The Art of the Expo: 5 Trade Show Exhibit Tips for Success

OlufisayoJune 30, 201151,095 views

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You’ve registered for your first trade show. You’ve invited people through various online ticketing software, You’ve gathered your collateral. You’ve dusted off your suit. You’re armed with a stack of business cards, fistfuls of pens, and a tablecloth with a vinyl company sign. Bring on the customers! Right? …Not so fast.

Trade show exhibits have come a long way since your college career fair. But the great news is, having a successful trade show booth doesn’t have to cost a lot, and you don’t have to install pyrotechnics to get your target customers’ attention.

Here are 5 trade show exhibit tips that will help drive business to your booth without breaking the bank.

1. Give your customers an experience to remember.

Long gone are the days of the hard sell reminiscent of shopping mall kiosk vendors. Today’s trade shows thrive on experiential marketing – giving visitors something to watch or learn and enjoy so that they carry that positive experience with them and are thereby more receptive to a soft-sell approach.

2. Pay attention to structural elements.

Your trade show display is your chance to bring the customer into your world – to convey your brand and make them feel like they’re really immersed while visiting your booth. Having a customized and sturdy architecture for your display can really help you stand out above the competition, and it can be surprisingly affordable.

3. Set the mood right with lighting.

Lighting is one of the easiest and most dramatic ways to create an atmosphere you want and call attention to specific elements of your trade show booth. Flatter your business’ appearance with lighting that echoes your brand—whether you’re bold and colorful or more refined and subdued.

4. Reflect your brand in your giveaways.

Find creative ways to sneak your brand into your booth. For example, if you’re a software company, maybe you’d forego the pens and highlighters for thumb drives pre-loaded with a special trial of your latest version, with unique features saved just for your trade show visitors.

5. Graphics, graphics, graphics!

Perhaps most important to any trade show exhibit is the graphical elements that portray who you are to your customers. You can have the most cutting-edge lighting and hardware, but if it’s not supporting great branded imagery, your customers won’t know who you are.

Investing in high-quality graphics, whether in the form of eye-catching printed collateral or a sweeping backdrop display, will leave a big impression on visitors and help them to remember and trust your brand.

These are just 5 of many great trade show exhibit tips out there. If you had one important piece of advice for trade show exhibitors, what would it be?

Photo by JULIO NERY from Pexels

5 comments

doug_eike June 29, 2011 - 8:05 PM

The more visual the better. Thanks for the tips!

Michael Chibuzor July 5, 2011 - 8:21 PM

Giving customers m experience to remember is what I got from this your site. It's amazing how this works so well in trade shows and will definitely give this a big shot. Thanks for sharing and I like your blog theme.

Olufisayo July 5, 2011 - 8:40 PM

Thanks for the comment Michael and I'm glad you like our theme.

Paul November 12, 2014 - 3:50 PM

I would also mention that a successful trade show stand starts long *before* the actual trade show. Starting to gather leads in advance and "warm" them up with information about the show and what you'll be doing there can be a great way to build anticipation and get much larger results on the big day.

Helpful Points to Ensure a Successful Trade Show Experience March 15, 2015 - 12:06 PM

[…] Is your business start-up venture seeking ways in which your products and services can be marketed to the masses? Whilst your first port of call will most likely be social media platforms, advertising campaigns, and mailing lists; one incredibly effective advertising medium that you may overlook could be a trade show. […]

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