Tips For Trade Show Exhibitors

💡 In this guide, you will get to know 35 best tips for trade show exhibitors.

Getting ready for a trade show requires time and money, and thus, people tend to expect the most from their trade show experience. Trade shows are a golden opportunity to make your business shine and risk amongst the ranks. At Everything Trade Shows, we can help you flaunt your products and services to potential customers without letting this opportunity slide. Here are 35 trade show tips for exhibitors to help you take your game to the next level!

❗ Here are our trade show attendee tips.

1: Build A Team

Setting up and executing a trade show exhibit can be a tedious task and smooth execution is impossible without having a team that backs each other up. Before doing anything, make sure you assemble a team of skilled and experienced people who can carry out different tasks, be it merchandising, PR specialists, installation specialists, and designers.

2: Shipping Your Booth

Prior to the show, you need to ensure that you have hired a reliable carrier for your booth who has a certain amount of experience in trade shows. The carrier you hire should also be responsible for timely outbound shipping. Before your booth gets shipped, make sure all the booth contents are packed and labeled correctly to avoid any hassles or chaos at the site.

❗ Are you new to trade shows? Learn how to prepare for your first trade show. 

3: Designing Your Booth

Your booth will be exhibiting your products. Thus designing your booth is a critical part of the process. The best and most regular practice dictates that you should keep your booth simple, and the overall design should not be overwhelming. The key is to create an attractive booth with eye-catching elements that enrapture the audience instantly without running the risk of cluttering the space you have.

Fortunately, Everything Tradeshows specializes in trade show booth design, so we invite you to get in touch with us to get free booth renderings and get a free quote.

4: Using Protective Shields For A Safer Atmosphere

When it comes to designing your booth, adding sneeze guards and hiring your security to protect your booth’s internal environment can help create a positive and safe atmosphere. You can even customize the sneeze guards to provide a different experience and add your brand logo to make your booth more prominent.

❗ Learn how to have a successful trade show booth with this guide. 

5: Bandstand Graphics For Booth Design

Another excellent trade show tip for exhibitors includes using bold and big graphics to display relevant messages about your brand. Use an appropriate and eye-catching color palette that aligns with the aesthetics of your brand and makes your booth stand out in a sea of different exhibitors, making it easier for people to spot your brand and approach your booth.

6: Use Pop-up Displays And Banners

Suppose you want to stress further the identity of your brand. In that case, you can use bold pop-ups and vinyl banners throughout the trade show, displaying your brand’s logo, motto, attractive messages, and other relevant information. Captivate customers through these pop-ups and divert their attention towards your booth. These pop-ups are easy to install and beneficial, especially if you have a small team.

Make sure to check our trade show pop-up displays and trade show banners.

7: Devise a Marketing Plan

Another excellent trade show tip for exhibitors is to create a marketing plan before the show. Come up with a strategy to market your products in the trade show, taking different factors and potential obstacles into account. Familiarize your entire team with the marketing plan, so everyone is on the same page. You can further strengthen your marketing strategy by conducting training sessions with your team.

❗ Check our list of trade show best practices. 

8: Grassroots Marketing

Marketing on site is crucial. However, using other sources of marketing your brand simultaneously can be very beneficial for your marketing plan. Utilize email marketing, social media marketing tactics, text messages, and other such mediums to spread the word about your event and your brand. Offer swag items or exclusive deals to tempt clients into visiting your booth.

9: Compile Marketing Materials

Once the marketing plan has been created, it is time to execute it. Create flyers, brochures, pamphlets, and other marketing materials. You can also hand out promotional items to potential customers to entice them into buying your brand. These marketing materials will help people remember your brand even after they’ve left the show. Keep ample time for your marketing materials to be delivered, and do not leave it to the last minute.

❗ Check and learn how to plan a trade show.

10: Using Tabletops For Advertising Purposes

When it comes to marketing, a very effective tool in trade shows is a tabletop. Tabletops are very easy to install and can be set up anywhere within a matter of minutes. Place them strategically throughout the trade show, print your logo on these tabletops, and set up relevant items on these table tops to facilitate potential customers.

Check our extensive collection of trade show table top displays or contact us to get a fully customized booth design.

11: Set Up A Schedule for Your Booth

Leaving a booth unattended is not a wise decision, and most trade shows do not allow brands to leave their booths unattended. It is essential that at least one person from your team is always present to answer any potential customers’ questions. Create a schedule that allows time and different shifts to your team members while giving each person a sufficient break.

12: Ask Relatives And Friends For A Favor

Standing at your booth all day long can be tiring and exhausting. Leaving your booth unattended or closing your booth every time you need to take a break can do considerable damage to your brand. Ask your friends and family if they can volunteer to stand at your booth while you or your team members take short breaks to refresh themselves.

13: Arrive Early

One of the most key trade show exhibitor tips includes arriving at the trade show early. Reach the trade show venue before the doors open for the public, so you have ample time to set up your booth and prepare yourself for the show. Arriving and setting things up at the last minute may cause your booth to look haphazard and prevent things from going smoothly.

14: Dress Formally and Act Professionally

Dressing formally implies that whatever you choose to wear to your trade show, be it a shirt exhibiting your brand’s logo or a suit, make sure it is clean and pressed. Your nametag should also be prominent and having a good posture is essential. Make sure you have a polite and smiling face at all times, and you maintain eye contact with the customer throughout your pitch.

15: Establish Talking Points

Every time a customer shows up at your booth, you should be prepared regarding what you have to say effectively and quickly. Noting down a few key points that you want to make throughout your presentation can assist you. Make sure you have 2 or 3 different ideas that you want to communicate to avoid your presentation from getting monotonous.

❗ Check our guide on how to sell at a trade show and our tips on selling at a trade show.  

16: Keep An Eye On Your After-Hours Behavior

The primary purpose of trade shows is to help business owners with networking. Therefore, it is natural for brand owners to chat over dinner and cocktails and essential for establishing good relationships. While networking is vital, make sure you do not spend too much time on this, compromising your energy for the next day of the trade show.

17: Bring an Ample Amount of Business Cards

In addition to marketing materials and collateral, make sure you have enough business cards on hand on the day of the trade show. While handing out business cards to relevant people, make sure you collect their contact information. The contact information can come in handy in following up with these prospective clients after the show.

18: Do Not Rush Through Interactions With Potential Customers

If you are the only attendant at your booth, you might feel overwhelmed. Despite being the only person present, you should not rush through your customers and give everyone a comprehensive idea of your products and services. The idea is to make customers and not just lead generation. With detailed interactions, you can get valuable feedback.

19: Leverage Your Literature

When it comes to excellent trade show tips for exhibitors, an important tip is always to have a pamphlet, brochure, or something similar with relevant information about your brand. While you are busy communicating with other customers, people can walk by your booth and grab these informative pieces to educate themselves about your brand without waiting in lines.

20: Spend Your Money In The Right Place

Setting a budget for your trade show exhibit will help you better finance your booth and marketing plan. Spend money on tactics that will help generate more interest towards your booth, getting a good booth positioning, quality swag, and easy set-up displays. You can even set up a wired internet to allow people to access your brand through a digital demo.

21: Set Defined Goals

Before stepping into the execution stage, make sure you define the goals you want to achieve from the trade show. This goal setting will help you proceed in a more precise direction and devise a clearer exhibiting strategy. Be it networking, introducing early-stage versions of a product, getting more traction, or connecting with leaders in the industry, define your goals beforehand.

❗ Check our trade show guide. maIN

22: Do Your Research

In addition to defining goals, you should also do your research beforehand. This research regarding trade shows refers to taking notes from past trade shows, observing what other businesses are doing, exploring the power of customization, focusing on current trends that can be used to attract customers, and other such tactics. Your research can significantly contribute to your exhibiting strategy.

23: Settle On A Winning Strategy

Once you have mapped out your goals and have completed your research, the next logical step is to sit down with your team and brainstorm ideas. Brainstorming will help enhance your existing strategies. Create a motto for your booth and craft a mission statement that illustrates your business’ objectives and paints a clear picture for the customers.

24: Meet SOP Requirements Set Up By Trade Show Organizers

Keeping the pandemic in mind, make sure your booth does not violate any SOPs that the trade show organizers have established. Temperature checks by people wearing full protective gear, disinfectant dispensers, plastic gloves, and temporary medical centers should all be available in addition to avoiding the accumulation of crowds and practicing physical distancing.

25: Find A Sponsor

If you want to boost the success of your trade show exhibit, finding a sponsor or partnering up with brands that have similar goals can benefit you. Find common ground, explore different strategies, and navigate the event in favor of your brand and the brand you have partnered up with while attracting a large audience.

26: Find The Perfect Location

Good placement and strategically placing your booth can significantly impact the success of your trade show exhibit. Avoid getting a booth in some dark corner of the trade show. While selecting a place for your booth, make sure it is in close vicinity to the main events of the trade, is close to the entry and exit points, and has access to various facilities.

27: Schedule Time With Serious Visitors

If someone is particularly interested in your booth and wants to explore your brand in-depth, allocate a pre-specified time frame for them. Schedule a serious meeting with them, giving them your undivided attention and a comprehensive overview of your brand, answer any questions that they might have, and talk to them in a peaceful environment and not amidst the chaos of a trade show.

❗ Don’t miss our trade show giveaway ideas.

28: Use Free WiFi To Attract Tech-savvy Audiences

Younger audiences usually stay on their phones for the purpose of staying connected. Providing free WiFi can be the card that attracts the younger and tech-focused portion of the audience towards your booth. Make a big announcement about how you have free WiFi available and watch the influx of crowds towards your booth!

29: Live Music

Amidst the chaos and frenzy of a trade show, book a DJ who can play soothing and relaxing music near your stand. Every time someone needs a break from the massive crowds, they can head towards your booth and listen to their favorite tunes. This live music can lighten up potential customers’ moods, thus helping generate a more favorable response.

30: Hiring A Caterer

If your budget has the capacity and allows you to hire a caterer, you should do it. While food is not the main focus of a trade show, people will be attracted to your booth if you serve some mouthwatering hors d’oeuvres. You do not necessarily need to hire a fancy caterer, just someone who can prepare good food.

31: Appeal To The ‘Lizard Brain’ Of Your Guests

While setting up your booth, make sure the features of your booth are such that they appeal to the very basic instincts of your potential customers. Do not go overboard and focus on underlying instincts such as generating interest, attracting attention, making decisions, taking action, and showing how your business can resolve its problems.

32: Learn From The Best

While you may have put in a lot of time, effort, and money into your booth, there may be areas that still require some improvement. Observe the different booths installed throughout the trade show and keep a keen eye on the booths attracting the most customers. Adopt their tactics and tailor them to suit your brand, to enhance the effectiveness of your current exhibiting strategy.

33: Make Your Booth Fun And Interactive

Play with different lighting and process with the one that compliments your brand. Use fun games and interactive screens to tempt potential customers into visiting your booth. Install prize wheels, conduct simple Q&As, ring toss, corn hole, and other games to create a fun environment for your customers, and hand out small gifts to the winners.

34: Initiate Internal Contests

Another great trade show tips for exhibitors includes internal contests. For the sake of healthy competition and to keep motivation levels high, you can start contests within your team. For instance, the employee who generates the most remarkable leads or convinces the highest number of people to visit the booth will get a prize. This internal competition amongst team members will keep your team members driven, thus generating positive results.

35: Give people multiple reasons to visit your booth

If you want to mark your trade show exhibit as a success, you need to give people multiple reasons to visit your booth. Use interactive media, in-booth presentations, product demos, different games and contests, prize wheels, infotrainers, guided booth tours, charging stations, and a refreshment lounge to make people visit your booth and spend time.

❗ Check our list of trade show best practices. 

Contact Everything Tradeshows

With Everything Tradeshows, we can help you enhance your exhibiting strategy, create an interactive booth design, attract customers, and make your booth the star of the trade show. Contact us today if you want to work with our team to turn your booth into a staggering success and get the most out of your trade show. We offer a one-stop solution for all your trade show problems and will be more than willing to offer our services to improve your trade show experience.

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