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Bringing Visitors to Your
Tradeshow Exhibit
The
most challenging task in front of you will be getting attendees to visit
your booth.
Once you have completed all the preliminary steps involved with
attending a trade show, including training staff and purchasing an
awesome display, you still have the most challenging task in front of
you, getting attendees to visit your booth. While there is no magic
answer to this dilemma, and a host of creative and innovative ideas that
have been tried and failed, there are some general guidelines that
should be effective.
Be Relevant to the Attendees
You should only display at shows were your products and services are in
need by those who are attending the show. This said, it is a good idea
to exhibit at shows where you won’t be one of thousands of vendors who
have the very same product or service to offer. Your best bet are trade
show where your products can stand out, but still be highly relevant to
those attending.
Create a Display that Catches Their Attention
You need a booth that is not only attractive, but will quickly catch the
attendee’s eye by telling a compelling story. You can get a lot of great
advice on types and sizes of graphics from a trade show display company.
They will be happy to show you all the options you have available. A
great idea is to see which booths at a trade show are getting the most
traffic and try to determine why. See if there are successful elements
from their exhibit that can be transferred into yours.
Have Great Give-Away Items
One of the easiest ways to have people come to your booth is to give
away something they want or need. While you may be afraid of just
attracting the trade show collectors, those who are working hard just to
fill their free tote bag full of free stuff, you will also pull in some
great prospects with these give away items. The items you give away do
not need to be expensive to be successful. Choosing the right
inexpensive item can make it even more desirable than an expensive one
the attendees have no use for.
Tips on the Give-Away
The end user and the longevity of the item should be the two main
factors involved in determining your promotional gift. Any toys are most
likely to be given to children or pets when the attendee returns home,
meaning they will not be reminded of your company in their workplace.
You probably don’t want them to associate your firm with their
children’s toys. Find items that can be used for an extended period of
time in their workplace, such as pens and pencils, mouse pads, post it
notes, calendars, and calculators.
Have a Motivated Staff
Most attendees have a limited time when they are at the show and are
leery of stopping at your booth and getting trapped in a long
conversation. You need to have a staff that is slightly aggressive, but
most of all approachable and knowledgeable. They should greet every
attendee that they can, and when possible ask them their reason for
attending the show. Knowing that they are probably on a tight schedule,
don’t be afraid to ask for contact information so that you can discuss
things after the show is over. When contact information is received you
need to be sure to make the necessary follow up steps.
Present a Consistent Corporate Brand
Most successful companies have a unique personality and logo that
distinguishes them for the rest. Great examples include Oracle in
Redwood City, Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, and Apple Computer Inc. in
Cupertino.
Each of these high tech companies has been able to distinguish
themselves from the rest with their own unique character and feel. They
present a brand that is consistent and unique across all their marketing
and corporate presence platforms. Trade show appearances are no
exception; they need to speak the uniform voice of the company.
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