Trade shows aren’t always interesting. In fact, sometimes they can be downright boring. So what can you do to bring colour and life which will set you apart? A few things have stood out over the years which seem obvious, but you need to be smart about:
1. Roamers. Now you may only be able to stick your pull up banners within the confines of your stand…or if you’re lucky, hanging out the edge - no more branding unless you pay. Or unless you get creative. Branded promo staff not only splash your brand all over the conference centre, but they drive traffic back to your stand and engage with conference goers. Fun costumes and activities really bring life to the conference which creates great associations with your brand.
2. Freebies. People. Love. Free. Stuff. They’ll take anything. But they won’t keep just anything, so make sure you make your dollar go the distance by giving them things that they’ll use. Mints are an oldie but a goodie, or a great lip gloss. Perhaps not for a male-dominated audience, but you catch my drift. Lollies at your stand are always a winner for drawing people in, but make sure they’re wrapped for the sake of OH&S – would you eat sticky, grubby, unwrapped lollies that people have handled?
3. Fun things to do. Have a game or a competition at your stand, or something interactive that demonstrates your brand or product. With the world of video games and iPads at your fingertips, there are heaps of cool things to keep a crowd entertained!
4. Data collection. The most effective way to do this is though competitions so there is the possibility of them getting something in return apart from a bunch of emails. To that point, make sure you let them know they won’t be spammed. Then don’t spam them. But do chase leads! iPad’s are ideal for creating instant databases so your poor marketing assistant won’t have to waste all their time back at the office doing data entry from written forms.
5. Good people. Engaging with the crowd is paramount! They sell your product and ultimately convert enquiries into orders. Some companies insist on using head office staff, who are great to have around for the hard queries, but they aren’t necessarily trained in or have a predisposition toward sales. So if you don’t have good sales people at your beck and call, hire some for the event!
In short, I’ll say it again, be smart about what is important – that is, sparking interest, converting interest into sales and maintaining great brand associations.
