Simple Guidelines for Successful Expo Displays

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You decided to attend a trade show – what’s next? There are lots of choices to make before selecting expo displays – for example, what size trade show booth to use, it’s location at the show, designing the graphics for your trade show banners, and so forth. There are so many choices to make that it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Many times, exhibitors also need to consider expanding their next convention appearance beyond the bounds of their trade show display booth space. Often, for beginning exhibitors, budget constraints restrict the size of the booth space or the quality of their display tools, whether they’re looking for huge island trade show booths or just very nice table top displays.

So making the right choices is absolutely critical to help ensure a good return on your trade show investment. We’ve put together some simple rules of thumb to help make some of the many choices.

Some simple guidelines for successful Expo Displays

1) Choose appropriate trade shows with proven track records.

Not all trade shows will pay off for you. Obtain all possible demographic information about expected attendees including the type of industries that will be represented and the size of the companies.

Find out from other business owners who have participated whether they thought it was worthwhile. Analyze the information and choose trade shows that will make the best use of your trade show banners and displays and actually result in more business for your company.

2) Properly train your booth staff.

Assign a staff member to prepare the booth each day. That means throwing away stray paper cups. Making sure there are enough materials available for distribution. Re-arranging misplaced chairs. Adjust your trade show banners or swap graphics if necessary.

Every booth staff member should know the products backwards and forwards and be prepared to answer all questions asked by visitors to the booth. Anticipate certain questions that are commonly asked or that will be stimulated by the trade show displays and be sure the staff can answer those questions.

3) Teach your staff to ask open-ended questions of booth visitors.

Several experts recommend asking the visitor, “Why are you attending this trade show today?” This helps separate random browsers from potential clients. It also allows staff to focus on the needs of the individual visitors.

Are they ready to buy or were they attracted by your trade show banners and want to learn a bit more. Worst case, of course, they just came by to pick up some swag!

4) Design trade show banners and display graphics that specifically highlight your business and product.

There is a lot of competition and all booths will have their own trade show banners and displays. Graphics are important. You need to catch the attention of visitors in a matter of seconds.

Your trade show banners and displays need to reflect a balance between attention-attracting graphics and clutter. Visitors need to know at-a-glance what your business and products are and how they will benefit from them.

5) Work with an experienced trade show consultant.

A trained and experienced trade show consultant can will help you decide on the best types of trade show banners and graphics to fit your budget and draw visitors to your booth.

There are countless different designs and styles of banners, expo displays and exhibits, and choosing between similar displays – or very different looking displays – can get very confusing.

A good consultant will help you understand “the rest of the story”; which trade show banners have a warranty and which don’t, which popup display is difficult to setup, which table top displays might get damaged in shipping, etc.

6) Your trade show exhibit and giveaways should target your specific audience.

Your trade show booth should be a place where visitors can feel comfortable. You should have a theme and focus on a new product or a new approach to selling the same product. Do not overwhelm visitors with too much material.

7) Interactive displays, such as games or demonstrations, attract visitors.

Some trade show exhibitors, particularly new ones, think they want to attract everyone to their booth. They giveaway things, like calendars or toys, that everyone would want. Instead, choose a giveaway that is of interest to your specific targeted audience.

With proper pre-planning and preparation (yes, you’ve heard that phrase before!), and with great looking trade show banners and displays, new product samples and trained staff manning your booth, your trade show experience will result in increased sales and generate future leads.

8) Measure ROI

If you want to know if what you have been doing at trade shows is working, then it is important to measure ROI. You need to find a way to measure the marketing techniques you are using to see just how effective they actually are. Each time you do this, you will find ways to improve your success at the next trade show.

9) Start Early

Sometimes trade show success happens when you find a way to start early. This means checking off a few things from your list ahead of time including reserving your space, designing your trade show booth, building your booth, deciding on and ordering your promotional giveaway items, and making sure that a plan is in place if you are going to end up having to ship or install certain items.
Don’t let these smaller details weigh you down ahead of the trade show. Crossing things off your list allows you to prepare mentally and cover all the details ahead of time so you can spend more time focusing on ensuring a memorable and positive experience for your staff as well as the consumers and vendors who visit your booth.

10) Make Sure to Follow Up

Once the trade show is over, make sure to follow up with all leads. If you wait too long to follow up, the people you interacted with may forget who your brand is and what your message was. Trade shows involve many different interactions for consumers with several different booths. Do what you have to do to stand out as a quality business.

Final Thoughts

When you can come up with some unique ideas, eye-catching graphic design and logo, and functional and memorable trade show giveaways, you will find much more buzz around your booth. This, in turn, creates more buzz for your brand.

For more, check out the 5 P’s for displays or how to turn your displays into an oasis.