In a room full of bustle, noise, and draped cubicles, it takes some thought to make your booth stand out. Here are a few tips for any budget to make your booth more appealing.
- Offer green alternatives of your handouts for the environmentally conscious.
A simple way to do that is to have a QR code that links to an webpage or PDF of your handouts. QR codes can be generated for free online—a quick Google search will do the trick.
Tip: Try embedding the PDF on a page on your site, rather than linking to the document in its own window. That way, your potential customer will see the rest of what your website has to offer, and if you’re using the Facebook Pixel, you can retarget them with ads down the road. - Add visual layers of elements to your table.
Try mixing flat and vertical elements as well as some in between by placing signage at an angle. And don’t just stick to paper handouts and signage as your only elements—try bringing in other relevant materials, whether that be field guides, sample products, or a small TV with a video or your website on display. Mixing materials adds even more visual variety. Just make sure that your look is cohesive and thoughtful, not crowded and mismatched. By the way, try rearranging the table from its traditional front-of-the-booth location to make your display unique and more inviting. - Offer incentives.
Offering incentives at your booth is a great idea. They can help potential customers remember you and encourage them to perform an action, such as give you their email address. There are many incentives that you can give, such as freebie branded items, the opportunity to be entered in a raffle for a prize, or a discount on your product or service. Another incentive to consider is information. Use something that your business excels at or is an expert in that customers would want to know about, and turn it into a physical or online guide that people can enjoy—exclusively from your business! Learn more about content marketing here. - Announce the event to your audience beforehand.
Via social media or eblasts, let them know about your exciting booth and great incentives! Take it a step farther, build relationships, and encourage repeat customers by offering something special for current customers who stop by. - Have a goal in mind…
Determine a goal for your trade show interactions, and think about how your booth presence reflects that goal. Are you wanting to collect email addresses? Make sure that the signup sheet is obvious to see and understand*. Does your business shine when you have long, engaging conversations with prospective customers? Offer some padded flooring or bring in a few chairs to encourage browsing attendees to stay a while.
Tip: If you could know just one thing about each potential client, what would it be? Consider adding one question to your email signup that will help you better understand what each prospective client wants. Then, use that information! See #5 for more. - …and do a visual walkthrough—either mentally or literally—from an attendee’s perspective to see how they would reach that goal.
Think about what they see first, how they are enticed, and what actions they may take before they leave the booth. Tweak your booth’s design to guide customers in the directions you want them to go. - Have a post-event plan.
Remember that your work is not done when the event ends. If you collected information from your prospective new customers, use what you know about them to strategically market to them. If you asked for more than just an email (see the tip on #3), don’t let that information go to waste—use it to customize your marketing. If you don’t know where to start on custom marketing, shoot us an email for more tips.
Bonus: Try switching to fabric banners. We’re never going back to vinyl banners—here’s why.