So, you’re just a few weeks away from that all-important trade show that could propel your brand and your business into a whole new league…assuming of course it all goes to plan. Unfortunately, succeeding at a trade show isn’t quite as easy as just turning up with a big bag of ambition, as without the right kind of planning and a pretty intensive plan of attack for the day itself, chances are you’ll struggle.
According to the experts at www.display-boards-uk.co.uk, taking things for granted tends to be the biggest slipup of all for newbies heading out to trade shows with high hopes and low chances of success. Nevertheless, the good news is that with a good deal of proactivity and a few tips from the pros, it’s perfectly possible to have a wholly incredible trade show experience and revel in the unique rewards it can bring.
Here’s an overview of just a few key examples:
1 – Your Board Will Make or Break You
To overlook the importance of stellar boards, banners and advertising materials is to pretty much guarantee an unsuccessful experience. The reason being that regardless of whether they actually come over to talk to you, the overwhelming majority or people in attendance will see your boards, take this as their first-impression of you and judge you accordingly. As such, if your boards are low quality, your banners badly made and your marketing materials generally quite shoddy, you run the risk of doing little at the show other than wrecking your reputation.
2 – Size Isn’t Everything
It’s common for newbies heading out to a trade show to assume that bigger booths are always better. Now, if you’re a big business with big plans and a lot to both do and say, you’ll need a sizeable enough booth to accommodate you. However, if you’re a tiny business with just two employees in a far more niche industry area, you’ll end up looking totally overwhelmed, swallowed up and really a bit pathetic if you book a booth that’s far too big. Just bear in mind that at an expo, size isn’t everything.
3 – Location Counts
Right on the other end of the scale, something that often turns out to be the very be all and end all for some expo stands is the location in which they’re placed. Exactly where makes most sense will vary in accordance with the location of the expo and the way it’s set out, but what you’ll need to bear in mind is how foot traffic will flow and where folk will mingle. For example, there aren’t too many trade show entrants that make a beeline for the plot closest to the toilets, but when you think about it, here’s a spot that pretty much every last person is going to wander by at least once during the day…maybe a few times!
4 – Have a Trial Run
Once you find yourself armed with all your boards and banners, don’t fall into the trap of waiting until the big day itself to test the whole thing out. Instead, it’s a far better idea to find yourself a quiet corner somewhere, set up your stand exactly as you plan to do at the event and have a few honest and unbiased people give you a little feedback. You won’t know how the thing looks through the eyes of others until you find out for sure, so it’s much better to do so in advance with a dry run.
5 – The Right Staff
Aside from the boards and banners you’ll be using to pull in the punters, nothing will have a bigger say with regard to the success or otherwise of your day than the staff you bring along. Never, ever fall into the trap of hiring casual weekend workers just for the sake of ticking the necessary boxes for cheap – it’s a risk not worth taking. Your stand is a living, breathing and intensely personal illustration of what your brand as a whole is all about, so unless you’ve got staff on hand that are genuinely passionate, enthusiastic and knowledgeable…well, what kind of impression will the punters be left with?
6 – Advertise
Last but not least, never forget that if you want to stand the best chance of getting your target audience members to pay you a visit, you’re going to have to let them know you are there! Be sure to advertise your upcoming appearance through as many available channels as possible – a genuinely crucial tip for success.