Exhibitng 101 (or How to Draw Customers to Your Booth)

There are a lot of reasons to exhibit at a trade show, but the most compelling reason is to generate more qualified leads. Yes, you want to meet your current clients and maybe you will offer special events for them, but the main reason you exhibit is to

secure new leads with the intent to turn them into customers.

To capture your share of qualified leads, your exhibit must draw in attendees. Now some will say all you need is your logo and name, a good image and a few basic bullet points and your done (either these people have never exhibited, never worked a booth or just are crazy!). It takes a lot of thought and good planning to turn a mediocre exhibit into a lead generating machine.

THE DISPLAY:
Your display can be a simple popup or something more unique. If you have a strong image that by itself will attract attention, then a simple popup can work well. But...if you don't have an image or you have one that is rather standard, or you need to demo a product, then a display that has more elements may help you more - a couple of demo kiosks, adding music, or one with a small platform so you can have someone demo the product or entertain visitors can make a big difference. Added elements like a fabric canopy can help draw attention as well.

THE GRAPHICS:
Sometimes simple is everything, especially when it comes to your graphic mural(s). You and your designer need to come up with an image that works. An image that ellicits emotion attracts attention. A funny image - related to your product or not - can draw people in; a perplexing image can do the same; a cute pix (think baby and puppy) can stop attendees in their tracks.

I have a client who put up a rubber chicken. She sold pet insurance for dogs and was trying to show what can happen if a dog eats a chicken bone. She also showed a pix of an X-ray showing the bone lodged inside a dog. The rubber chicken drew people in every time - and then they saw the X-ray which gave her the opportunity to explain how expensive the operation can be to get the bone out and why the insurance helped that client!

If you are a small business without the resources of a creative team, pick the brains of your staff. Have a contest to see what type of image they feel would work best for your next exhibit. Encourage creativity. You may be surprised what is presented. Taking time to plan out the image used will reap benefits at the show.

COLOR:
I have always felt that dark background colors work best with images. They make an image jump out. However, there is a place for bright neon colors. I once knew a convention center manager who exhibited with a lemon yellow display. He said it almost didn't matter what he showed on the display - the yellow color always caught everyone's eye. So it is important to consider the venue. If there are typically a sea of bland, neutral display colors, you may want to go with something bright and colorful.

The Message:
The image IS your message; you and your staff fill in the details. Forget trying to post all the details of your company. Go for the shortest tag line. People ultimately deliver the complete message - you want to engage the attendee in conversation. Don't expect your graphics to deliver details.

Cost of Exhibiting:
Everyone (whether in a recession or not) always complains about the expense. But the reality is that an excellent lead-generating exhibit pays for itself many times over. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate qualified leads. Many businesses try to do this on a shoe string and then when they see little results they wonder why it did not work.

Some try to make their own display, take their own pictures, design their own graphic. Most times this does not work. You would laugh if someone tried to produce your product or servie themselves. Designing and building a display is a professional business - your have too much at stake for a do-it-yourself project. Leave it to the professionals.

The reality is that investing in a quality exhibit, with high-quality images (aka great photos and great design) will reap long term rewards. This is not the time to cut corners. Why cut off your nose to spite your face? Exhibiting can be the #1 source of developing new customers.

And we come to Staffing:
This is the time to have your best and brightest staff working. Never let a newby go it alone. This may be your most important lead generating moment. Take full advantage and train your staff. Role plan using your experienced staff to train your newest. If you are not getting the results you want from the show, consider revamping your training (or start training if you have not done so!). Bring in an outside person to offer new ideas. All your efforts will be lost without excellent staffing of the booth!

Once you have a compelling booth, it all comes down to you and your staff. If you work the booth, be sure you do a good job. I can't tell you how many times the owner was the worst at working his own booth. If you can't do it, learn how; if you still can't do it, get
out of the way and let those who can, do.

Tooting my own horn:
Kathy Lorenzo Gheen is an account executive at Evo Exhibits (www.evoexhibits.com), a full-service display company offering custom designed displays, modular portables, popup displays, bannerstands, hanging signs, I&D services, storage, pre-and post show marketing - just about anything related to trade shows.