Using your trade show booth to maximum effect involves more than simply choosing a vivid color scheme and eye-catching designs; it also requires a lot of lateral thinking and moving yourself outside of the “box” allocated to you by the trade show managers. Remember you have a number of dynamic elements at work on the trade show floor – attendees, other exhibitors, promotional gimmickry, pre-show marketing and the trade show management marketing effort.

Attendee

Amongst that swirling mass of humanity, there are hundreds of opportunities for you to engage the audience and more than this, for attendees to actively promote your booth and trade show presence directly.

The power of referrals coupled with tangible rewards and incentives can make individual visitors your booth ambassadors when they leave. Incentivizing visitors with a good promotional giveaway if they return for a sales presentation or seminar with x number of guests, but remember you are looking for good quality referrals and not simply a bunch of people making up booth numbers.

Fellow Exhibitors

Obtain a list of other exhibitors from trade show management and identify those who have a common, but not competing interest with your own efforts – you are looking for synergetic opportunities here. By arranging to cross-promote each other’s booth’s you will increase your own traffic figures as well as obtain better quality visitors because, if a visitor is interested in a product or service which is related to your own line of work, then they will also be more inclined to be interested in you too.

Promotional Tools

Self-promotion is essential for trade show success and this title covers a multitude of techniques from engaging live performers and booth babes, through to holding business card prize draws, seminars and conference, guest speaking in-show advertizing and promotion. The trade show giveaway should also be carefully selected and managed – no matter what you are using for promotional purposes, instill in your booth staff that nothing is “free” – if a visitor wants a mug or baseball cap, they have to earn it, but then of course, you have to decide what the threshold for receiving these freebies will be.

On the Arena Floor

Remember your booth does not need to be the only physical presence you have within the event – it is simple and cost effective to populate the trade show space with smaller, point-of-sale booths comprising of one or two person stands to give greater arena coverage. Consider placing these smaller, satellite booths at strategic points around the arena floor – typically you will be aiming for the entrances/exits, close to food and refreshment outlets, but don’t forget to try and get them close to your big competitors in the hope you can siphon off some of their traffic too!

Pre-Show Marketing

The Golden Rule is this – NEVER rely on trade show management to do all the marketing work! You have responsibility for pre-show marketing which will generate interest and traffic for your booth and no-one else, so take the reins well in advance of the event. You will be mailing and emailing your customer and prospect lists, making your attendance at the trade show an item for a press release and inclusion in the company newsletter and don’t forget to contact fellow exhibitors and let them know you will be there because they are potential customers too!

Author Bio: Rena Patton is the president of ExhibitWholesale, a leading provider of trade show displays and accessories such as pop-up displays and banner stands. ExhibitWholesale can be found online at: ExhibitWholesale.com .

Category: Marketing
Keywords: trade show, successful trade show, banner stands, trade show displays