Marketing your brand at a trade show offers an efficient way to gain face-to-face time with potential customers, clients, business partners, and even journalists. However, these events are often large in scope and feature many other companies and brands vying for the same attendees you hope to impress.
So how can you grab attention on the show floor? There are several proactive ways to rise above the competition such as building the right trade show booth design and offering a valuable visitor experience. Here we will explore five of the best ways to stand out from rivals and draw attendees to your stand.
Set Clear Exhibiting Goals
A great way to stand out from less prepared rivals at trade shows is to set clear goals for your exhibition marketing, as outlined in our own ultimate guide to exhibit engagement. Setting goals and defining objectives can help to focus your entire exhibition, which benefits your organization and attendees who appreciate coherent messaging when evaluating so multiple brands at one trade show.
Additionally, the process of creating goals can help inform what products or services to showcase in your booth and how you present offerings to visitors. An exhibit booth that is designed to generate sales and attract long-term customers may look very different from one designed to generate media buzz and build brand awareness.
Without clear objectives, you could fall into the trap of a scattergun approach of juggling multiple objectives at once, which can deliver a booth that’s disjointed and overwhelming for visitors. Try to be as precise as possible with your objectives and build a coherent brand story or unifying message that’s easy for attendees to grasp.
Research the Trade Show You Are Attending
Another useful tip for standing out from competitors is to take the time to research the trade show where you plan to exhibit. To make sure your goals are in sync, explore any themes or messages connected to the event, what the attendees are likely looking for, and any other contextual information that could tailor your exhibit approach.
If you are attending an event that occurs annually and/or has hosted similar exhibitions previously, take a look at past events to see which trade show companies exhibited, what their stands looked like, and what else you can glean to develop your own strategy.
It may also be worth researching whether there are speakers at the event and, if so, what topics are covered. If attendees attend a session that resonates with them and then see a trade show stand that seems to touch upon similar ideas, they may be more likely to seek out your exhibit and learn more about what you’re offering.
Invest in a High-Quality Exhibit Booth
While there are several ways to attract attention and create buzz at trade shows, the reality is that the quality of your exhibit booth design is going to have a huge bearing on its ability to attract visitors and deliver leads.
Clearly, your exhibit booth needs to look appealing and professional, so it is best to work with an experienced exhibit design or experiential agency that has a great track record and deep knowledge of the trade show industry. It can also be beneficial to cater to some of the visitors’ basic needs by providing access to food, water, and phone charging stations. Scannable QR codes can also help busy visitors keep track of what they saw, allowing them to reference the information after the event, when they have more time.
It’s a good rule of thumb to clearly showcase key products or services, so keep that in mind when working on the booth design with your experiential agency or trade show exhibit design partner. According to EventTrack, 74% of respondents say they are more likely to buy products promoted at live event. This is a significant opportunity to generate sales using an effective exhibit design.
Promote Your Exhibition in Advance
Next, it is essential to promote your exhibition in advance. This is a common misstep for many organizations who exhibit at trade shows — they assume that a well-planned exhibit booth will wow passers-by simply by being there. In reality, a significant number of trade show visitors actually attend events with a pre-existing idea of the stands they want to see and the products they’re seeking. So if they know about your exhibit and any special promotions before the show, they’ll be more likely to seek you out.
“Many professional events have an overarching theme,” notes an article in The Pipeline about improving trade show ROI. “So, create different types of helpful content – blog posts, E-Books, videos, infographics, etc. – that feature this theme” along with your organization’s thought leadership weaved in.
This content can then be distributed to trade show attendees, current customers or prospects, and the media. You should also consider featuring it on your company website and social media channels. Focusing on the theme of the event can help you to promote your exhibit at the show without it appearing like conventional advertising. Instead, you will build credibility, while subtly creating anticipation.
Offer Your Visitors a Memorable Experience
Finally, it is important to remember that the best exhibitions are not necessarily overtly promotional. Instead, they are strategically designed to not only feature helpful products that attendees seek, but to also deliver a unique experience they will remember fondly.
Providing trade show attendees with a positive experience can boost their opinion of your brand as a whole. It also means that after the trade show, your organization will be top of mind.
An experiential agency can help you take your trade show exhibit to the next level and provide a genuine, memorable in-booth experience. This could be achieved through anything from virtual reality to gamification. When your exhibit strategy comes together on the show floor, visitors get to interact with your offerings, engage with your brand in a meaningful way, and take away fond memories of their experience, which can encourage future purchases.
The Last Word
Through a combination of thoughtful exhibit booth design, the right experiential strategy, clear goals, and pre-event marketing, your stand will rise above the competition and grab the attention of potential customers who feel connected to your brand and are eager to keep engaging with you beyond the event.
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