Trade show booths hold tremendous potential for any business, but let’s face it, they’re often expensive. In fact, a typical budget is around $10,000 per trade show. The space rental, booth displays, promotional materials, staff costs, and travel expenses all add up.
Many businesses minimize their costs by opting for small 10×10 trade show booths instead of larger booths. Of course, that cost-saving strategy doesn’t come without its challenges. It’s difficult to fully attract and engage leads with such little space to spare, but it can be done.
Try these tips for generating great leads even with a small booth.
Find an Eye-Catcher
A major challenge for any trade show exhibitor is capturing leads’ attention in a sea of competitors. The smaller your booth is, the more difficult that will be.
The key is having some aspect of your booth design that’s particularly eye-catching. Maybe it’s a clever wording or an impressive visual element. Either way, come up with one “showstopper” that will pull in prospects as they’re browsing.
It’s even better if you can anticipate how your neighbors’ booths will look so you can differentiate yourself. When the trade show releases a map of booths, check out whose booths will be near yours. Then, hunt online for pictures of their booths at past events, which many exhibitors post on social media.
If you find those pictures, check out their color schemes and overall booth designs. Make sure your design doesn’t blend in with theirs.
Step Out of Your Shell
In larger booths, there’s space for several screens and displays so prospects can walk around and engage with the business. In a smaller booth, you don’t have that advantage. In that case, the best way to engage prospects is to interact with each one individually.
That means being social, engaging, and positive: being willing to walk out and chat with prospects. Make sure any staff members working at your booth are willing to do this and to make connections.
Keep Messaging Bold and Clear
In a larger booth, there’s plenty of space for messaging. You can create extensive displays and documentation to tell your story. In 10×10 trade show booths, though, you don’t have that luxury.
Instead, stick to messaging that’s bold enough to capture attention and to get across your company name and your unique proposition. At the same time, keep it concise because the more text you have, the more people will simply ignore it.
Plan for a Quick Turnaround
Even in the best 10×10 trade show booth, you don’t have space for more than a few people. That means you don’t have room to be chatting with each prospect for too long.
You still need to engage those prospects long enough to get them interested and create a solid lead, but you must do this in a shorter time. What’s the solution? A truly masterful elevator pitch.
Spend time before the trade show to craft pitches and verbiage that can easily summarize your value proposition. Use language that engages and impresses prospects quickly, paving the way for fast leads. Practice this verbiage so it’s second nature when the trade show arrives.
Set Up Individual Chats
Some businesses are difficult to adequately summarize with an elevator pitch. You can get the basics, but what if you need a deeper demo for prospects to truly understand your value?
In this case, focus on making a quick pitch to engage the prospects and inviting them to a meeting later for a more in-depth discussion. It’s often easy to find spaces for breakaway chats and demos, and this gives you a chance to make a greater impression on the prospect, even if it’s a ten-minute meeting.
Plan a Quick Way to Gather Lead Data
Gathering leads at a trade show doesn’t just involve connecting with prospects. It also involves getting their contact information so you can follow up with them and turn the lead into a sale. With a small booth, you need to do that quickly because you don’t have space to chat with multiple prospects.
Some trade shows offer handy ways to do this already. For example, some offer scanners you can rent, which allow you to scan a bar code on a prospect’s name badge. This then loads the prospect’s information to a file so you’ll have it all at the end of the show.
If the trade show doesn’t have this option, come up with your own solution. Don’t expect every person to have business cards. You could do something simple like snapping a picture of each prospect’s name badge and later transcribing their information into a spreadsheet.
Keep Materials Compact
In a 10×10 booth, you want to leave the space open for prospects. You don’t want to take up valuable real estate with bulky displays.
Instead, focus on low-profile displays like screens you can place along the edges of the booth. The same goes for promotional and informational materials. Use concise and compact items like small brochures compared to large packets or booklets.
Consider the space when choosing what promotional products to give out as well. For instance, opt for flash drives instead of t-shirts. You still get the lead-generating and brand-building benefits of giveaways without taking up excess space.
Incorporate Space-Saving Games
Games are fantastic tools for trade shows. They engage prospects and draw attention in a fun way.
Of course, many trade show games take up more space than you have available. Instead, look for space-saving games, like games you can play at a bistro table or along a wall.
Make sure to have a sign-up sheet for the game as well. This way, you’re capturing lead data for every person who wants to play.
Making the Most of 10×10 Trade Show Booths
There’s a reason why space is such a major factor in the cost of a trade show booth. It can make a powerful difference in the number and quality of leads you generate at the show. If you play it smart, though, you can still make a tremendous impact with small 10×10 trade show booths.
Along with trying the tips above, you need a great trade show display specialist to make the most of your space. To start that process, contact our display team today.