Having exhibited at a trade show about 4 times now, we’re starting to learn some neat tricks to get more exposure.

We haven’t personally tried some of these, but having seem them get implemented - I can tell they work and we’re slowly working them in.

Here are 10 Tips To Get More Out of Your Booth. I’m splitting 5 and 5, 5 things TO DO and 5 NOT to do.

The TO DO:

1. See if you can get a “corner” booth

These may cost more, but they may be worth it based on the cost.

Corner booths are more visible and have TWO or more sides where people are walking by and can be grabbed.

2. Good Give-away

The biggest buzz on the floor is usually “hey, where’d you get that!” - these give-aways can get VERY expensive, but I’ve seen how much more powerful it is for booth traffic.

But, just make sure you GRAB the people that come by and talk to them - otherwise they just take the stuff and leave.

3. Play games at your booth

Have some prizes and play some games. Whether it be something like darts, spin the wheel or something more creative. It gets people sticking around and having fun.

4. Piggy-Back Other Companies

I always try to see what other companies are exhibiting and where. Some companies are just known to get more traffic and are more popular.

Grab that spot - you can “steal” their visitors - mu ha ha ha

5. Near Doors, Entrance, etc…

A couple of shows back, we had our booth right in-front of the registration desk - how crazy is that - the branding was rediculous. But it gets better…

The booth was in the middle of the hall that EVERY person had to walk down over and over to go to the “seminar sessions.”

So, EVERY single one of the 2,000+ attendees had no choice but to at some point see our name and stand near our booth.

(( The earlier you register, the better spot you can grab so register early ))

NOT TO DO:

1. Booth Babes

Yes, people stare at them - but I honestly don’t think they care much more about the company, they just stare at the boobs.

These “models” don’t know a darn thing about your company and trust me, the fliers they hand out…NO ONE reads them.

2. Sit Inside Your Booth Or Behind A Table

You want to be approachable, even if you’re sitting in your booth - make it a HIGH chair so you keep eye level.

Always try to stand right at the edge of the hall so you’re almost outside and grab people as they walk by.

Lead in with a hand-shake, they almost always reciprocate and then are “caught” in your trap!

3. Lots of video

I’ve never once stayed at the booth to WATCH the demo. Rather, set-up multile computers and invite people to get a PERSONALIZED demo or “experience” the product.

Looping videos, in my opinion, make the booth look flashy, yes, but don’t add much promotional value.

4. Talk Smack About Visitors

OK, my entire team (myself included) is guilty, I mean what can we do? Some people who come by are REALLY weird.

But still, other visitors can hear you and it’s a major turn-off. Creates a bad environment.

5. Don’t Give Away Too Many Fliers

Listen, people really don’t read that stuff much and it’s so much easier on YOU and the VISITOR if you can condense your material into 1 or 2 easy to understand brochures/fliers.

Focus mostly on getting their business card so you can follow up with them personally.

—–

Alright, these are some of the fresh tips in my mind since I am flying back right now after exhibiting at a show.

As more come, I’ll keep on sharing.

Coming Soon - My view on buying “sponsorships” at trade shows.

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Tags: , booth, Marketing, tchotchkes, trade shows

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.