Trade Show Emporium

Trade Show Booths and Displays: It’s not enough to enter a tradeshow and hope for the best.  In order to get the most bang-for-your-buck out of your tradeshow investment you need to do pre-planning on how to steer traffic your way.  There are a number of different ways of doing this online and offline.  When considering who to advertise to as potential visitors don’t forget to advertise to present customers.  This is a great way of following up to customers that are already experiencing the benefits of your product.  After all you’ve taken the step of investing your marketing dollars into this tradeshow why not make that investment work for you. Read the rest of this entry »

Take a lesson from Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud when planning your next trade show exhibit: don’t just show – play.It’s human nature to be attracted to the excitement on the trade show floor, and the object is to have your exhibit stand out from the rest. The entire psychology of a trade show, any trade show, is built on attendance-to-win-business – so win the numbers game by being the most attractive magnet. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Give yourself enough time for planning and preparation. Set deadlines and think ahead. Try to avoid rush fees or expedited shipping costs (especially for heavier items such as Alumalites).
2. Send pre-show emails to loyal customers urging them to stop by your booth.
3. Utilize your Facebook and Twitter accounts before shows. Announce your location and promote contests or prizes through social media.
4. Define goals for what you want to accomplish for each show. Is your goal to test a new product and gather feedback? Generate new leads? Network?
5. Make sure everyone working in your trade show booth understands the prescribed goals.
6. Have maximum booth coverage: all staff should have a specific role and know what that role is.
7. Plan a dress code for booth staff. Appearance is your audience’s first impression. This includes both graphic design and booth attendants’ appearance.
8. Be prepared for questions. Practice asking potential questions to employees who will be running your trade show booth.
9. Make copies of set up instructions for trade show products such as kiosks, pop-ups, LCD TV stands and anything else you will be bringing with you. Be familiar with set-up instructions for quick assembly and break-down.
10. Have a system for tracking hot leads and likely customers. Make sure to follow up to turn leads into sales!

For more trade show tips and trade show display products, visit Trade Show Emporium.

A new tool has been added to the Trade Show Emporium website that makes searching for your next trade show display simple while providing an expansive selection. Use our Exhibit Design Search tool to search by booth size and/or price range. You can also search by category. Some of the products include banner stands, green displays, workstations and kiosks, hybrid displays and much more. The Exhibit Design Search tool allows for searching many products that have not yet been available through our website alone.

Featured Products:
Sacagawea Portable Hybrid Displays – this affordable display packs in portable roto-molded cases and comes with optional counters and workstations. They are customizable, modular and available as a 10×10 or 10×20.

Counters and Pedestals – counters are very useful for trade shows and we have a wide variety of designs, sizes, colors and shapes available. Most also feature locking storage.

Eco-Green Displays – search through modular green products made from environmentally responsible materials. You are sure to find something for any size show with exhibit displays ranging from 10×10 to 30×50!

Get inspired by searching through photo galleries, find products with quick turnaround times by searching through the Quick Ship displays, and even find trade show tips with our Exhibit Design Search tool. If you can’t find what you are looking for, give us a call today at 1.866.764.2968.

Most likely your business is investing a lot of time and money into the design and execution of your trade show booth.  But if you aren’t gaining enough attention, these efforts go unnoticed.  In order to ensure that you have a successful trade show, you’ll need a plan for attracting visitors to your booth.  Develop strategies to maximize traffic even before you begin design and production.  When consumers are at events, they most likely won’t stop by unless you are offering something of value to them and/or you have an exciting-eye catching display.

First of all, determine your target audience and message that should be conveyed from your company.  Most likely you are attending a trade show with your target audience, and you just need to properly execute a winning strategy.

Evaluate your display’s design.  Is it conveying your message?  Make sure your company logo or brand is clearly visible.  Examine your exhibit from your visitor’s perspective.  Look through examples and pictures of different exhibits.  See which ones attract your attention and take note.  Choose your graphics carefully.  Here are some tips:

• Less is more.  Use as little words as possible on your display.

• Use contrasting colors, such as a light color on a dark background or vice versa.  Create sharp intensity and avoid busy backgrounds.

• Be careful of the size of your text and placement.  It should be big enough to ready from far away (at least 4 inches tall) and not too low to the ground.

• Make sure you are using high resolution images.  Small logos from your website will not translate well to large format printing – it will be grainy when enlarged.  Consult with your graphic designer.

• Make sure to take care of your displays after your show to be able to reuse them for a long time.  Pack the graphic panels properly and keep them clean and damage-free.

Entice viewers into your space with interactivity or creative giveaways.  Create a focal point or activity with a clear path to attract a crowd.  Consider a kiosk that encourages interaction.  If your product is small and affordable, use this as a giveaway.  If your product is bigger or expensive, consider a raffle.  Think about giving out coffee for an early morning event or even provide inexpensive vibrating foot massages for long day events!

Your 10’ x 10’ space must clearly communicate who you are in a matter of seconds to grab your audience’s attention and establish a long term relationship.  Graphic Pop-Up Displays and Alumalite Displays are a great vehicle to showcase your company.  Contact Trade Show Emporium to learn more about our professional graphic design services as well.

A fairly common question for companies exhibiting at trade shows is the number of people that is needed to staff its booth. Having too low of a number means people will visit the booth and leave, a possible lost sale or lead walking away. Too many staffers and the booth may look overcrowded making people hesitant to visit.

Using the following mathematical formula will help you figure out how many staffers you need at any given time to be stationed at your booth. You’ll need to do some research first and figure out a few key numbers before figuring out the formula. First contact the conference organizer and get an anticipated count of attendees and figure out how you what percentage will potentially visit your booth. This number can range from 12 to 20 percent, with higher figures representing more interest among attendees in your company, booth or product.

Once you have those figures you have to determine if the show is either highly targeted or a general show towards your company. The more targeted the show, the lower your percentage will be. If the show is highly targeted use numbers between 30 and 40 percent, and 50 percent if the show is broad to your industry. Finally, get the total amount of exhibiting hours.

After you figure out these important figures you can use the following formula to determine the number of staffers needed to work your booth.

Attendees x Popularity of Exhibit = Visitors to Booth
Visitors x Type of Show = People Interested In Booth
People Interested x Hours Exhibiting = People Visiting Per Hour
Per Hour Visitors x Amount One Staffer Can Handle An Hour = Total Staffers Needed

Example:
You work for a highly reputable and successful company in your business. The show is one of the larger more important trade shows in your industry and you expect 20,000 people to attend the convention. Your company recently purchased a new custom trade show display that will be located in a 40×20 booth space. Since you have a new booth and it is one of the larger industry shows you anticipate a great deal of buzz about your display and new product being launched.

The show is four days long with six hours each day for people to visit exhibits on the floor, giving people 24 hours to visit your booth. Typically your customers come in groups of four people and it takes approximately 30 minutes for someone on your staff to explain your company and its products to potential clients.

20,000 attendees x 20 percent = 4,000 potential clients visiting your booth
4,000 visitors x .40 (large show) = 1,600 people truly interested in your product
1,600/24 / 24 hours exhibit is open = 67 number of people per hour visiting your booth
67 / 8 each staffer can handle per hour = 8 staffers needed

Assuming these figures are fair representations for the amount of people visiting your booth and the expected buzz that your company and its booth generate, you should expect to have at least eight staffers at your booth.

Company exposure is a good thing…right?  Drawing attention to your business can be an excellent way of gaining new clients, and attending the right events is equally important.  Events are expensive to attend—they cost money, take time, and use your most valuable resources (your employees) to keep them running.  Choosing the appropriate setting is a crucial aspect of selecting events.  So how do you know which events are right for you?  Well, it all starts with knowing your audience.

First, figure out who your target market is.  Be realistic.  Not everyone on Earth is a suitable customer for you.  So who is?  You can determine this by creating a “customer profile.”  This profile identifies your customer by demographic (such as age, zip code or income).  Ask yourself, “Who is my customer?” Psychographics (such as traits, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles) are another important piece of the puzzle.  To determine your customer’s psychographic, ask yourself, “What does my customer do?”  The best way to determine the demographic and psychographic of potential clients is to look at the ones you already have.  What patterns do you see?  Why do they buy your product or service?  How do they benefit from it?  Once you created a customer profile you are well on your way to determining what events are right for you.

Event marketing is no longer limited just to trade shows.  Today there are tours, road shows, conventions, seminars, conferences, hospitality events…and much more.  So which ones are right for your business?  Let’s take a look at some of the most common events:

Trade Show
Audience:  Typically one particular industry
Pros:  Atendees are interested in the industry you represent.
A wide range of exhibitors and activities under one roof.
Cons: Competitors can take away your potential leads.  Requires intensive staffing.

Road show
Audience: Reaches regional audiences
Pros: Appointments are set up prior to the event—this allows your message to be customized for each potential customer.
Cons:  Your most well-versed personnel are on the road.

Seminar
Audience:  Prospects who are interested learning about your company’s areas of expertise.
Pros: Educating customers while networking.
Cons: Run the risk of your ideas being replicated.

Hospitality Event
Audience:  Can be tailored to suit a particular audience
Pros:  Great for networking with other industry colleagues.  A positive PR tool.
Cons:  It can be difficult to sell in a social situation.  The services of an event planner are needed.

Conferences
Audience: Targeted representatives who are part of a professional group.
Pros:  Great for networking, learning, and meeting customers, with tight control over attendees.
Cons:  Exhibit traffic can be irregular.

Finally, to choose the right event for your company you should consider four important points:
1. Logistics—Can you reasonably plan for your attendance at the event?
2. Budget—Can you adequately fund your attendance at the event?
3. Ability—Does your company have the knowledge, skills, and services to stand out at the event?
4. Geography—Is the your company or services relevant to customers in the area?  Can you reasonably attend the event?
If you can answer “yes” to all of the above questions, you have found the perfect event for your company!

You don’t start a road-trip without a map, likewise, you can’t improve your trade show presence unless you know where you started out. Try these innovative ways to measure your trade show booth effectiveness. Effectiveness translates into RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

Calculate the percentage increase in booth activity from previous shows

Determining if attending a show has been beneficial from previous years is crucial. If you are not getting increased traffic each year, then your cost per lead increases and attending the show might not be beneficial anymore. Use this formula to determine the return on your investment: Divide the actual number of visitors from this year’s show by the number of visitors from last year’s show X 100. For example, if 157 visitors stopped at your booth this year and 123 stopped at your booth last year, then 157/123= 1.276 X 100 = 127 or a 27 percent increase. This formula can be used to calculate direct sales, qualified leads, attendance at in-booth activities or inquiries.

If your last show cost $10,000 and you obtained 100 qualified leads, then your cost per lead is $100. If you spend $10,000 again the next year, you can expect to have similar results. Try to improve your numbers for the next year using economies of scale. Say, for example, that your goal to get 200 visitors. By increasing your budget to $15,000, you will have lowered your cost per lead to $75. Calculate these statistics after every show and use the data to increase your reach in future shows.

Tracking the number of visitors that come to your booth

Track both new and current visitors that come to your booth. Make sure you are only counting the “qualified” visitors, not the “plus one” or co-workers that hang at the edge of your booth. Do not count the guy who told you that your booth looked nice. Only count visitors that come and ask questions and leave their contact information with you so that you can follow up with them.

Increased post show activity

One way to tell if you are getting a return on your investment is to measure the post-show activity. If you are getting increased traffic to your website, more people stopping into your office, or increased phone calls, all indications are that attending the trade show was a success.

Surveys

A good way to measure the effectiveness of your trade show display is to survey visitors that come by your booth. Such surveys can be brief: Ask the visitor if they understand the message on your booth and if the booth staff that engaged them in conversation was knowledgeable about the product/service. These surveys can tell you if your message is on target.

For guidance on creating the trade show booth that WILL boost your ROI at your next trade show, contact Trade Show Emporium at 866-764-2968.

Have you ever attended a trade show and noticed unused booth spaces? Those are either companies that did not show up or space the convention center could not rent. Have you noticed how horrible it looks when there is an empty space at the show? You’re not alone. The convention center management notices too and they rather have the spaces filled then be empty because it makes the overall show look more successful.

Next time you are at a show and notice an empty booth, and you have the extra trade show materials, ask the show management if you could take over the empty booth. This is really crucial if your neighbor decides not to show up. You could rent a 10′ x 10′ booth and wind up with a 10′ x 20′ booth. It never hurts to ask!

Most convention centers will gladly rent you carpet to use during the trade show for between $200 and $500 a day. The rental agreement will likely include a clause requiring you to cover any damage to the carpet – which could cost you even more.

You can save money and cuts costs by purchasing your own trade show flooring. The beauty is that the flooring comes in 2′ x 2′ inter lockable pieces that fit together to form the desired configuration. These squares come in a variety of colors and effortlessly pack into a transport case for easy shipping and transport. Plus if a spill occurs, you can replace the square or squares for cents on the dollar versus replacing an entire traditional carpet.

Interlocking carpet tiles are a great alternative to renting carpet and you can own your own carpet for the price of renting carpet for 1 show.

If you want to get really creative you can even print your company logo on your trade show flooring.

Contact one of Trade Show Emporium’s customer service representatives for details on the types of trade show flooring available.