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Seven Tricks For Attracting Attention To Your Trade Show Booth

Attracting attention to your trade show booth shouldn’t be your goal. After all, even a traffic accident gets attention. What you want is the right kind of attention!

Your booth shouldn’t be the “traffic accident” of the show. And we’ve all seen those kinds of exhibits!

You want people to be attracted to what you’re doing at the show for one or more of these reasons:

1) They have an interest in your product or service
2) They have a budget for what you’re promoting
3) They have purchasing authority

When it comes right down to it, those are the critical factors that really matter when you’re trying to get the people you want to meet to come to your booth.

You can’t rely on luck. You can’t just say, “If we build it, they will come.” You need to have a strategy. We’ve put together seven tips to help your strategy for attracting attention to your trade show booth from the right kind of people.

Remember, your booth doesn’t have to be filled with people for you to be successful. You just need to get that percentage of the total attendance that represents your target market to come to your booth. While every other exhibitor tries to get crowds (which can actually make it harder to do business), focus your efforts on your prospects.

1) Prepare for success:
You won’t succeed at getting the people you want to meet with to your exhibit if you wait until they get to the show. You need to connect with them early, and make sure you get on their list of vendors to meet with.

This means sending out pre-show mailings, email invitations, and even making personal phone calls to connect with these people. Have members of your sales team set appointments with these prospects to meet at the show.

2) Use social media:
Love it or hate it, social media is part of our world now. And most of your prospects are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms. Use them all to your advantage. Enlist the help of one or two people to keep up a constant stream of messaging, and plan what you’re going to say.

Remember, when attracting attention to your trade show booth, the goal is to attract prospects, not just people. Use your messaging to qualify recipients. For example, a message that says “We’ve got the perfect solution for small business payroll” will let readers know exactly what you’re offering. So only those with a need for small business payroll solutions will respond.

3) Train your staff:
Your booth staffers shouldn’t know only the basics of boothmanship. They need more detailed training. Remember, you’re trying to separate the wheat from the chaff among the attendees.

Staffers should know how to ask qualifying questions that can help identify the prospects in the crowd. It can’t be over stressed: you only have one chance to make a good first impression. In this case, it’s your front-line staffers who are going to do that for your company. Make sure they’re up to the task.

4) Create movement in your booth:
People are drawn to movement just like a moth is drawn to a flame. We’re hard-wired to seek out what’s unusual in our environment. And movement is one of the things we look for.

When attracting attention to your trade show booth, this can be as simple as a revolving display that showcases your top product. And you can go further and create movement on a TV monitor. Ideally, it should be showing a carefully crafted video about your product or service.

5) Invest in the best display design that you can afford:
In most cases, you’re expecting your customers to spend serious money to purchase your product or service. In some trade shows, a customer can be worth tens—or hundreds—of thousands of dollars. This is no time to “go cheap” on your booth.

Your trade show exhibit should be designed to make a statement about your company. And you want that statement to be positive and reassuring. Faded graphics, shoddy signage or broken hardware on your booth all send a very different message. So spend the money you need to spend to be seen as a real “player” in your industry. This is no time for the “loving hands of home.”

6) Make sure they can see you:
This has two meanings. Good lighting in your exhibit is very important. It allows prospects to see your displayed products, read your signage and feel welcome in your display. So consider adding lighting to your existing booth, or make it a priority in the design of your new exhibit.

Also, you want prospects to see you on the show floor. So your position in the exhibit hall is also important. Being off in a corner somewhere is a recipe for disaster. Book your space early. And let show management know you’re willing to move, if a better space should open up.

7) Use a live presentation or product demo:
No video will be as effective as a live host or hostess showing your product in action, or offering a presentation on the product’s features and benefits. This can go far toward attracting attention to your trade show booth.

It also filters out those who aren’t prospects, because attendees without an interest in your product won’t stay for the demonstration. Those who remain have essentially raised their hands and said, “I’m interested!”

Here’s one more tip for you: the right booth is the key to successfully attracting attention at trade shows and events. A well-designed exhibit can help you tell your story effectively and persuasively. From a portable display to a modular exhibit or a wide range of exhibiting accessories, we’re your one-stop shop. American Image Displays represents every major manufacturer. We can get exactly what you want and need. To learn more, call (800) 676-3976 or email [email protected].