Selecting Trade Show Supplies that Engage Your Visitors
In marketing these days, the real keyword is engagement. It’s not enough to simply purchase great looking trade show supplies and then pitch products to people. They want, and need, to become an active part of the entire process. In a world where anyone can use their smartphones to immediately fact-check claims or do 
comparison shopping, simply put, you need to get them on your side when they visit your trade show booths.
After all, your trade show displays are probably going to be organized with trade show supplies chosen to help you with one of three basic goals: Generating sales, generating leads, or generating buzz. Every one of these can be accomplished by selecting trade show supplies that engage your visitors and make them want to continue interacting with you.
Tips and Tricks For Engaging Visitors at Your Trade Show Displays
Make your space open and inviting: If it’s a choice between bringing more products to your trade show booths, or having more room to move around, lean towards the latter. A small, cramped booth risks driving off people who simply don’t have room to see your wares. If you have room, consider adding trade show supplies like furniture, tables and chairs, to help create a place for people to sit and have a conversation.
Ensure your staff is trained and on-message: Don’t take anyone with you to a trade show who can’t hold their own in a lengthy discussion about your company and your services. They should be friendly, personable, welcoming, and ready to answer just about any question a guest could throw at them.
Use interactive elements. Bringing tablet computers and other interactive devices is a great way to pique people’s interest in your trade show displays. Trade show supplies like an iPad display stand are another inexpensive way to put a device at arm level that people will have a hard time walking away from. You can even combine these with physical product samples, so that one person can handle it while another reads through the tech specs on a tablet nearby. IPads also make good guestbooks and can often inspire people to give you their information without even being asked.
Embrace social media. Social media gets talked about a lot, but seriously, it really is one of thebest new ways to engage customers at your trade show displays. Encourage people to “like” you on Facebook and follow your Twitter feed. Integrate services like FourSquare into your booth and give rewards for people who check in. Use trade show supplies that help facilitate social media marketing in your booth; these are the leads you’ll be able to convert into sales with just a little more work.
Don’t forget the freebies. Free swag is still the #1 stated reason for people visiting a trade show display, so this old standby still works. Look for items which are interactive in some way, and which are hopefully useful to the visitor. A rewritable USB thumb drive with a software presentation and links to your online presence would be a perfect example of this. (After all, people can always use more thumbdrives.)
Contests still work too. Raffles and drawings are still a fine way to get people to interact with you at your trade show booths, but consider making them do more than just scribble their phone number on a slip of paper. These are poor leads overall. If you make it a bit more exclusive, such as rewarding them for posting on your Facebook Wall, you’ll get higher-quality leads from the contest. Again, use trade show supplies like iPads and laptops that facilitate lead collection and interaction.
Engaged customers will sign up for your mailing lists, follow you on Facebook, and remember you the next time they need to make a purchase. Selecting trade show supplies that help spark their interest at your trade show booths will help boost your business and make your trade show experience a success!
For more, check out ways to turn shows into research opportunities or how to save money when working with unions.