There’s a good chance that you have attended some sort of conference, trade show, exhibition, or convention at some point in your career. So there you are, walking around, checking out some of the booths. Now think to yourself: what draws you in? What is the factor that makes you approach one booth over the other?
Chances are that there is no one particular factor, but that it is a combination of a few different factors. Let’s take a look at a few of the ways to make your booth design the best in the room!
1. Stand Out
The first suggestion is a pretty obvious one: STAND OUT! You are in a room with lots of other companies using their booths to try and win over the same business that you are trying to win. You need to figure out a way to make your booth catch their eye. Whether that means using unique lighting, sound, visuals, or a full on custom booth structure, make sure that you don’t get lost in the sea of booths. The ultimate goal of an eye-catching booth is to tie in your unique design with what your company offers.
2. Prominently Display Your Name and What You Do
This next one should be fairly obvious too, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to be. I have walked by a countless number of booths where the name and type of company represented by the booth were not readily displayed. Why would I come to your booth if I don’t know who you are and what you do? That makes absolutely no sense to me. If you are spending money, time, and resources on the design, setup, and footprint of a booth, make sure it is easy for attendees to see why you are there.
3. Give Them a Reason to Approach
Since you are surrounded by other booths, it is your job to give attendees a reason to come over to your booth. Whether it’s signage for giveaways, an area for interactive entertainment, or a different incentive program, you need to show attendees why your booth is a must-see while at the conference. Having a booth with a salesman or promotional representative is great, just be sure that they are not overwhelming attendees with pure sales. For example, think about a time when you walked into a clothing store and the employees are blatantly working on commission and are all over you when you walk in. This may work for some people, but others will get turned off by the intensity and will leave. Similarly, at your booth you want to entice people in without rushing right into your sales speech.
4. Make it Easily Accessible
Most large booths have an interactive area that allows attendees to enter the booth area to participate in an activity or learn more about the product or the company. Although different venues/conferences might allow for a bigger or smaller footprint and have extraneous differing details, you need to make sure that your booth layout allows for attendees to easily enter and exit your booth in a safe, orderly fashion.
5. Have Something for Attendees to Take Away
Ultimately, you want conference attendees to remember your booth, why it was important, and possibly bring business to your company in the future. There’s just one small problem: each attendee saw so many booths and talked to so many people that it can be hard to remember each one without a takeaway. Having a printed item themed like your booth (that isn’t just a business card) will give your attendees something to jog their memory and help retain the information that they learned about at your booth. Be sure to include contact information on this take away so that the attendees have a quick and easy way of getting in contact with you after the convention.
What worked/didn’t work for you in the past? Comment with your thoughts!
Image credit: Banner4Sale, Creative Curio
