When do you know your trade show presence has paid off?
It is the moment when your attendees connect to your brand and feel that they’ve had a worthwhile experience. That’s the ideal outcome you and any exhibitor would want. But it is easier said than done. Engaging your attendees is often one of the most difficult tasks.
You’ve got your stand design to align with your branding goals, which is to attract your target audience. Attendees step in your booth, looking all curious and eager to know more. What do you do now? How do you continue to give them a positive impression? How do you ensure that your brand remains memorable?
The answer is engagement. Interacting or engaging with customers is a factor that will benefit your brand even after your customers have left the trade show. Your exhibition stands are only a shop window to entice and invite customers towards your brand.
So, no matter how grand and theatrical your stand design construction is, it can’t interact with your customers its own. So, here are some sure shot ways you would experiment within your next exhibition.
Bring the magic of AV to your trade show stand
With the latest innovations in technology, Audio Visual equipment is no longer limited to a projector, screen, and microphone. There are several new tools available to make your AV setup more interactive and affordable.
Using video walls to build an interactive display will make your stand look vibrant and eye-catching. Combine that with proximity beacons and your attendees can connect their phones, letting them influence and engage with the content on display.
They can use their phone like a remote to browse your brand’s content. By allowing them to choose the information they want to see, they not only learn more about your brand but also connect with it as an active observer rather than a passive bystander.
Entice more than just their eyes
Expert marketers never rely only on visual aids to build messages that stick with audiences. They recruit the other senses such as sound, scent, and touch. When you enter a coffee shop it’s not just the menu that entices you. It’s also the smell of fresh beans, the slow hum of the espresso machine that builds your anticipation. Tugging your senses and creating a lasting image of the shop in your mind.
Chips manufacturers ensure that the chips are crispy so that you feel a satisfying crunch along with the taste. When two or more senses are appealed, they amplify each other and make the brand more memorable. You can do the same for your trade show booth design.
After all, the scope for exhibition ideas when using this form of marketing is wide. Here are some examples:
- If you are into baked goods, warming thin sheets of vanilla will give your exhibition stand a freshly baked smell. This gives attendees a positive reason to step into your stand.
- A company that is into aromatherapy can accompany their lemongrass scented diffuser with actual lemongrass samples for attendees to examine, lending a more memorable and visceral association with the product.
- If you in the toys industry, you can deploy air fresheners to emit a fruity scent at your exhibition stand. Also, you could have a bell ring when a customer steps in. Bringing in a merry, playful association in their minds.
- A hotel business can model its exhibition stand to look like its reception hall, complete with your staff dressed as managers and a ledger where attendees can write their names. You can give them a numbered key that corresponds with a giveaway. So the moment they see your brand in the future, they will remember your reception hall with positivity.
You get the idea! The point is to not rely solely on visual cues to make your exhibition memorable but use smell, touch, and sound since these are rarely used by exhibitors.
Use freebies but keep it relevant
Freebies or giveaways are the most common solution offered for attracting customers. But quite as often they don’t relate to the brand or the message being conveyed. To maximise the effectiveness of your giveaways, make sure that you are clear on the message your brand wants to convey at the trade show.
Using your brand message as a guideline, you can pick giveaways that showcase a positive aspect of your company to your target audience. For example, if your company is in the hospitality business you can convey your trustworthiness with something practical. If you’re into manufacturing a product, you can have mini models of your products to showcase your level of expertise and quality.
Pick the right people for your exhibition stand
Choosing the right members of your staff is difficult. Especially, if this is your first trade show appearance. The general idea is to put a team that is pro-active and friendly. They need to be willing to engage enthusiastically with anyone who enters your trade show stand.
Any knowledge gaps can be addressed with product training. Never skim product training, since it lets your team focus on the customer and less on remembering the specifics of your product. So, put in the time to train your staff, ideally a month prior to the exhibition. Explain your expectations and brainstorm ideas to achieve them. List your target audience and build a sales script. Practice this script with your team. This will remove any anxiety they have when speaking to a prospect.
These methods work for any business looking to use trade show stands to promote their business. It will enhance how your brand and team engage with attendees so that you have a successful trade show with valuable leads.
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