How To Attract Potential Customers To Your Trade Show Display
Timothy Carter 🎯📈🌱
Partnering with businesses to help them reach revenue goals faster 🚀 | Marketer.co | SEO.co | Law.co |
Trade shows can work wonders for your business but you have to get potential customers to visit your display before you can reap the rewards. Try using these four tips to bring more people to your trade show display.
1. Use Social Media to Generate Buzz Before the Show
Image via Flickr by MattHurst
Social media lets you promote events several weeks in advance. That can help attract more people to the trade show. Tell them why they should take the time to visit your booth. Perhaps you plan to give away some products, or maybe you will have beta versions of new products for them to try.
Make sure people know where they can find your display at the trade show. Give directions and post pictures of previous displays so you can turn that buzz into real foot traffic.
2. Announce Giveaways
Image via Flickr by IntelFreePress
Social media can also work for you during the event. Use Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to announce giveaways at your booth. Anyone following your business will get a message telling them that they should head to your display soon to take advantage of your giveaways.
Plan to announce giveaways and other specials during slow parts of the day. If traffic starts to wane, send out a tweet telling everyone that you have a drawing coming up in a few minutes. That should pull interested parties in your direction so that you can keep a steady flow of potential customers throughout the day.
3. Make Sure You Have an Attractive Display
Image via Flickr by cliff1066
Hundreds, or even thousands, of people could visit a trade show. That's good news for your business. The bad news is that you have a lot of competition. If you want to stay ahead of other businesses at the trade show, then you need an attractive display that grabs attention and informs potential customers. A custom or truss display definitely catches the eye. Without a professional display, no one will take you seriously.
It helps to brainstorm creative ideas that make your trade show display stand out. Try to develop a concept that relates to the products and services that your business offers. If you own a software company, bring some computers so potential customers can try your programs. If your company makes toys, give people space to play with them.
4. Turn Passersby Into Potential Customers
Image via Flickr by bfi Office Furniture
You and your team should stay active during a trade show. If you sit behind a table waiting for people to come to you, then you won't reach your goals. People will walk by like you don't even exist. Come out from behind your display so you can talk to passersby. Hand them promotional materials, start conversations and tell them how your business can improve their lives.
No one else will advocate for your business, so you have to get out there and convince passersby to hear your message. The more involved you get, the more people you can convert into customers that will help your business grow.
How do you attract potential customers to your trade show displays? Have you tried any of the tips listed here? Share your expertise. What has worked for you or your business?
About Timothy
Timothy Carter is a digital marketing manager for the trade show display company, Nimlok http://www.nimlok.com. A digital marketing consultant, Timothy can be found writing at Search Engine Journal, Small Business Trends, Trade Show News Network, Marketing Land and other places around the www. When not writing on the topics of trade shows and social media he's planning his next trip to some tropical paradise.
Show Stopping Body Painter for Bespoke Luxury Events and Brand Activations
8yThank you Timothy! This is great. In the category of having a great display, trade show entertainment is another great way to draw prospects AND inform them in a fun way. Prospects are then "primed" with your top 3 "bullet points" and ready to ask relevant questions of your sales team. May I also suggest... ask questions, ask question, ask questions. Let prospects tell you about their needs and challenges before hitting them with your solution. I love the idea of tweeting to your followers throughout the show- especially when traffic wanes. Brilliant!
Partnering with businesses to help them reach revenue goals faster 🚀 | Marketer.co | SEO.co | Law.co |
9yAgreed Ankita. Engaging staff is an incredible asset in the booth space. Opens up more opportunities to connect with people.
Co Founder, The SMarketers
10yA few more tips: Give away thoughtful things, something that will be relevant and useful. Ensure that the 'ground staff' is nice and friendly. At the last trade show I attended, the most successful ones were those that engaged very closely with passers-by such as this one booth that held contests every couple hours and others with out-of-the-box displays that got people talking. But at the end of the day, it's the people that will make a difference. Put your nicest and warmest people out there.
Senior Associate / Account Executive at Trillium Talent Resource Group
10yWe have attended a number of trade shows recently
Sales Manager at Densen Group
10yI am going to take part in a show in Panama in July, I want to prepare some gifts to everyone visiting our booth? Our products are wheel accessories, what kind of gifts are better?