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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