5 Keys to Generating a Positive ROI at a Trade Show

How To Attract Customers At A Trade Show

To attract people at a trade show, you need to get those potential customers who are just passing by to actually enter your booth and engage in a conversation with you about your product or service. Using interactive digital touchscreens helps to make that conversation as succinct, educational and fun as possible. Customers, curious about the digital entertainment you are offering, will flock to your tent to participate in your experience. This is a lighter but more effective approach than techniques of the past when exhibitors would use hawkers, offering incentives and gifts, to beg a passer-by to investigate your product or service.

Create a Profitable Trade Show Booth in 5 Steps

Here are five successful trade show tips for drawing customers to your booth and generate a positive ROI.

1. Create an Unforgettable Experience

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”- Maya Angelou.

Create an experience for visitors to connect with your brand. People will engage with you not only because of your products or services but also if they like your brand.

First, ensure your messaging is succinct and compelling. Anyone passing by should easily be able to understand what problem your product/service solves and how you solve it.

Then try to “Think outside of the booth “. You want to leave an unforgettable impression on customers. Offering In-booth activities is a very good practice. It works best when the audience is active rather than passive. You could create games and contests around your product for instance. A 3D presentation of your company/product would also wow your audience if you make sure to focus on irresistible content. The best way to do so, is with customers testimonials and case studies, then your prospects will be able to project themselves using your product.

One last thing, no matter how original your booth is, you have the ensure that it’s welcoming and have enough space for the attendees to walk around and feel comfortable.

2. Have at least one large digital sign

Have at least one large digital sign or kiosk positioned just outside your booth that runs a commercial or interactive program. The goal is to make sure your compelling message can be seen (and heard) above the din.

Freestanding rolling television and monitor stands come in all shapes and sizes to help you place the stands so the crowd can’t miss your broadcasted message. It is also a good idea to turn up the audio on your programming so that you can hear it over the din of the crowd. That said, know your show and be realistic about whether audio can be heard at all.

3. Create smaller self-service stations

Set up a few devices inside your booth, easily accessible and clearly running visually arresting,  unique interactive experiences. The goal is to encourage booth entry without making visitors feel like they must engage with members of your team.It is important that people can discover your product or service while interacting with the screen.

This is a good place to collect information. Perhaps create a low effort digital form for gathering contact information. Even just asking questions, independent of user identification, could generate helpful feedback.

Make sure all of these units are charged and provide headphones for the audio if necessary. Consider placing antiseptic wipes in easy reach. Visitors will thank you.

4. Host scheduled events

While offering your customers some type of incentive, such as a discount or membership in exchange for their email address is a good idea, you could also create an event that will encourage them to return to your booth. Prize Draws are usually a good practice for collecting  email addresses..

The prize could be a free product or a one year subscription to your services but also any incentive that you may think relevant to your audience.

If the draw takes place during the trade show, plan ahead and find a time that doesn’t conflict with other vendor events or major conference speeches. In addition, strive to make the drawing entertaining and interactive. Do not hesitate to use any audio or visual support you may have.

This may be your last chance to attract new attendees to your booth.

5. Invest in data collection and analysis

There’s no point to creating effective lead generation options if you can’t organize your effort to collect, track and analyze the resulting data. And this isn’t just about the leads themselves, it’s about identifying trends across all of their touch points. What were the most popular products, services, instructional videos, etc. The beauty of interactive content is it exposes visitor interests through what they touch. This information will be vital not just for the follow-up but for understanding how to tweak your interactive material to make it more effective for the next show.

Will you be exhibiting at a Trade Show soon?

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