Build Awareness And Attendee Traffic For Your Exhibit Booth At Trade Shows

This article is mainly for exhibitors with smaller booths and/or those with tight budgets who want to increase their brand awareness and exhibit booth traffic at large industry trade shows (and exhibitors of any size may also benefit).

As an organizer of large trade events, I would constantly hear from small or new to market companies who were challenged with limited resources who want to maximize their trade show investment, increase their brand presence, increase attendee traffic to their exhibit booth and increase the number of leads they collect from the event. In many cases, they either aren't sure what to do or think that only the big brands can afford to promote themselves and stand out at a large show. Most big industry shows have hundreds, if not thousands of exhibitors. How can a small exhibitor stand out in the crowd?

The usual case is that such companies can only afford a 10' x 10' or 10' x 20' exhibit space and since they are typically new to the show with little priority, they get an exhibit space in the back of the exhibit hall. Not to worry! The main issue is that your company will be at the show and can be found by attendees given that you make the effort to deploy the right mix of marketing promotion. In my experience, I've seen small 10' x 10' exhibitors in the back of a hall get slammed with attendees while their neighbors have no one to speak to. It's all in what they're showing and what they did to promote their company's participation at the show.

I won't go into the elements of booth design and the typical costs related to exhibit booths at shows (labor, freight, material handling, electrical, decoration, etc.) in this article, but focus my advice on what I believe companies should do before, during and after exhibiting at a show to be more successful in achieving their exhibiting goals.

If your budget is really strapped and it’s your first time exhibiting at a show, I would recommend not taking a 10' x 20' or larger exhibit space (unless your product size dictates the need for a larger space) and just go with a 10' x 10' and spend the difference on pre-show/at show marketing activities. For $3,000 to $15,000 you can typically get your company in front of a lot of attendees' eyes leading up to and at a show.

Here's a fact - the number one reason attendees go to trade shows is to see new products. Before you do anything, you really need to be showing a new product at the show, know why it’s great and how it will benefit your target customers and solve their problems. You need to know this if you want to properly connect with attendees at a show.

Here's a list of suggested options (do as many as you can afford; in some cases, these may be free of charge or low cost to new exhibitors):

·        Buy an ad on the show's website (preferably where the show floor plan is featured)

·        Upgrade your company's listing on the show's website (most shows typically offer "e-booth" upgrades or enhanced listing options)

·        Buy an ad on the show's pre-show attendee marketing HTMLs

·        See if the show organizer will send out an HTML from your company or co-branded show announcement to pre-registered attendees

·        Rent names from the show's attendee mailing list and send a postcard announcing your new product and booth number inviting select attendees to come to your booth - along with adding a giveaway or show special for those attendees who stop by your booth - schedule the mailing to hit one to two weeks before the show.

·        Get your new product press announcement placed on the show website and in the show's daily newspaper (some even send out a pre-show daily). Most show dailies have a "marketplace" or new products section with small/lower ad cost options.

·        Send your new product press announcement to all industry trade press two months prior to the show (to make their pre-show issue deadlines) and make sure that your release mentions that you'll be showing the product(s) at the show and include your booth #.

·        Pitch an editorial case study story to industry trade press, one where your product has been used successfully in a project at a client's site (especially a client that matches the attendees you'd like to see at the show) - link to the article from your website and add a link to the article from your online show directory listing.

·        Most shows offer exhibitors free or reduced cost attendee exhibit hall access passes you can send out to your customers and prospects. Take advantage of these and send out as many as you can (with a similar message as the postcard above). Today, most of the show passes are PDF or HTMLs that you can send electronically and/or post with your company's VIP code on your website and social channels. You'd be surprised to learn that many of the major exhibitors at shows don't send out passes - their loss is your gain! A free exhibits pass is the number one driver of attendee registrations for many shows.

·        Follow the show on social media and include the event's and industry's tags in all tweets and posts. If your company is not promoting your show presence on social channels including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (among others), you are missing a huge opportunity! Talk about the event, share what you'll be showing off during the event, talk about how you're prepping for the show, promote any speaking/training opportunities your company has at the show, etc. Join the conversation and make it personal!

·        Contact the show management and find out how your company may participate in an educational program, session, panel, training session at the show. Demonstrate that your company is a thought leader, supports the industry and has technical know-how by lending a key executive, technical director or (gasp!) even a satisfied customer to speak at the show. This demonstrates your company's passion and commitment to the industry and your customers. In some cases, shows will also have pre-show or post-show webinars that your company may be able to sponsor or participate in.

·        If the show has a "start-up"/first-time exhibitor showcase or pitch stage, sign-up and get the word out at the show.

·        Nearly every large show has a myriad of at-show promotional opportunities including digital signage advertising, banners, graphics options (including on window, the floor, table tops, etc.), ability to hand out materials to attendees, text alerts, mobile app advertisements, product placement opportunities, show TV advertising, networking event sponsorships and the list goes on. Some of these are reasonable costing a few thousands of dollars or less, some are tens of thousands of dollars. Call the show organizer's sales manager and discuss creative ways your firm can take advantage of at-show opportunities to drive attendees to your booth and reinforce your company's brand and message. I've seen exhibitors do all sorts of crazy and cool promos at shows - if you have an idea, it doesn't hurt to ask. The organizer may say no, but you may also explore in discussion with the organizer something else you haven't thought of that's even better.

·        Many shows today have gamification options, "treasure hunts," attendee booth tours and other traffic builder promotions that will drive attendees to your booth - check them out.

·        Interesting and colorful giveaways that attendees carry around the show help build awareness and word of mouth. Something attendees will take home with them, even if it’s something for them to give to their kids. Make it interesting, fun or personal. I still have a t-shirt with my picture on it that I got in the Samsung booth at a CES show several years ago.

·        Do an interesting in-booth demonstration - preferably something that demonstrates an application of your product and let attendees try it out.

·        Create a FOMO (fear of missing out) experience at the show - I've seen so many of these at various shows - a hip lounge with a celebrity signing autographs, an exclusive party for select customers, a customized interactive VR experience, a skills competition to win prizes, and the list goes on. Use your imagination or call on the show organizer or the show's general service contractor (such as Freeman or GES, etc.) to help you craft a unique experiential activity to capture attendee's attention. (Ed. note: yes, I know it's hard to do the above with a limited budget or in a small booth - but I want you to think outside of the box). In some cases, you may be able to co-sponsor a show event with other exhibitors - keeping your investment lower while still gaining the benefits of being associated with the event.

·        Immediately following the show, you need to follow-up directly with the attendee leads you captured at the event. A straightforward thank you with a reminder of what your company showed (attendees visit many booths), links to your product info on your website or other specific information the attendee requested should be a given. You'd also be surprised to learn that most exhibitors really don't follow-up with their show leads. Besides the quick thank you email, have your sales and marketing team call the attendees directly the week after the show and then a few weeks later to check back in. You spent a lot to exhibit at the show, the least you can do is to call the attendees who took their time to stop by your booth.

·        Many shows rent their attendee lists post-show for exhibitors. Have the organizer (or their registration vendor) put a list of your preferred target attendees that you didn't see at the show and send them a follow-up postcard or e-mail.

·        Additionally, most industry trade press produce post-show coverage of the event - contact the publications and make sure they received your product announcements from the show to include in their event wrap-up articles.

The above is just a sampling of the many marketing and communications efforts an exhibitor can do to make their presence known and to stand out at a large industry trade show. What I like to see companies do is to be seen everywhere leading up to and at a show, even in small ways - these efforts add up and multiple impressions on attendees' minds increases the chances that the exhibitor will be remembered by attendees and attendees will take action to connect with the exhibitor or at a minimum stop by their booth at a show.

Don't just take my word for it, according to CEIR - The Center for Exhibition Industry Research, 76% of attendees arrive at a trade show or event with an agenda. In addition, attendees spend quality time with 26 exhibitors at a show and half of these 26 exhibitors scheduled appointments with attendees in advance. Additionally, CEIR commissioned a study by Deloitte & Touche that concluded exhibitors who conducted a pre-show marketing campaign raised the quality of the audience they were able to attract by 46% and their conversion of booth visitors to qualified leads rose 50%.

So, here's the bottom line - if you want your company to be more successful at exhibiting at trade shows, you should invest in promoting your company before, during and after the show. Then as your company grows and reaps the benefits of your successful product launch at the event, plan to return to the following year's show and buy a larger exhibit space to capture even more leads!

For more information on successful exhibiting, I recommend the following resources:

freeman.com

ges.com

theadventure.com - Steve Miller

compedgetraining.com - Jefferson Davis

richarderschik.com - Richard Erschik

boothmom.com - Candy Adams

exhibitoronline.com

cemaonline.com

ceir.org