You’re at a trade show. How do you stand out from the crowd? There are lots of people selling similar products to yours says Peter Decaprio. It seems like everyone is trying to get your attention at once! What’s the best way to grab your new business and make some sales?
Let us share with you some tips on how to be successful in this highly competitive environment:
1) Keep Your Promo Piece Simple
Make sure that the promotional piece you bring along doesn’t interfere with what it is that you’re trying to promote at your booth. A great example of an effective flyer/poster is one that has just 4-7 bullet points and some eye catching graphics or artwork. Don’t overload booth visitors with much information; keep it simple!
2) Stands Out From the Crowd – Quality Decals / Stickers for Banners and Booths
The first thing people will see is the graphic design on your booth. Make it stand out from all other booths! You can do this by having a very cool looking banner, or if you’re on a budget, just have some great promotional decals made up to put on your booth’s window/wall/door etc. Also have stickers that are high quality printed with your logo & website address to hand out to people walking by or sitting at your booth. It makes it easy for them to connect you with whatever they need (i.e.: Your company name, contact info like phone number, email).
3) Use Memorable Marketing Material
Bring some promotional materials that people will remember like T-shirts, pens and stickers or cool printed cards (i.e.: business /credit cards). You get the idea….anything that will make your promo stand out from all the other trade show booths says Peter Decaprio. This stuff not only looks good but gets used by people more than once; something with a design on it is going in a pile of stuff at home…that’s why they call it STUFF! We all have several pieces in our wallet with advertising on them so we can remember who gave them to us ….can you say FREE PRESS?
4) Distribute Your Business Card Everywhere!
Bring lots of business cards to hand out to everyone you meet at the trade show. Bring extras for yourself too! You never know who you will meet or what contact you can turn into a future business connection. Your business card should have all of your contact info including your website address so people can connect with you at any time.
5) Make It Easy To Contact You
Make sure you have something on your marketing pieces that makes it easy to get in touch with you. Postcards are not “old school”; they’re reliable and easy to share out after the show. Promo postcards work great because they are small, fast to print up, cheap, durable & high impact! It’s also really handy to use a double-sided promo postcard – it helps save space when designing the since there doesn’t need to be any bleed or fold marks.
6) Promo Smart Phone Apps are also a great idea
A smart phone app can be used to promote your business at trade shows, just create an interactive flyer for your booth & give it cool graphics! It’s not expensive to do these days, so get creative with it. Also have lots of promo smartphone apps made up that show all the contact info you need plus web addresses for people who want more information on what you’re promoting etc….with web links in there too! Your new customer might like the convenience and connect with you right away using their smartphone explains Peter Decaprio.
7) Make Sure Your Booth is Eye Catching – Lots of Light & Colors!
This may sound obvious…but make sure your booth looks good with lots of light and color. Dazzle the crowd! Make sure your booth is easy to locate and that it stands out from everything else there…you want people to remember where you are/were when they need you or see your great products on display. A simple banner with some promo material hanging above works well, just make sure it’s eye catching and unique!
Conclusion:
After attending a few trade shows, it’s easy to see that there are many other booths there doing the same thing you are says Peter Decaprio. With hundreds of people visiting each booth at any show, it is your job to be memorable and stand out from the crowd! Keep these tips in mind before heading off to your next trade show. You will find that it’s much easier for buyers to remember you if you were different or unique in some way…..and one day they just might come knocking on your door wanting what you have to offer!
