for your trade
show booth. Hopefully, you've had a chance to do your research and visit other
trade shows and see what ideas are working for the trade show booths and trade
show displays you saw at
those shows - and especially those exhibitors and trade show booths that are
related to your company, products, or services.
2.
Idea ~ Use Trade Show Giveaways
As mentioned above in point one, handing out promotional trade show giveaways and trade show
swag is a great way to draw traffic to your trade show booth, and to reward your
visitors, and to leave them with something physical that will remind them of
your company, product, or service in the future. Of course, you want to make
sure your trade show giveaway will be effective, which is why you should check
out these trade show giveaway ideas.
Remember that the reason for handing out trade show giveaways
and promotional products is to entice qualified prospects into your booth and to
reward them for visiting. The goal should NOT be to simply hand them out to
anyone, or to let just anyone grab them to stuff their trade show loot bootie
bag. Keep an eye on your trade show giveaways and make sure you're giving them
to the right visitors!
3.
Idea ~ Have Catchy (and Effective) Trade Show Display Graphics
Every great trade show booth has a great trade show display. And critical to
having a great trade show display is making sure you have catchy graphics. You
want your graphics to look distinctive, unique, and above all, professional, but it is also critical that they stand
out from the other tradeshow displays and draw attention to your booth. They need to highlight and communicate
your trade show marketing message. Your trade show display graphics should tell
visitors why they should stop and visit your booth. With all the options for
trade show graphics today, and with the great designs and reasonable prices
available, you must invest in great trade show graphics for your trade show
booth. Never, ever think that the little pre-printed sign that the trade show
organizers hang on the curtain drapes at the back of your trade show booth
qualifies as "great trade show graphics". When I see a trade show exhibitor that
only has that little white pre-printed sign, I think... trade show loser. Don't
be a trade show loser... invest in great trade show graphics (and hire a graphic
designer who knows what they're doing) and be a trade show winner.
4.
Idea ~ Have a Prepared, Knowledgeable and Friendly Trade Show Booth Staff
Handing out trade show giveaways and having catchy trade show graphics are great
ways to draw crowds and traffic to your trade show booth, but who do trade show
attendees and visitors meet and talk when they stop at your booth? The benefit
of trade show exhibiting and marketing is face-to-face human interaction, but it
is only beneficial if the human knows what they are doing. You want to be sure
your trade show staff is properly trained. They need to greet visitors with a
smile. They need to be friendly and know how engage in small talk, but also how
to get to the point and steer a conversation back to your reason for being at
the trade show... qualifying prospects and generating leads and even sales! It
goes without saying, but your trade show booth staff needs to be completely
knowledgeable about your company, and they need to be able to answer every
question thrown at them. They also should have a set of ideas, tips, and
suggestions on how your company can help any qualified prospect that visits your
trade show booth. And you need to insure you have enough trade show staff to
handle the maximum trade show traffic and crowd you expect (and that number
should be big!).
5.
Idea ~ Think about Location, Layout, and Flow
Often under-appreciated and overlooked is the importance to your trade show
booth of Location, Layout, and Flow. Being near the front of a trade show and on
a major traffic path is of course a great idea! The way to secure the best
location at the show is to sign up early and determine and ask for where you
want to be located. When you set up your trade show booth, think about the
layout. You want people to be able to easily enter your trade show booth, so
don't block the entrance with a table. You also want people to think they won't
get trapped in your booth if they enter it, so keep the front open and inviting!
And think about the flow by and through your booth. How will people get to you,
and can you handle multiple visitors asking questions? If you are sitting down
behind a table, ditch the chair and the table. Stand up, and don't have anything
behind you and your potential prospect.
When it comes to trade show booth ideas, a lot of "experts" will
talk about or recommend contests, raffles, drawings, games, tv quiz-show themed
games, models, and entertainment (like clowns, jugglers,
and magicians) to draw a trade show crowd. I have to disagree with these
experts' recommendations... these ideas may draw a big crowd, but whether
or not it is the crowd you really want is another matter. The key to having a
successful tradeshow exhibit booth is that you want to
draw the right crowd, and the right tradeshow crowd is made up of attendees and
visitors who are qualified prospects. Preparing for a successful trade show
booth means more that just having a prize wheel or a bowl of candy, or a
juggling magician in a skimpy bikini... preparing to be a trade show success
means knowing what it takes to succeed, and planning before the trade show, effectively using trade show giveaways to
reinforce your marketing message and trade show goals, having an
attention-commanding trade show display in your booth, having a world-class
trade show booth staff, and remembering the importance of location, location,
location!
more trade show marketing articles
Institute
for Trade Show
Marketing Excellence | ITSME
http://www.TradeShowMarketingAdvice.org
copyright 2004-2015 all rights reserved
|
