Trade shows can be a whirlwind experience and with a crowded exhibit hall, it can be difficult to set yourself apart. Thankfully, there are a number of ways that you can set your trade show display apart from the pack without breaking the bank. Consider the following tips and tricks:
Provide a Multisensory Experience at Your Trade Show Display
While most businesses prefer to compete with visuals at their trade show display, they often forget about the rest of the senses. People are tactile, they enjoy good smells, flavors, and the ability to touch items. Instead of simply engaging them with visual stimulation, try hosting a breakfast with coffee and pastries. The smell of coffee will waft across the exhibit hall and bring lots of prospects to your trade show display.
Many businesses offer wonderful products, but they keep them under glass. Let your prospects touch and hold your product. The ability to physically grasp something can set your trade show display apart from the rest as people experience your product in real time. If you’re at a music show, let people touch your guitars, drums, or pieces attached to those products. Let them play Stairway to Heaven to experience your audio equipment. If you’re at a food show, let people sample your products. Depending on your industry, there are endless possibilities to engage all of the senses in your trade show display.
Take a Seat and Recharge
Trade show attendees are weary. There’s a lot of panel discussions, breakout sessions, and exhibit hall to cover. That’s why the lure of plush couches and outlets to recharge their phones is a strong one. Allow prospects to wander in and recharge. Hand them a bottle of water and engage them in conversation as they recharge (literally) at your trade show display. This is a great way to build a relationship with minimal pressure. Don’t swoop in trying to convince them to do an instant demonstration. Instead, let them relax and ask them about their trade show experience thus far. Bonus points if your plush couches face a demonstration video already playing on your giant LED monitor at your trade show display. The motion and sound will capture their attention better than you can by harassing them to take a demo. While they recharge, they may ask for a demo themselves.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Who doesn’t love a good giveaway? To draw a crowd to your trade show display, you might want to consider a drawing or big giveaway. The trick is to know your audience. Some shows want the greatest and latest technology. Others want a designer purse, or a round of golf. Do some research in your industry and give your most coveted prospects a reason to visit your trade show display. The nursing community loves purses and wine, car enthusiasts love gadgets as much as they love a good round of golf. Know your industry and figure out a great giveaway that you can offer to qualified leads. The key here is to qualify your prospects prior to entering them into a contest. It does no good if you’re entering the exhibit hall’s hired bartenders and makeup artists into your drawing over your industry prospects. Be choosy and give away something meaningful to them at your trade show display.
Do You Even Advertise and Retarget?
Trade show marketing is a must for any business trying to drive traffic to their trade show display. However, the key is to engage in multiple platforms. This includes socially, on the website itself, via email marketing, and advertising via pay per click advertising with retargeting.
The reason this is so important to your trade show marketing campaign is pay per click advertising can target prospects looking for that show’s keywords. Retargeting will show your content again once a prospect has viewed your website or engaged with your content. These are important tools to keep your business top of mind when people enter the exhibit hall. Advertise your trade show display location and let people know you’re there.
There are many ways in which you can draw more people to your trade show display. Think outside the box and consider what would drive you to visit one trade show display over another. Then put that into action. If you’re looking for additional tips, ask your exhibit house for ideas that can put the wow factor in your trade show display.
