Trade shows are a great way to market your business. But setting up a trade show booth could cost your business a lot of time and money. So you must ensure that your display brings you massive ROI otherwise it would be a waste of your resources.
But what makes a good trade show booth? The most popular trade show booths have distinct characteristics that set them apart. Keep reading for some great tips on how you can get the most out of your trade show booth.
Start Your Customer Engagement Before the Event
If the event is the first time you are meeting attendees, know that you may be a little behind. You should start grabbing your customers’ attention as soon as you register as an exhibitor. Find out what the event hashtags are and make daily social media posts referencing them.
Connect on social with any attendees that you know of or anyone engaging with the event hashtags. If possible, get a list of the confirmed attendees and send emails inviting anyone you would like to engage with to your booth. Ask attendees what they are expecting to see in your booth and even start a competition offering them prizes if they stop by.
Connecting with your target customers weeks before the event will also give you an idea of their persona. You can then tailor activities and displays to their interests.
Research the Competition
One great way to ensure your trade show booths are a success is to find out what your competition is doing. You can then prepare a display that stands out from theirs.
Find out from your event organizer who else will be attending and what they are planning to present. You can also lookup your competitors’ websites and social media to see what their previous booths have been like.
Knowing what you’re up against will help you prepare adequately for the trade show. Make sure that your booth is good enough to draw customers away from other displays.
For instance, if your competitors may have interesting contests and prizes. You could come up with a counteroffer that will make them want to engage with you more.
Create the Liveliest Booth
Trade show booths at trade events tend to be boring setups where attendees just stop by to pick up marketing materials. Set yourself apart by being the life of the event through music, games, and other fun activities. You can have a mix of the latest music and host dancing competitions for attendees.
Select easy-going and humorous employees to work the booth and the crowd. They are more likely to create a fun atmosphere at your booth. This will get more engagement from your customers.
Prepare Unique Giveaways
Speaking of prizes, make sure that your trade show booth has unique and eye-catching giveaways. These will arouse the interest of conference attendees and make them seek out your booth.
Have you ever attended a convention and seen other participants carrying freebies from exhibitors? Perhaps this made you visit that particular booth to get the unusual gift.
Modern consumers are very discerning and don’t want to fill their homes with clutter. So giving away conventional items like free mugs or pens will not entice them to your booth. Think of things that your target customer will value.
For instance, you could giveaway lighters, power banks, novelty socks, etc. Having a highly demanded freebie will lead to clients lining up to get one. There isn’t a greater indicator of a successful booth than long lines.
Invest in Great Branding
For your trade show booths to stand out you must have awesome displays. Set aside a part of your marketing budget to get banners, posters, flags, and photographs printed. You can reuse all these at other marketing events so the investment will be worth it. Using professionally branded materials to decorate your booth will show customers that you don’t take things for granted.
If you have won industry awards or received recognition for your goods and services make sure these trophies and certificates are also on display. Also, if you have even been on TV or other popular forms of media you can include the tag “As Seen On…” on your displays.
Give Away the Best Carrier Bag
Another great tip for how to get the most out of your trade show booth is to give away a great reusable carrier bag. Event attendees will get a lot of giveaways from all the exhibitors. They’ll need to put them somewhere.
A lot of companies will probably be giving away bags. But the items end up in the biggest and best bag.
Make your bag large, durable, and attractive so that attendees continue using it after the event. Ensure that your logo, website, and contact details are visibly printed. This makes sure your company gets advertised wherever the bag goes.
Collect Customer Data for Future Engagement
Don’t forget to collect the contact information for anyone that visits your booth so that you can add them to your mailing list. The main reason for setting up a trade show booth is to get leads. So it would be a wasted effort if you didn’t get the contacts of potential customers.
To ensure that clients give you the right contact information you must make them eager for you to contact them. For example, you can have a raffle and inform them that winners will get notified via email. Or you can tell them that clients on your mailing list get special discounts and rates.
Add Video to Your Display
You and your booth attendants will not be able to attend to all visitors at once. So having a video story of your brand to entertain visitors is a great idea.
While you are busy with one group, unattended visitors can watch your video as they wait to be served. It may also get tiring and boring to explain your story again and again. So having an interesting video will take out the monotony of your talks.
Learn How to Setup a Successful Trade Show Booth
Trade shows are an excellent opportunity to get that word out about your company. Unfortunately, other companies are aware of this so convention centers are often full of exhibitors competing for your customers’ attention. Make your trade show booth stand out from the rest by using professionally branded materials to set up a great display.
Having a solid strategy is one of the best ways to take full advantage of the day. Contact us to make sure your next trade show event is a hit.