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More
information and resources for trade shows.
Articles
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| Eight
Success Tips for Your First Trade Show Display
by Rena Klingenberg |
Exhibiting
in a trade show can involve a major
investment of money and time. But the
financial returns for your business can be
excellent if you learn some of the secrets
of trade show booth success before signing
up for a show and investing in your
displays.
If you're considering setting up at a trade
show for the first time, here are eight tips
for a successful trade show booth display:
1) Rent the smallest possible booth space
for your first trade show. The first time
you exhibit, you'll learn a lot about what
works for you and your products and what
doesn't, and what you'd like to change for
your next show. Also, seeing other
exhibitors' booths and ideas will inspire
you to evolve various aspects of your own
display. So it's a good idea to keep your
trade show expenses lower as you learn, by
renting a smaller space and starting with a
simple display.
2) Create an open trade show exhibit. Make
it a space people can enter comfortably
without feeling trapped. If you set a table
across the front of your booth and stand
behind it, it's harder to draw customers in
and involve them - so they tend to walk on
by.
3) Keep your booth uncluttered so customers
can focus on what's important - your
product. When approaching your display,
anyone should be able to discern immediately
what your booth is promoting. No one is
going to take the time to study it and
guess, when there are hundreds of other
booths to visit.
4) Before planning your trade show booth
display, find out everything you can about
your allotted space. Know its dimensions,
where it will be located in the building,
what companies or organizations will be in
your neighboring booths, whether it's in a
high or low traffic area, whether you have
access to lighting and electricity, and
anything else that will affect your exhibit
display setup.
5) For your first trade show, consider
renting booth display components. Rental
displays can relieve you of the issues of
transportation and storage, and allow you to
be a little more daring in your exhibit
design than you might be if you were
purchasing them. Also, studies show that
many first-time exhibitors never do a second
trade show. If you only exhibit once or
twice, purchasing your own exhibit
components doesn't make economic sense.
6) Design your booth with an eye to keeping
shipping costs low. Oversized or heavy
displays can be very expensive to ship to
the trade show, and may also require that
you hire expo personnel to bring them into
the exhibit hall and help you set them up.
Opt for smaller, collapsible, lighter weight
displays as much as possible.
7) Plan to secure your expensive items so
that they can't be stolen at a trade show.
If you use a laptop computer for a
multimedia presentation at your booth, be
sure to have it securely locked to your
display, and take it with you at night if
it's a multiple-day event. Display the
samples of your more expensive products
either well inside your booth where they
can't "walk off" as attendees
stroll by, or inside a locked display case.
8) For the most professional image, create a
unified appearance for your displays. Choose
no more than three colors for your display
elements and table coverings - such as gray,
white, and blue. Each exhibit component
should be one of your three colors. Also,
choose no more than three textures - such as
brushed metal, matte vinyl, and clear
acrylic; each display element should be one
of these textures. This creates a
professionally pulled-together booth that
lets your products stand out in the display.
In summary, although it's tempting to go all
out when designing your first trade show
booth display, it makes more sense to keep
your first booth small and simple, and focus
your energy on marketing your products and
networking at your first show.
During the event, learn as much as possible
about how you'd like to alter your exhibit
for show next show, and write down all your
ideas either during or immediately after the
show.
Once you have your first trade show under
your belt, you'll have a much sharper idea
of what you do - and don't - need in a trade
show display to make each successive show
your most profitable one to date.
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| About
the Author |
Rena
Klingenberg's website, http://www.trade-show-booth-display.com
, is a resource for trade show exhibit
success information. She is also editor of
the online newsletter "Trade Show
Success on a Small Budget" at http://www.trade-show-booth-display.com/newsletter.html
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