When it comes to trade shows, everyone wants to obtain the most bang for their buck. Often, the question becomes what’s our return on investment (ROI)? To most brands, this becomes the amount of leads gathered at the trade show. But you can’t get more qualified leads if you don’t have any traffic to your trade show booth. With a little strategy, this can be remedied and whether you’re located at the front of the choice exhibit hall or in a dark corner shoved by the restroom, you too can increase traffic to your trade show booth with these tips:
Create a Marketing Campaign to Drive People to Your Trade Show Booth
Remember Field of Dreams? If you build it, they will come. If you create a cohesive marketing campaign, you can successfully drive people to your trade show booth. Beginning a few months in advance, create collateral that is both visual, written, and audio to give people a reason to meet you at your trade show booth. Create visuals you can easily share on social media. Draft email marketing campaigns that invite people to your trade show booth. Create a remarketing video mentioning to meet your team at the trade show booth. Always make sure your trade show booth number is mentioned prominently in all of your marketing efforts.
Invite Your Customers to a Happy Hour on the First Day
Everyone knows that if you want to increase traffic or increase sales, you need to prime the pump. In this case, that means inviting your customers to come say hi. Since they deal with you on a fairly frequent basis as it is, give them a reason to stop by and make your trade show booth look like it’s the spot to be. Host an open bar on the very first day. As people pass by, they’ll see the alcohol, see the crowd, and wander right on up where you can scan their badge, hand them a cold drink and engage them in some low pressure conversation. Customers will be grateful for the face time and the opportunity to voice any concerns or requests they have of your team and prospects will be impressed you have so many satisfied customers in your trade show booth. Your customers are your best way to show trade show attendees and target prospects why they need to stop by your trade show booth.
Engage More Senses than Visual Alone
When trade show attendees walk into the exhibit hall, they’re bombarded with a dizzying array of visuals. Where do they turn to first? Capture their attention immediately and engage more of their senses such as smell, hearing, and touch. By targeting more senses, your trade show booth has a higher chance of standing out among the crowd.
In the morning, many people are still sleepy-eyed wandering the exhibit hall. Give them a reason to visit your trade show booth by offering hot coffee. The smell of coffee wafting across the exhibit hall captures people’s attention, particularly when the line at Starbucks or the convention center’s food court is out the door. Coffee can be a powerful way to engage people’s sense of smell, offer comfort and relief to weary show attendees and spark up a conversation.
Invest in a digital hanging sign. It’s one of the most talked about trade show trends of 2019. What if you’re located all the way in the back by the emergency exit? People may not venture that far and you may suffer from a lack of exposure. You can fix that by investing in a digital hanging sign. Imagine a hanging sign above your trade show booth playing a corporate video or your demo. The motion and light will catch people’s eyes and they’ll want to investigate further, encouraging them to visit your trade show booth to find out what it’s all about.
Are you showcasing products in your trade show booth? Try featuring a demo station where they can pick them up, use software, or play around with your products. Consider how shows like CES are full of demo stations where people can pick up products, try the newest technology for themselves, and walk away with an experience that’s more than just pretty graphics on your trade show booth.
Capturing more leads means beginning with capturing more traffic to your trade show booth. While many people are still stuck giving away hanging bags of swag, you can invest in the right methods to attract more people to your booth. Ask your exhibit design house partner for more great ideas when you’re in the design process to amplify your efforts.
