Trade Shows can be a great opportunity to raise brand awareness, engage with potential customers, and attract valuable media coverage.
But as with any investment you are planning to make, it is essential to plan your approach if you want to maximize the return achieved.
Before you go
- Define objectives – Gather team members around and decide the goal of participating in the trade show. Is it to generate leads? Is it about brand awareness? Maybe the focus is on developing customer relationships? Identifying the goals will greatly inform the approach taken at the show.
- Bring the ‘A’ game – Decide which products to showcase and be ruthless. This isn’t the time to promote everything. Focus on new products and top sellers.
- Identify target customers – Whom do you want to engage with at the show? It’s time to name names! Contact them in advance and invite them to your stand.
- Reach out in the media – Identify trade publications attending the show. Market your presence through them.
Stand out from the crowd
- Buck the trend – Review the approach taken by other exhibitors at previous shows and do something different. If they are going for large booths, opt for small and intimate. The team at DisplayToday.com have significant experience at trade shows and can give you the inside track on current trends.
- Be unique – Being different will help create a buzz about the booth. Go for something funny or maybe futuristic – just as long as it grabs customers’ attention. Translate that buzz into a crowd and you’ll soon have significant exposure for your product.
- Create a strong visual – Get noticed with a look that cannot be ignored. Don’t overload your booth with images and graphics though, or your message will get lost. The experts at DisplayToday.com can help you get the balance right.
Engage with customers
- Be hospitable – Trade shows can be tiring places so provide comfortable seating and refreshments for valued customers.
- Time your engagement – Give visitors to the stand space to take in your display. Delaying your approach gives them a chance to relax, before you move in with the pitch.
- Create participants – Visitors to your stand will love giveaways, but giveaways don’t help create dialogue. Running a competition gives you the opportunity to talk to potential customers about your product in a fun and informal way.
Latest stand- out trade booths
The recent International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 show in Las Vegas was a hotbed of booth best practice. The CES is the largest tradeshow in the world. So, it is a great place to pick up tips about what works when it comes to display stands.
With curved screens, the latest trend in digital signage, Samsung created an impact on their stand with three huge walls of curved OLED screens.
But excellence in trade show activity can also be achieved by smaller companies. Europlasma put on an impressive display of their Nanofics technology – an innovative waterproof coating. Their engaging demonstration created a real buzz around the show.
The best advice to any potential exhibitor is to work with a professional company like DisplayToday.com that can guide you through the process and ensure you really do get the best from your booth.
About the Author: Mark Thomas is style personified. A former model, Mark now uses his passion for presentation in the world of marketing. Having already developed several campaigns around fashion and accessories, Mark is fast making a name for himself as a professional marketing consultant. Mark keenly watches trends in relation to exhibition styling and has worked with the team at DisplayToday.com on a number of such projects.
Cover photo credit: Doug Kline
