Stay On Brand
At a large event, you want to make sure that anyone walking by can tell exactly which company you are. Whether you have a 10x20 trade show booth or a smaller space, make sure your branding is consistent throughout. Everything should match your brand, from the walls of the booth, to banners, imagery and the freebies you give away. Design with your brand colors in mind, and make sure your logo is prominently visible as anyone approaches the booth.
Tell People What You Do
Unless your company is a household name, most show visitors probably won’t already know who you are and what your business does. If you’re a small business or a start-up, this is especially true. Don’t wait for someone to approach you and ask either. Your booth needs to tell them. Your banners should have some concise information about your key services or products, whether you sell organic dog food or offer IT services to tech companies. If anyone walking by can see what you do, it saves you answering the same question 100 times, and also means that you can be sure that anyone who comes into the booth is already interested in learning more about you.
Stand Out From The Crowd
Most trade show booths are designed in a simple palette of blue, grey and white. If you have a brighter, more interesting color in your brand colors or logo, use it on your booth. The color will stand out, and look far more interesting and inviting.
If you don’t have these bright colors to play with, there are other ways to make you booth pop and stand out more. Have demonstrations going on all day, so there’s a reason for people to stop as they walk by, gather at your booth and watch something. Interactive displays work well too, as does a display a physical display of your products to be picked up and viewed.
Have Fun With The Stand
A trade show talking to industry people all day can quickly become repetitive and dull. If you’re seeing glazed eyes on the people walking the show floor, then make sure your stand has a little fun about it to stand out and cut through the boredom. Find something fun that it's your business, whether it’s your demonstrations, somewhere to take selfies or some music. Make sure it fits your brand; don’t go fun just for fun’s sake.
Put Your Name On Everything
You want people to remember exactly who you are. Put your name on everything. Put it on your booth, on your products and definitely on any freebies that you hand out. After speaking to a lot of brands, they can soon blur into one, but if they’ve gone away with a pocketful of giveaways with your name on then, they’re more likely to remember you.
Give Away Something People Will Keep
All the brands will be giving away something on their stands, and so should you. Pick the right kind of giveaway though. A lot of trade show freebies just end being thrown straight in the bin when you get home, or chucked into a desk drawer never to be seen again. Instead, offer something people might actually want or find yourself. Brand up water bottles and keep a cooler full on your stand. Snacks can work well too, like energy bars, bags of popcorn or chocolate, as trade shows can be hungry work.
Stationery items can work well too, such as pens, post-it notes or pots of paperclips. Pen drives are always useful, but avoid things like stress balls, which tend to get left behind.
To make people keep your giveaways with them, you could connect a prize to them. Someone wearing a trinket from you, or who shares a picture on their social media of a freebie, could win a prize at the end of the trade show.
Make The Most Of Your Booth Space
No matter what size of booth you have, it’s important to make the most of the space you do have. Maximise every square foot to your advantage. If you have a small space, make use of the height, and hang banners of or even balloons, so you can be seen from a distance. Don’t be tempted to overcrowd a booth either; just show off your very best products.
If you’re lucky enough to have a larger booth, be sure not to go the other way and leave it too empty. Show off your product range or services with a range of displays and banners.
Leave plenty of space for people to walk around your booth and gather to talk to your staff, without feeling crowded. If you are giving away something edible or to drink, then leave room for people gather near that too.
Keep The Booth Busy
Imagine you’re a tourist looking for somewhere to buy a slice of pizza. If one stand has a longer queue, you’ll assume that it’s the best one. Social proof generates trust. Keep your stand busy, so as people walk by it looks popular and draws them in. Draw people in and give them a reason to stay and talk, so the stand remains busy.
If you’re worried about the stand ending up looking empty, you could ask some of your staff not working the show to come along not in uniform and act as your first customers until you attract some real ones.
Reach Out To Contacts Before The Show
Don’t wait for the trade show to start to start building contacts. Is there anyone at the show that you know you want to meet? Reach out to them a few weeks before the show and arrange to have a meeting with them at your booth before the doors to the show opening to the public. This a great way to get in some networking, without being interrupted by other people arriving at the booth.
Partner Up
Chances are, there will be a company also attending the show who will have the same target market as you. Why not arrange to trade leads and contacts with them? This is a great way to double the amount of contacts you get from a show, as long as you get permission to share data. Don’t pair up with the competition though. Instead, pair up with someone who sells something different to you, but has the same target audience that you do.
Send Your A Team
A lot of companies staff a trade show stand with the marketing team and some interns, but this is a mistake. You should send your best and your most knowledgeable staff. Throughout the trade show, the staff manning the booth are you brand ambassadors. They should be charismatic, good at chatting to a lot of people and able to answer almost any unexpected questions about the company and your services or products. Send the people who will show off the company at its very best.
