5 Trade Show Best Practices: Exhibit Like a Boss

2015-02-24 |   Trade Show Displays

On a floor full of noise, impressive and colorful displays, and other entrepreneurs promoting their products, a trade show can be a daunting place to be successful and be seen. If you keep these five best-practices in your pocket, you can be more confident about having an outcome that improves your business image and bottom-line.

1. Know Your Product

A survey conducted by Marketech, Inc. found that the majority of trade show attendees (43% of a 3,341 person sample size) care the most about getting product information. Have marketing brochures and other information available for potential customers to take along with them, and DEFINITELY make sure your people know how to talk about your products to customers. Even better? If possible, draw them in with a product demo so they can see it in action.

2. Consider a Promotion or Giveaway

Who doesn’t look for a little trade show SWAG? While a bunch of new ball point pens and a few chip clips are always fun, promotions or giveaways that focus on your business and products are even better. Advertising a giveaway or promotion in your booth will drive traffic to you and give customers a reason to look for you when the show is over.

3. Deploy a Dynamite Booth Attendant

The people that staff your both need to exude positive energy and have a welcoming personality to draw the people in (and it’s amazing how much standing rather than sitting can make a difference). It’s also vital that your people know how to talk about your products in an engaging and informative way, so that attendees also walk away from your booth with a good impression of your company.

4. Have an Active Booth

Picture this: you are out on the town at dinnertime. On one side of the street, an empty restaurant stands, a single employee inside slowly wiping a table. On the other, a bustling bistro with a line out the door. Which place are you most likely going to assume is the better choice? The same principle goes for your tradeshow booth: the more people who are visiting, the more people will want to visit. Momentum counts.

A trick to get the ball rolling is to have one of your sales rep contact customers that they know will also be attending the show and invite them to visit your company’s booth. That way, you can start out confident that you will have a few visitors that will likely attract others as well.

5. Keep the Party Going

The trade show “strike” (a.k.a., when everything gets taken down and put away) shouldn’t be the end of the trade show experience, or the end of the work. Make sure to follow up on any leads you get during the show as soon as possible. They will be much more likely to remember the positive image you gave with your display and can act on any promotions that you were touting during the show.