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secret to driving more footfallWhat’s the Secret to Driving More Footfall to a Trade Show Stand?

There are hundreds of trade shows and exhibitions held at events across the UK each year, with more added to the event calendars of major event venues each year too. Far from being dead, trade show attendance is strong. But that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a huge footfall to your trade show stand nor a full database of leads.

It’s probably true to say that the bigger and busier the trade show, the harder you have to work to attract attention. Just what is the secret to driving more footfall to a trade show stand?

Is stand location at a trade show important?

Location plays a crucial role in capturing footfall to your stand and that’s why event organisers send out floor plans and why some booths are more expensive than others.

Stands that are close to entry and exit points, the refreshment area and networking lounges always do better than one tucked away in a corner. But they’ll have a premium price tag attached.

All’s not lost however because if the primes spot is out of your budget, you can still attract attention in another location.

How important is pre-event promotion?

Before we event mention creating an attractive stand with attractive promo girls, you need to be confident you have done all you can to let people know that you will be at the event.

And that means coming up with a pre-event marketing strategy. This serves both offline – leaflets in orders sent out, newsletter and the like – as well as online via your social media outlets, for example. Use the trade show as a golden opportunity to invite your current clients along to meet with you and don’t forget to carry on tweeting and sharing online during and after the event too.

What should the trade show booth look like?

It goes without saying that it needs to look as attractive and enticing as possible, and clearly within your branding character too.

We’ve seen some great booth designs over the years. For example, a building company who wanted to showcase their green credentials created a tropical forest theme to a booth, complete with flamingo and palm tree ‘fairy lights’ and blow up toucans and crocodiles. It attracted attention but here’s the best bit, with promotional staff on hand to drive engagement, it was a successful ploy by the company.

What’s the best way to engage with people at a trade show?

Delegates and trade show attendees expect to be spoken to and approached by people with information on products and services. In fact, just standing at your booth will not yield results. You have to remain focussed and driven every minute of every day of the show.

And that’s a big ask, as is qualifying leads. In other words, you need to find out within the few first sentences of a conversation if the person is genuinely interested in buying, and whether they have the buying authority and how they want to move the purchase forward.

And that’s why investing in trade show promo staff is an important part of attracting footfall to your trade show stand.

Should we avoid freebies and giveaways at a trade show?

It depends on your budget and your objectives for investing in a stand at the trade show in the first place. But there is nothing wrong with in making sure people have the means by which to remember you. Some freebies, including branded pens and coasters etc., are relatively inexpensive but keep one eye on the environment, making sure items can be easily recycled.

The trade show floor is fun, exciting and exhausting. But when you have people flocking to your stand, you can be confident you’re getting it right.

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