Trade shows are excellent venues to get business leads and make connections for small businesses. It allows you to showcase your business, products and capabilities within a short time and from a single location. The challenge with trade show is while you are trying to get the attention so are number of other businesses like you. The key is to make sure that your booth is memorable and effective. To be remarkable, you’ll need a unique booth and warm personality. You don’t have to spend a fortune to do that either. With the 4 tips shown below you can have a memorable booth that will keep the name of your business in front of the people for a long time.
- Invest in Quality
- Find the Best Giveaways
- Ramp Up the Engagement
- Extend the Experience
First, you will want to create a high-quality booth. Spend some money up front to build a durable booth that you can use for future trade shows. Be sure to think about versatility when choosing a booth. The ability to scale your booth to fit the available space, whether 10×10 or 20×20, can give you a flexible booth that travels well. The specific needs of your business booth and the trade show will determine the layout that will be most appropriate. For basic layout ideas and inspiration, check out the following blog post from Xibit Solutions, a veteran in the industry.
Everyone likes freebies. However, at a trade show you are competing with hundreds of others giving away free goodies. Unfortunately, the old standby giveaway pen probably won’t cut it. When creating your promotional items, try to think of something unique, useful, and reflective of your product.
In addition to bulk freebies, you can also consider having a few bigger products to give away. Invite attendees to play a game for a chance to win the bigger prizes. Games are a great way to get people engaged.
Another way to ramp up your audience’s engagement is to offer a demo of your product or service. If possible, make the demo hands on. Not only will you increase engagement, you’ll also leave attendees with a lasting impression of your product.
After a long day working a trade show booth, you may be tempted to chalk up the day as a success. However, you’d be missing a valuable opportunity to extend the experience. Social media is a prime tool for promoting your trade show appearances, continuing the conversation with those who stopped by, and reaching people who may not have been able to attend.
To make the most of social media, do a little market research to see which social media site is best suited for the demographic you are trying to reach. When posting, show some personality and keep it conversational rather than trying to make a sales pitch. Above all, be sure that you post regularly and provide opportunities for people to participate in the conversation.
A trade show booth can be a powerful avenue to launch or expand a business. By investing some time and money in your booth set up right, you can create booth that not only makes an impression at your next trade show but also serves you well in future shows.
