Trade shows are a great opportunity to promote your brand and get leads. They also require quite a big investment—a lot of time and money can go into preparing for the show, increasing the importance and scrutiny on positive post-show results.
31.6% of an average company’s marketing budget is allocated to trade shows, but 70% of these exhibitors don’t set objectives for their exhibits. Make the most out of your time and money and generate impactful results from your next show with our helpful trade show display check list.
1. Company Branding
Your booth must effectively display your brand. When someone walks by your booth, they should be able to get an idea of who you and what you do within just a few seconds. A clear first impression helps get traffic into your booth, and starts generating the right types of leads.
Your booth staff is also a representation of your company. Branded shirts and coordinated dress help created a unified image.
To ensure your trade show display is successfully illustrating your company brand, ask yourself:
- Is your logo prominent?
- Is it obvious what your company sells?
- Does your booth staff look uniform?
2. Trade Show Booth Design
Your trade show booth should be strategically designed to be eye-catching and inviting. Every aspect of your design, including placement of equipment, booth graphics, and trade show banners, needs to work together harmoniously for an appealing display.
Visual aids are a key component of your booth design, and help attract attention, maintain interest, illustrate a point, add emphasis, and aid viewers in retaining information.
You can take advantage of this with compelling trade show banners and displays that can be seen from a distance. Utilize videos or interactive presentations to capture an audience, inform on industry topics, or explain your products, services and brand.
When designing your trade show booth, consider:
- Is your design clear and professional?
- Does it emphasize the right things?
- Does it take advantage of visual aids?
- Is your design traffic friendly?
3. Product, Company and Event Promotion
Trade shows are also a prime area for product branding. In fact, 92% of trade show attendees go to shows looking for new products. There are several methods to aid in product and service promotion, product launch and product positioning at trade shows.
- QR codes
A Quick Response (QR) code is a barcode that is readable by apps on mobile devices. When scanned, the QR code leads to predetermined website. These barcodes can be easily generated and scans can be tracked, providing useful insights.QR codes are a widely used marketing tool because they allow users to quickly learn about a product or service (or whatever they are scanning). They can be printed on marketing literature, on your booth graphics, or on a sticker, and then attached to your product samples.To learn more about QR codes, click here. - Branded Hashtag
A hashtag is keyword or phrase used to identify messages and posts surrounding a specific topic on social media. A hashtag is identified by the pound symbol (#). A branded hashtag is a marketing tool used by companies to promote and track social media posts and dialogues about your company, brand, or product. This is a great way to promote your products, services and brand before, during and after the show, as well as engage with current and potential customers.Branded hashtags can also be used for trade show specific campaigns, to help increase your customer engagement or create awareness about a product launch, making it an ideal tool for your trade show display.To learn more about branded hashtags, click here. - Giveaways
Everyone loves giveaways—candy or mints, shirts and pens are an impressive and useful way to add value, differentiate from competitors, and entice people into your booth. Branded giveaways get your brand in the eyes of a potential customer and act as a reminder about your company every time someone uses that product. 77% of visitors will remember your company for up to 10 weeks—giveaways offer a chance to extend this time frame.That being said, should your budget allow, get creative with your giveaways. Think about items that people will want to keep and use for a while instead of throwing away or consuming shortly afterward. That way, you’ll maximize on your brand awareness and recognition. - Marketing Literature
Always have an abundance of marketing literature available to trade show attendees. These are often used as reference guides for purchasing decisions, so guarantee your brochures and flyers are easy to read, informative and correct. - Samples
If possible, always try to include samples of your product to showcase its benefits. If your product is too large, you could include life-size pictures on your trade show display or incorporate videos that can illustrate how your product works. If you work in the service industry, try highlighting some customer reviews or play a testimonial video to establish credibility and trust.
Looking to get more from your industry trade shows? Contact Majestic Sign Studio for logo design, brochures, flyers, and business cards, as well as trade show displays and event signs.