Posted by Jessica Davis on Wed, Sep 08, 2010
When you exhibit at a trade show, the quality of your display really matters to increase booth impact. A brilliant concept or a great design will fall flat if the booth is poorly designed, manufactured from inappropriate materials or poorly constructed. Smart exhibitors establish very specific quality criteria before they start to work with a design company on their booth.
How do you define quality?
Quality can be the combination of many factors: design, durable materials, craftsmanship, use of innovative technology, low environmental impact, and so on. Quality is based on your needs, your company’s or organization’s goals and your target customers’ values.
Here are a few things to consider when you develop your exhibit quality criteria.
- Quality Graphic Design
Great graphic design is critical if you want to present your company in the proper light. No matter how much you spend on booth production and construction, if the graphic design is not first rate, it will not matter.
- Specify quality, high-impact materials
You may not be able to specify exact materials for your exhibit but you can require that the materials used are high-impact materials that are suitable to the handling, wear and tear you expect for the exhibit.
- Review sample work to evaluate potential firms
Look at samples of design firms’ work to evaluate each firms production quality and attention to detail.
- Everything in the exhibit deserves consideration
The quality standards should apply to every part of your exhibit: displays, sales collateral, premiums, even the exhibit staff’s apparel.
- Structural integrity
If your booth exhibit incorporates large, constructed elements, make sure that they are properly engineered to eliminate any risk of structural failure.
- Installation and takedown
Poorly managed installation and dismantling can undermine every investment in quality you make. Make sure you have a professional managing both installation and takedown.
- Quality packing and shipping
If your exhibit is poorly packed, it is more likely to be damaged in transit. Think about including quality crates or cases in your budget. With proper packaging, your booth will be properly protected when shipped and you many actually save money in the long run by reducing operating labor costs.
Posted by Alexis Exhibits on Thu, Jul 15, 2010
- Study the show’s attendees – know how many are expected and which ones represent prospects for you.
Know your position in the convention center – the location of your booth as related to the main entrance, the largest exhibits, food and beverage areas or anything else that is likely to impact attendee behavior.- Think about both long and short range corporate identification – how will prospects find you, and how will they know who you are when they are standing in front of your booth?
- Consider an activity to attract attention – live demonstrations, presentations or other booth activities will cause people to stop and watch.
- Imagine an important prospect approaching your booth – What will they see? How will they be greeted? How much time will they want to spend with you? How will you record their information for follow up?
- Think about the sales process – your booth graphics can be arranged to assist and guide the sales presentation process.
- Consider the image that you want to project – make a list of adjectives that describe your corporate image.
- Think about the practicalities - presentation stations, storage of briefcases, utilities, meeting areas, video, etc.
- Come up with a budget - Not only a number, but also what it should include.
- Look for photos - Find some images that are examples of booths you like. Be sure to indicate what it is you like about each particular photo.
Thinking about and preparing these things before you contact an exhibit designer will make the process much easier and more efficient. Best of all, with the right preparation, you’ll end up with a design that fits your style and meets your needs!
Posted by Alexis Exhibits on Fri, Feb 12, 2010
It is no secret that exhibiting at trade shows, while widely considered the best dollar-for-dollar marketing investment, are chock full of costs. When it comes to saving money at shows, the devil is certainly in the details. Sometimes you can grossly over pay for services you might not think about until you even get to the show.
When exhibiting, people are going to be coming and going in and out of your booth all day for as many days as you are exhibiting. If you have carpet, you are probably going to need to think about vacuuming if you want to keep your booth presentable. If you are not careful, this can result in major costs for you once you get on the floor.
One of my clients, a software company based in California, was exhibiting at a five day show in Chicago. They had a carpeted 20’ x 40’ booth, so they knew they were going to need some vacuuming services. When they requested this service, we looked into the hall for vacuuming prices. Having the booth vacuumed once every night by the hall would have cost our client over $1000!
Most trade shows will allow you to vacuum your own booth, but if you want someone else to do it, you must use the designated contractor.
Instead of having our client pay such a ridiculous price for something that one of their staff members could do in less than 10 minutes we came up with a solution. We simply made space in one of the shipping crates and included a vacuum cleaner that could be assembled on the floor and then stored in their trade show booth. Their carpet was swept everyday for the show, they got the word out about their new products, and the show was a success.
Do you have the best booth spot at your tradeshow? Find out! Download our Free report.
Posted by Alexis Exhibits on Thu, Jan 28, 2010
Apple iPad New Cutting Edge Techology
Apple introduced their latest product the iPad with much fanfare yesterday. As a person who buys new technology the first week that it is available – this was pretty exciting.
Apple products are consistently on the cutting edge of technology. The iPhone and iPod touch have sent millions of people to the iTunes store and given them access to over 100,000 free or low cost applications.
Now those applications will be able to work on a much more versatile platform. Unfamiliar with this new device, check out Apple’s demo on youtube.
How will trade shows benefit from new iPad technology?
- Trade Show Attendees Armed with iPads
At tech-oriented shows, you can expect to see many trade show attendees carrying iPads on the show floor. This presents an opportunity for video demonstrations of products, literature and other sales related info in a digital format – loaded onto the attendee’s iPad right in the trade show booth.
- Video and Photos
Here is an opportunity to include multiple photos and video clip e-versions of pre-tradeshow emails that attendees would bring to the show floor. Once you have set up the connection with attendees, you can easily send updated information or invitations to presentations, hospitality suites or social events.
- Lead Retrieval and Demos
With the iPad, trade show exhibitors have the ability to create electronic lead cards on the same device that’s playing a demo. The entire interaction between booth staff and prospect could be scripted with lead card questions inserted into the presentation. Information gathered can be immediately sent to the marketing or sales department for fulfillment.
- Attendee schedules
Most tradeshow websites provide an attendee schedule function. The iPad will provide a way to enhance this feature and allow promotional messages to be included when attendees add an exhibit to their schedule.
- In the Exhibit
Install an iPad in information kiosks or product information stations to allow prospects to read detailed information or watch promotional videos. Here again, touch screen capability would allow for attendee interaction.
- Promotions
Technical and medical exhibitors can provide electronic journals or white papers as booth giveaways providing additional promotional opportunities.
As the use of the iPad becomes more common, attendees will start expecting the technology in your exhibit to keep up! Find out the Top 10 Trends in booth design and marketing. Download our FREE trend report. What do you think? Will the iPad work for trade shows?
Posted by Alexis Exhibits on Thu, Jan 21, 2010
Tradeshows represent a big investment. The cost of the exhibit and related services and utilities are just the beginning. Travel and lodging costs for staff will often double the total cost.
Optimize your return on investment with some supporting promotion.
At a major show, the average trade show attendee will spend more than 2 minutes in just 26 booths. There are in excess of 1000 booths in most major shows!
You should do everything possible to increase the chances that your booth will be one of these 26 for your most important prospects. Some promotion is easy, and also either cheap or free! You should touch every base for every conference where you exhibit.
- Modify your email signature
- Contact all of your prime prospects to set appointments
- Put a notice in every shipment
- Mention your booth number in your ads
- Put a banner ad on your own website
- When you invite people to your booth, tell them what’s in it for them
- Take the time to fill out the show’s exhibitor profile
- Take advantage of any publisher-offered opportunities for pre-show publicity
- Wear your logo shirt or badge at all times
- Use Social Media to create excitement about your booth
Following these basic promotion tips will attract the most important prospects! Lets Get Started.
Posted by Alexis Exhibits on Fri, Jan 15, 2010
Attracting the ideal visitor to your trade show displays begins well before the day of the show. With a few proactive initiatives and show-day follow-up, you can leave less of your booth attendance to staff and start attracting potential customers.
Preshow Marketing
Preshow marketing can be an effective way of driving interest in your company. Many trade shows today have Twitter hashtags, for example, to which you can refer when making Tweets about your upcoming trade show displays.
Starting conversations on social media sites or joining existing ones in anticipation of the show can help you isolate potential visitors and learn something about them and their interests before show time. At the show, you’ll match a face with the name and, because of your previous discussions, will be more likely to earn a visit.
Game Day Face-Time
Remember, your trade show displays’ best asset is the face-to-face sales time you have with potential clients. Once you’ve attracted your ideal visitor you don’t want to lose them too quickly to another booth or distraction. Do some research and know as much about your ideal visitor as possible. Study the show program and know what education sessions will be popular. Be aware of keynote speakers so that you can initiate a timely and interesting conversation with prospects.
Other staff tips for engaging and retaining visitors:
- Have a few introductory questions prepared that cannot be answered with yes or no.
- Remember that each visitor is important and should be treated as such. If, for whatever reason, a discussion has to be cut short, offer to follow up and do so.
- Standing staffers are better than seated ones. Standing allows for more engagement and mobility while generally showing more interest in your visitors unless, of course, they can pull up a seat next to you.
- Breathe and stay relaxed.
- Smile. (Let’s hope you don’t have to teach your team this technique.)
Do you need help with your trade show strategy? Let's Get Started!