A trade show is an excellent way to generate leads and get new customers. But what are the best trade show display products to help your business standout. Well, that answer depends on your business, type the size of the trade shows you attend and your marketing budget.
Yes, you heard the dreaded six letter word “budget” but don’t you worry, you do not have to spend a lot to look good and standout. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being creative with your booth area. The one thing I can say for sure is no matter what your display looks like, you want to be prepared. You won’t believe how many exhibitors I have seen over the years not have enough people staffed in the booth area or they do not try to connect with the people visiting their exhibit. The whole point of exhibiting is to help increase your brand exposure and hopefully generate new potential leads for clients.
The above-mentioned purpose is what you should try to optimize your booth space area for. Now if that calls for a large custom booth, then so be it. However, you can use smaller trade show displays and still create an impact. Now, Without Further Ado, here are My Top 5 Trade Show Marketing Tips for 2022:
Tip #1 Don’t Over Spend
If you have a budget, stick to it. Most exhibitors think they need the latest and greatest in graphics, trade show hanging signs, digital screens, trade show kiosks and display products to have a successful show. I can tell you that is absolutely false. Yes, these products, if used properly, can help you standout but at what cost? Are they helping generate enough leads to cover the additional display costs?
Tip #2 Know the Show you’re Exhibiting At
This goes hand in hand with overspending. What I have seen in the past is exhibitors don’t really understand the show they are exhibiting at. Which can cause them to overspend on trade show materials and exhibiting products they really don’t need.
However, you can also have the polar opposite effect where the exhibitor is under prepared and didn’t allocate enough budget and resource to deal with traffic from the trade show attendees. My suggestion would be to do your research on the show and see what past exhibitors did with their booth space before making any large purchases.’
Tip #3 Greet Visitors at Your Booth Space
You might not want to seem like one of those pushy used car salespeople and honestly, you don’t have to. Many of the trade show attendees are at the show looking for possible new vendors or new products. Greet them with a simple hello when they come into your booth and ask them if they have questions. This can go a long way in helping you generate more leads.
With the people interested in your products and or services, you will want to collect their contact information. Most exhibit halls rent badge readers for you to collect show attendees’ data. However, if you can’t rent a badge reader, you can do it the old fashion way and write the information down. Follow up on the information you collect within a week or two of the trade show ending. This helps ensure that your business is still fresh in their minds.
Tip #4 Be Comfortable
This might sound counterintuitive, but make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothing. You will still want to look business appropriate, but there is nothing worse than seeing someone staffed in the booth that can barely move around because of the outfit or footwear they have on. Not to mention you will be on your feet all day long walking around your booth space. Besides this, the temperatures can fluctuate in these exhibit halls, so the more comfortable you are, the better your performance will be.
Tip #5 Trade Show Giveaways
When exhibiting, you typically want to have some kind of promotional item(s) to give away to attendees. These giveaway products can help draw people into your booth space area and help with brand retention. Don’t go crazy and overspend on these products. If you have limited inventory, be selective in who you hand items out to.
There are many people who attend trade shows just to fill up a swag bag with no genuine interest in what you’re exhibiting. Yes, the purpose of the giveaways is to help with branding, so if the budget permits, pass them out freely. If you are trying to cut on cost, be selective and save the items for people truly interested in your business.
Inconclusion
Trade Show offers great opportunities to showcase your business. Just remember you are exhibiting to help with branding but also to increase your customer base. Trade shows are designed to help exactly with this. They tend to bring in qualified people interested in your products and services. So, make you put your best foot forward to make a good impression on the attendees. Happy exhibiting!
