The spring and summer months are typically the era of trade shows, as they allow businesses to leave the confines of the office, congregate at a beautiful corporate event venue and glean the types of invaluable insights you can only get through networking.
When done right, setting up a trade booth is a perfect and highly vivid way of showcasing your products, getting your name out there and potentially even getting the ball rolling on some significant sales, especially if you have a standout product to show.
However, success relies on commitment, preparation and a realistic understanding of what success looks like to you and your brand. It is worth the investment and the group effort, but there are some common mistakes that can affect how useful it is for you.
Here are three of the most common, why they are such an issue and what you can do to avoid them.
Why Does Your Booth Design Matter?
If you sign up to exhibit at a trade show, you will typically receive booth space you can use within reason as you see fit.
Your booth is what will sell your brand and your products at a trade show, and it is vital to get it right to ensure it captures the eye of potential customers immediately.
A common mistake made when designing a booth is to try and provide too much information at once, which often leads to boards that are difficult to read, endless clutter and a lack of visual cohesion that causes most delegates to walk on by.
There are quite a few ways to avoid this, but the simplest is to follow the rule of three; have three main focal points to your booth, whether they are products, mission statements or unique booth features.
Once you get a delegate’s interest, you can get contact information to showcase your full product line.
Why Do Your Booth Hosts Matter?
Some companies choose the delegates who host the booth based on availability, willingness to travel or factors beyond their ability to understand and sell the products in front of them.
This is a problem, as unengaged faces reflect an unengaged company, which can leave visitors lacking either insight or a willingness to learn about your company.
Train your staff before they go to the show, assign clear roles and prioritise engaging with visitors, even if it is just to have a friendly chat steered in the direction of your business.
Why Do Your Goals Matter?
At a trade show, your goals and objectives matter a lot, and they are typically geared towards a call to action.
Whilst there is nothing wrong with a company just attending a trade show to gain insights into the state of the industry, exhibitors should know what they want to get out of a particular trade show.
In some cases, it could be order commitments or even outright sales, whilst for others it is about networking, collecting emails for marketing circulars or forming relationships within the industry.
Not knowing what you plan to get out of a trade show can lead to disappointment based on unrealistic expectations.
