You can have the best exhibition furniture and the best promotional graphics in the world, but a trade show is a competitive, cut throat environment and it helps to pull every trick in the book to make sure your stand is packed during a trade show.
Here are a few of our favourite tricks to get the crowd and influencers to spend more time with you than they otherwise might:
1. Free Wi-Fi
This is becoming less of an issue now most people have internet on their phones, but you’ll still find that a journalist or blogger who needs to file a story and can’t get a connection will be irrationally grateful if you offer them yours. Advertise it; shout to the world that you have internet to spare and you’ll make friends and new contacts.
2. Good coffee
Exhibition catering can be murderously expensive and the simple act of taking a coffee machine to a show will mean that you’ll get more than one visit from the bloggers, influencers and the faces that have to attend the show for more than a few hours. It’s a good chance to pitch and sell. If you can offer food, too, you should.
3. A chill-out area
Just a few chairs, a comfortable sofa, anything that lets people take the load off their feet, will win you admirers throughout the show. It is an altruistic gesture that your customers will love and it gives you an area to invite useful contacts into. It will make them feel special and also means you have them right where you want them.
4. Games
Branded merchandise and giveaways are great and they work, but a game makes visitors interact with your stand. It makes them stay and it can be simple. In fact it should be simple.
Depending on your company you might want to commission your own branded game for the iPad, but you might have even more success with a simple wire loop game with a buzzer. This is something that everyone can see, everyone understands and everyone secretly wants to play.
5. Quality advertising
You need to put your best foot forward, so invest in the highest quality large format printing to really grab people from across the room. Shout your message loud and clear and you’ll be amazed at the impact.
