The importance of great trade show booth design

The Importance Of Great Trade Show Booth Design In Successful Marketing

At first glance, it seems like anyone who is involved with trade show marketing would know the importance of great trade show booth design. In practice, though, too many exhibitors unwittingly give up opportunities for more successful marketing and sales by building beautiful exhibits that don’t really help them reach their goals. Great trade show booth design begins with developing a specific set of purposes and building toward the results you need and want.

• Consider Goals Carefully – When you set goals for your trade show marketing and sales efforts, the first things that come to mind are probably going to be on the direct path from your exhibit to buyers handing you a check: Selling a certain number of units or scheduling a certain number of follow-up meetings, for example. Next, you’ll probably set goals like a number of leads you want to collect. Don’t stop with these foundational goals, though. Consider intermediate goals like building brand recognition, increasing social media following and reach, and getting your team more face time with your prospects, because these objectives all contribute toward future success, even though they’re not directly on the profit path.
• Understand Who You’re Designing For – Identifying and understanding your most likely buyers is another critical step in preparing to design your trade show exhibit. You can design the coolest trade show booth ever, but if it fails to connect with your specific buyers, it’s a losing effort. The right trade show booth design is the one that attracts your most likely buyers, and then helps you address their questions and concerns. Look at your current customers, and build a profile using the information you have about them. Are they on social media? How are they using your products? What are their most frequently asked questions about using your products, or their most commonly stated problems and objections? When you start planning based on this kind of information, you can build answers into your exhibit and address concerns before they’re spoken.
• Design The Right Exhibit – With a clear set of goals and a solid understanding of your most likely buyers in hand, you’re ready to start planning an effective exhibit. Every detail can and should help you succeed. Using lighting and a traffic-funneling floor plan to lead visitors along a path designed to take them from causal interest to serious consideration. Set space aside for people to stop and talk to your team without causing a bottleneck or blocking others from seeing your exhibit. Make sure that your exhibit strikes a good balance between visual interest and visual overload, so your visitors want to stay and look and talk.