When it comes to trade show booth design, the number one thing you want to do is to attract the right kinds of people to your stand. Of course, you want to maximize sales as much as possible – but the way to do that isn’t necessarily to throw something out into a crowd and see what sticks. The trick is getting the right people to come to you, which will give you much more of a chance to convert leads into sales. After all, if the people coming to your stand are the people who are interested in your product, that makes things easier for both of you!
Remember this key marketing saying: target everyone and you target no-one. Don’t make that mistake.
How to Get to Know Your Target Audience
The first step is figuring out who your target audience is. It’s important to gather information about your audience so that you can build a better connection with them, no matter who you are or what you’re doing. Connecting with people who are potentially interested in your product or service is key. Make sure you know who will be at your trade show and who you really want as a prospect! Going through your customer list and talking to them on the phone (or in person) about what their goals are in terms of particular trade show events is a good start.
How and Why to Use Personas
Building a good target audience list involves having a good idea about the demographics, wants, needs, and goals of your target customers. Once you have this information, you can start to create typical customer profiles, or personas. These personas will be representatives of certain demographics that are important; you should consider factors such as age, gender, income level, interests, lifestyle, industry, and location, among others, and figure out exactly what customers in these demographics might be interested in about your product or service. You should also consider buyer behaviours, i.e., how quick the decision making is or whether someone else needs to be consulted before the decision is made.
Who do You Want at Your Booth?
The next step is to figure out exactly who you want at your trade booth based on the particular show and its typical attendee. Who is coming to the show? Why? What kinds of things are they interested in? In the same way as your customer list, figure out the kinds of people who might want to come to this trade show and what they might want. Then, just match your ideal attendee with your already created personas from your customer list, and tailor your messaging at the event to the needs, wants and goals of these customers.
Engagement and Follow-up
Once you get your target audience to your booth, engagement is key. In this situation, it’s important that you have trained staff interacting with your attendees so that your message is tailored to them in the most optimal way. You should also design your exhibits to grab the attention of the target audience you wish to attract – they should communicate the right message to the right audience. And after the show is over, don’t forget to follow up with any interested potential customers!
Conclusion
Getting your target market right can be a real winner for your business, and this approach can really shine at a trade show where you are interacting with potential customers for the duration. Make sure that your target customer and ideal trade show attendee is well defined, tailor your message to them, and resist the temptation to market to everybody. If you follow these steps, your display booth marketing should produce some actual results.
