Exhibition Design and Exhibitor Tips

Amongst the many ways in which we help our clients promote their products, services and businesses, is via exhibitions and exhibition design, events and trade shows. Clients who ‘press the flesh’ often achieve great results as nothing quite compares with face-to-face contact for promoting your offering.

Recently, we assisted one of our clients who were attending the biggest trade show on their business calendar. The client planned to launch their brand new product line at the show and we were tasked with updating their exhibition stand design as well as designing the promotional literature needed for the exhibition design.

Through their recent experiences and those of other clients, we thought we’d share our tips and advice for getting the most out of your exhibition or show, to help you maximize your presence and generate the greatest number of sales or leads possible.

Pre-Show Checklist

Send out invitations to existing clients, potential leads whom you’ve already identified and trade press, the week before the show. It sounds pretty obvious but a personal invitation from yourself, to visit your exhibition stand or trade booth, will almost certainly generate foot traffic and help to make your stand look busy. The invitation design should be simple, clear and MUST include your stand number or/and location on the show floor.

Exhibition Stand Design

Not everyone attending the show will know who you are or what your company does. Your exhibition stand design should make this clear to all attendees.

Brief Your Staff

Make sure that everyone on your stand knows what the company does and what you sell. Even catering and promotions staff should be able to answer basic questions. If they get stuck, they should know who to refer an attendee to. Provide your part-time, catering and promotions staff with a ‘cheat sheet’ of questions and answers which they are likely to face.

Not everyone attending the show will know who you are or what your company does. Your exhibition stand design should make this clear to all attendees.

Make Your Team Identifiable

Trade shows and exhibitions can be busy and crammed with people. To help visitors identify your own staff, consider wearing a uniform of sorts. Brightly coloured T-Shirts or Polo shirts embroidered with your company logo are inexpensive and combined with bespoke name badges or oversized, contrasting lanyards, your team will stand out in the crowd.

Never Leave Your Exhibition Stand Unattended

Leaving your stand unattended means you’re potentially missing vital opportunities to talk to new customers. If you’re short staffed, or a small team, and absolutely have to leave the stand unattended, then make sure you leave a clear notice telling visitors when you’ll be back – not ‘Back in 10mins’ – more like ‘Back at 1:00pm’.

Media Packs

If the show you’re exhibiting at will be attended by trade journalists, increase your chances of being written about by having pre-prepared media packs available. These should include details of the products or services you’re promoting at the show, company history and details of the management team, together with relevant digital assets like product photos, company logos and recent press releases. A great way to distribute these media packs is via inexpensive USB thumb drives featuring your company logo.

Post-Show Checklist

Be pro-active and ensure you follow up with contacts made at the show. A short, friendly email is a great way to start, then progress to a phone call if your email is warmly received.

Most Importantly

Smile, be friendly and engage with show attendees!