How to Stand Out at Trade Shows

To you, your business is your world. The problem? The world doesn’t know much about your business.

Yet.

Fortunately, that’s where trade shows come in. Research shows that a trade show booth is a smart investment for a couple of reasons. First, trade shows offer the type of human touch that is missing from digital marketing media. And second, trade shows are relatively cost effective: the cost associated with meeting a potential customer at your trade show booth is just over $140 per meeting. This is far less than the $250-plus cost associated with meeting someone new at his or her office.

Still, for the best results, it’s paramount that you proactively make your booth stand out at your next trade show. Otherwise, your brand will end up drowning in the competition. Here’s a rundown on the top tips for drawing all eyes to your trade show booth and, in turn, boosting your bottom line.

Hand Out Treats

One of the smartest moves you can make as a trade show booth host is to give out unique items to visitors who grace your presence. Many brands resort to handing out personalized pens and mugs, but these cliche gifts may only irritate prospective customers.

To entice prospects instead, consider handing out useful items like reusable laminated bags for shopping or even beer/wine bags. You may even want to add some more small tokens inside of the bags, such as a Rubik’s cube, socks, sunglasses, balloons, or even laptop skins. These free items will no doubt help to keep your company top of mind to potential buyers.

Utilize a Pop-Up Booth Display

Another way to garner attention at the busiest of trade shows is to introduce a vibrant pop-up display at your booth. This type of display is generally more eye-catching than custom stands or modular exhibitions, as pop-up displays are designed to feature high-resolution images that are professional and impressive. Additionally, they are sizable, so they will instantly make a bold, big statement. On top of this, they offer plenty of space for optimizing your brand messaging.

If you opt for a pop-up display, make sure you get one that is washable and scratch resistant. This will make it extremely user friendly and durable enough to last for your next trade show.

Provide Unique Experiences

As you plan your trade show booth, consider also creating an experience in your display space. For instance, you could partner with other businesses at the show to create a multi-step scavenger hunt that your trade show attendees can enjoy. Require visitors to complete several small tasks (e.g., watch a brief video) at various booths, including your booth, to be entered into a big drawing later on. Or try something simpler, like a special promotion that’s only available to guests of the show.

Highlight Your Brand with a Banner

Standing out at a trade show is also simple with the help of a large banner that includes your brand name and logo. A banner is the perfect way to capture a guest’s attention, even from far away, and share your brand’s essential messaging. Your banner should ideally include not only your business name and logo but also your service/product and your contact details. This will motivate trade show attendees to get in touch with you either at the show or after the show to discuss your offering further and ultimately make a purchase.

Dress in a Uniform

Be sure that your team members at your booth are all dressed alike, if possible. When you all dress like a sharp team together, this can significantly increase your brand recognition and also increase customer satisfaction. Just be sure that your employee “uniform” stands out and is on brand, aligning with the image you would like your company to portray.

Create Buzz Ahead of Time

Before you jump into a trade show experience, you should take time to create curiosity and build hype in advance. This is important because many individuals attend these shows with the intention of seeing specific booths that they have picked out ahead of time.

You can easily build hype around your booth/brand by allowing social media users to choose which type of promotional bag you should hand out at the event. In addition, be sure to post hashtags, quality photos, videos, and images on social media related to your upcoming event. You could even allow future event goers to schedule an appointment time with you at your booth. This will be an incentive for them to stop by your booth to learn more about what you have to offer them.

Get Personable

Being exceptionally friendly is yet another easy way to stand out at a trade show. To connect with possible customers, you’ll actually need to speak with them, and if you’re not warm and welcoming, they won’t want to come your way. So, make sure that you greet and smile at those who pass by your booth.

Let Video Work for You

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a video is worth 1,000,000. Use the power of video to showcase how your product or service can outperform your competition. A well-done video highlighting both your company and your products is sure to impress both your future customers and your peers. This may translate to more business partnership opportunities for you, as well as increased buzz surrounding the purchase of your product or service in the future.

Capture Eyes and Interest at Your Next Trade Show

With potentially thousands of people attending at a single trade show at a time, standing out from other brands can no doubt be challenging. Fortunately, just a few easy steps can help you to draw attention to your business for all the right reasons.

Follow the above-listed tips to make your brand more attractive than ever. With the right approach, you can easily entice more people to give your offering a try no matter how large the sea of companies and booths around you might be.