Attending business expos and trade shows is always a great way to promote your brands; but if you don’t know how to attract as many visitors as possible to your stand, your promotional efforts may not achieve the expected results.
Almost every entrepreneur knows the importance of attending trade shows and business expos. It’s a great way to announce that your products and services are there, fully available for everyone interested. It also helps to reach out to prospective customers, clients, and investors. However, it is a very competitive space where many of your competitors would be usually present, vying for the same attention.
So, how can you make sure that your business stands out among the crowds in a crammed convention center? Fortunately, there are some basic, creative ways you can utilize to ensure the maximum return for your investments. We will discuss the key ideas below.
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Decide Your Goals and the Right Expo
Just like every business is different, so are the trade shows. Some business expos are great to attract investors, while some others are great for customers and clients: attending each and every trade show you hear about just wouldn’t help you achieve the expected results, and many of them could probably end up being a waste of your time and money. So, it’s important that you think long and hard about your intention to attend a particular expo and whether or not it would serve your purpose.
Furthermore, you should also consider the demographic of your target audience. As every demographic category has its own interests and inclinations, not every expo is set-up to attract the same kind of visitors. Also, the location of your stand is a key element to attract more visitors, with the entrance and the food court areas usually attracting the widest varieties of people.
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Make your space cozy and familiar
Choose wisely how you set up and decorate your stall. Your stand should be original and eye-catching, but be careful not to overwhelm your visitors with too many inputs, that could end up resulting in tiring and distracting. Set up a cozy space where visitors can not only see your products and get to know your brand, but also relax, chat, and possibly connect to Wi-fi and charge their phones.
Another great idea could be to offer coffee and cookies to your visitors: nothing attracts more than the smell of freshly made coffee.
Be Creative in Designing Your Stall
Trade show spaces come at a premium, so you have to be very creative in making the most out of it. The goals you decide in the first step would, of course, have the biggest influence on how you set up your stall, but they don’t have to limit your potential. Whether you want to introduce a new product or create awareness about the existing services, a creatively designed event stall can be hugely beneficial to achieve your goals.
There are many elements you could put in place in order to conquer the audience’s attention. Illumination, big graphical posters, expensive and hi-tech displays can all help to create a buzz among the crowds of the events. It’s also a great idea to invest in some expensive flagpoles and banners as they are very effective in capturing the attention of the passers-by. It’s even better to have some humorous banners hanging on a mobile flagpole, as it has proven to be a great conversation starter. If you need more information, please check www.resolfin.com.
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Choose the best staff
First impressions are always one of the most crucial factors: be sure to choose the right person to take care of the first approach with visitors. If you have a kind, communicative hostess/steward in your staff, she/he should not immediately start explaining the technical details of the products; on the other hand, the CEO of the company might not be the most suitable person to welcome visitors.
Everyone must have his own role: the hostess/steward should take care of the initial welcome, while the CEO or the marketing manager should be ready to provide more details to the interested visitors and speak with the prospective customers or investors.
Hand out some free logo-printed gadgets
Handing out logo-printed pens, mugs and t-shirts are classic ways to excite the visitors in your stalls, but we should admit that they are always quite effective.
However, to mix things up, you can also invest in some big reusable bags, t-shirts, etc. that will be used outside, promoting your brands every time someone sees your logo on them; or you can go for some environment-friendly gadgets, such as reusable water bottles or biodegradable pencils: these gadgets can be a bit more high-cost, but they will build a positive image of your company in the visitors’ minds.
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Obtain contact information
The real goal of attending a trade show is to create an interaction that will generate a follow-up; to do so, you should speak to visitors and then try to obtain as many contacts as possible.
Always keep in mind the kind of action you later expect from your visitors, either it is an email exchange or a visit to your website. Also, don’t forget to prepare pamphlets and business cards to hand out to visitors and prospective clients.
Engage the Visitors in a Fun-filled Way
To really engage your visitors in a new, interesting way, you can arrange for some quiz shows or other games and offer gifts such as discounts, vouchers, etc. A tablet can be a great solution to use for quizzes and games, or to make visitors fill out a survey; if you have a higher budget, you could invest in VR or AR, and you will be sure to have the coolest stand in the trade show.
In general, try to create an emotional journey that allows your visitors to live a unique experience, and that makes them develop a positive memory of the brand that will last even when the expo will be over.
