Trade shows are a big investment; not just in terms of money, but also time. The first concern of trade show investment would be creating the perfect booth. Depending on the situation, you may invest in a disposable booth or even an expensive booth that can be reused over the years. However, what makes an outstanding booth is not just about using the right materials, but also well-planned activities for user engagement.

The effectiveness of the trade show, without a doubt, depends on your planning. It’s all about having accurate stats, the right marketing strategy, outstanding trade show booth displays, and good post-event analysis.

Trade Show Booth Display Ideas

This article will discuss a quick list of ideas that can help you make your trade show appearance prominent and more effective!

Here it goes:

1. Booth Location.

This is the primary concern for just any exhibitor, and so the prime locations cost more than regular ones. Do invest in a good location if your budget allows.

2- Look and Feel.

It matters most when it comes to attracting visitors from a distance. Researches show that buyers are attracted to good-looking booths more, so using bright colors and adding some effort to the design of your booth should make it more prominent. You may want to add a photo booth to make it more appealing.

3. Design Quality:

In connection with the concern discussed above, you must have well designed and better quality trade show displays, banner stands & signs displays, information displays & kiosks, pedestals, outdoor & event tent displays, hanging headers & overhead banners, etc. Getting them done by an expert is the right option.

4. Approachability

It’s not just having those smiling faces of professionals outside your booth, but some of them roaming around with flyers, pamphlets, and reading materials as well as those HD screens or tablets explicitly showing demos.

5. Dedicated Staff

Do have dedicated staff members available on booth specifically for answering visitors’ questions.

6. Hire an Entertainer

Having an entertainer on your booth makes it more visible; let it be a model, singer, or just any other type of entertainer that goes well with your business type. This is one of the best trade show booth ideas if you want to attract people from afar.

7. Offer One-Time Discounts

It’s very important to have some trade show specific deal so the buyers know that they need to buy right now at the show in order to receive that huge discount or special offer.

8. Hold a Contest

Everyone likes freebies and winning; so having some sort of contest will surely attract people to your booth. Make sure that you require something from the attendees in order to qualify to win a prize, i.e. their business card, a tweet, or filling out some form. Know how content marketing boosts engagement.

9. Offer refreshments

It’s tiring for the attendees to walk that long; offering them some snacks/drinks will not just re-energize them but will make them remember you! However, make sure that the offered snacks and drinks are in line with your company culture or theme, otherwise, plain water bottles with your branding are the evergreen marketing technique.

10. Give Out Prizes

Hosting a game with prizes in your booth (must be relevant to your industry) is certainly going to give a tough time to your competitors. However, it’s important to make sure that the game has a fun element so it can attract positive attention, otherwise, it may backfire. And yes, must have the attendees sign-up to participate. This will allow you to build a list that can be used after the event.

11. Demonstrate the Product

Businesses make it to a trade show when they are sure that the product/service is valuable for the audience. So, why not entertain your visitors with a live demonstration, i.e. something like a short infomercial.

12. Use Updated Marketing

Staying up to date with the latest trade show marketing trends and techniques can give you an edge, i.e. proximity marketing, iBeacon, etc. Not many other trade show booth ideas will work if you don’t have your marketing under control!

13. Do a Giveaway

Give away something valuable, i.e. a white paper,  top 10 lists, newest trends, etc. Here you can find some promotional product ideas that your visitors will remember for life.

14. Keep Social Media Linked

Sync your social media plan with your trade show marketing plan.

15. Buy the Right Stuff

Invest in the right type of promotional products and branded gift giveaways, i.e. pens, bags, USBs, mobile device cases, cups & mugs, badge holders, folders, binders, notepads, and what else that can be handier and of great use for users.

16. Decorate Well

If you decorate your trade show booth well, there’s no question that you should start getting some serious foot traffic. Sometimes, no matter what the product is, people will gravitate towards the prettier of two booths. So, make sure that when you are designing your booth, dream up something colorful, vibrant, and eye-catching. This will set your booth apart and make it stand out above the rest. 

17. Make it Interactive

No matter what product you sell, if it’s physical there might be a fun way to let people test it out. If you’re selling a skincare product, offer a free 5-minute skin consultation, or a tiny sample of the product so people can try it out for themselves. This type of approach can work with almost anything. For example, smart gadgets, skin products, hair care, food items, you name it! 

People are much more likely to buy a product if they already know that it will be good for them. Why not let them see? 

Note: You might be hesitant to give out free samples, but statistics show that it’s worth the investment. Sometimes, just one or two product purchases can cover the entire cost of the free samples you put out!

18. Be Engaging

Lastly, we want to emphasize the personality aspect of a trade show. The first obstacle is attracting people to your booth, but the next one is to keep them there. If you make sure to hire exuberant staff, but also lead by example, you could be golden! Understanding how people work could help a lot in this case, and you won’t regret learning a bit of business psychology to go with it. 

Trade show marketing can be a rewarding experience and can influence a great ROI if done well. Trade shows provide a genuine platform to promote your product or service to a broader group, but also needs careful planning. With a trade show or exhibition, you’ll find opportunities to branch out your trading and build a customer database from the visitors to your booth.

Remember, if your booth is not interesting, naturally no one will be interested in it. Hope the above ideas help you in making your trade show displays and booths more interesting!