I was contacted recently by one of my clients inquiring about a banner for a tradeshow. I asked her what kind of space she was going to get and exactly what she needed. Her answer was the same answer I have heard several times before. “I will be getting a table that is 6 feet wide, thats all I know, I think the banner will work if I stick it on the edge of the table.” Now being that I have helped many clients time and time again with tradeshows throughout the years I have been able to compile some ideas and techniques for tradeshow events. One of them is please don’t settle for hanging a banner off the edge of a table.

Tradeshow are the place to exhibit your product or service and if you put together a budget for a tradeshow the return can be rewarding. You don’t have to break the bank or have an elaborate set up, however the more experience you get attending an event, the more “visual” practice you get. Most spaces will generally provide just a table, however there are some many things you can do. Tabletop displays are perfect for a 6ft table and will provide you with years of use. Here are some things you can do to make your trade show booth work harder for you, and a few of our favorite sales tips for increasing success.

If you’ve exhibited at a trade show or convention before, you know how hectic it can be, how anything that could go wrong may, and how important it is to plan ahead and consider all the factors that make for a successful trade show experience. These tips are for trade show novices, yet also may be helpful to convention veterans as well.

1. Get to the exhibit hall, convention center, or exhibit location early. Even though you have most likely been given the dimensions of your exhibit space, and know the location on the floor, and filled out all the paperwork, it’s a great idea to survey the hall before you set up your tradeshow display. Check into your hotel room early, be sure to bring your cell phone (and that it works in the exhibit hall), and get to the exhibit hall or location as quickly as possible. If your exhibit requires electric or phones, or has other unique requirements, confirm that these are installed and/or are scheduled to be installed.

2. Know the convention center and any trade show union rules. Various convention centers and various cities have various rules, regulations, and policies regarding set up, tear down, what union workers must do, and what you can do on your own. Many portable displays can pop-up or snap together without tools. Also, there are almost always very specific set up and tear down days and times and schedules that you must be aware of. Portable displays set up quickly, making it easier to work within the set up and breakdown schedule, and get into and out of the exhibit hall or convention center quickly and easily.

3. Survey your exhibiting neighbors in adjacent booths. Look around your area at the types of tradeshow displays others are setting up. Will yours be lost in the crowd? If so, make adjustments to bring more attention to your booth. Be aware that there are typically rules about not blocking your trade show neighbors, however, there may be additional attention-getting things you can do to make your exhibit stand out and stop passing traffic.

4. Assign a greeter to stand in front of your exhibit space. Have someone standing in front of your area to greet visitors – instead of behind a counter. If you’ve been to a trade show before, you realize that you don’t want to be too overwhelming, however, you also want to be sure to welcome traffic into your booth or exhibit space. Think of your exhibit space as a store. If the store help is too pushy, you may be turned off. If the store help seems friendly and attentive, smiling, happy and excited about the products and services shown, yet respectful and polite, you are more apt to go inside.

5. Offer free samples, or have a trade show or convention drawing or contest. If possible, offer free samples of your products in your trade show exhibit booth. Free samples always draw a crowd, plus help sell. A trade show drawing or contest is another option. If you’ve been to trade shows and conventions before, you’ve seen how exhibitors ask that people have their credentials scanned, or drop business cards into a bowl or container for a trade show exhibit drawing or contest. Sometimes the trade show contest or drawing requires the contestants to be at your trade show booth at the time of the drawing. This causes trade show attendees to visit your booth twice – once to enter your trade show exhibit or contest, and again to be present at the time of the drawing for your trade show exhibit or contest. The more often you can get trade show attendees to your trade show booth, the better.

6. Add some excitement and a festive atmosphere to your trade show booth. Visit a nearby store and buy lots of colorful, helium balloons to use in your booth, or flowers, or other decorative items that will make your booth look exciting, festive, and stand out. Be sure anything you bring into the hall is fire retardant.

7. Give away items that promote your business within the convention hall. You might also consider giving away balloons, bags or other items. If you’ve been to a trade show or convention before, you’ve seen how trade show attendees walking around with items from various trade show exhibitors help promote that company as the trade attendees walk throughout the convention hall – and even outside the convention hall.

8. Give away trade show specialty items in your trade show booth. Trade show giveaways – like pens, pencils, flashlights, business card holders, buttons, pins, and other items – are known as ‘Specialty Items’. If you’ve been to a convention before, you know how some specialty items are unique and ‘keepers’ while others you take yet later discard. Try to find the most unique specialty items and think carefully about how these might remind trade show attendees of your products and/or services. Be sure that your phone number or web Site address is clearly printed on these trade show and convention specialty items and giveaways.

9. Have people sign up and ship them specialty items. Specialty items can be costly, and some do get discarded when trade show attendees get back to their hotel rooms, weed through all the literature and specialty items they picked up, and pack to go home. The alternative to in-booth specialty items and providing better specialty items that are ‘keepers’ is to have trade show attendees sign up – or give you their business cards. By shipping items to trade show attendees ‘post-show’, you have the opportunity to capture names and addresses, make a second impression after the trade show or convention – ship better specialty items – like coffee mugs, t-shirts, caps, business card holders, candles, chocolates, and whatever else you wish – even product samples if too costly to give away – to their home or office – along with your literature and other promotional items and marketing materials. A portable banner can be set up near the front of your booth to promote the sign up. This often works more effectively than giving things away during the actual show or convention, plus it gives you the opportunity to phone or email the trade show attendee again to see if they received your gift – and begin a sales dialog.

10. Have a backup plan – and even a backup booth – in case of logistics problems. If you’ve exhibited before, no doubt you’ve seen the ‘other guy’ (hopefully it wasn’t you) with an empty exhibit space and nothing to fill it with! Just the sign on the back curtain. Nothing strikes fear in the heart of an exhibitor like hearing, “I’m sorry… the shipper must have lost your boxes.” Now what?! Portable tradeshow displays are lightweight, easy to transport, and affordable. There are many styles available. You can carry an extra display in your car, or check it as baggage when you fly to your new destination. This way you can be sure your event will go off without a hitch – even if your primary exhibit is lost or arrives late. If you have a large orbital truss or other display that must be shipped in crates, having a backup portable display will assure you that your trade show convention will be a success, and give you peace of mind.

11. Have professionally designed displays – and make the best impression. Trade shows and conventions are interesting in that the impression your booth or exhibit makes on attendees can be equivalent to how large, stable, and reliable you and your company appears to be. Sad but true, in nearly all cases, the larger and more impressive your trade show exhibit is, the more confident customers feel about you and your products and services. Trade show and convention exhibit space is typically expensive, and going ‘all out’ with a professional and well designed trade show display will meet your exhibiting goals and objectives. This is not to say that you must forego the 10 foot space for the larger 20 foot space. Even in a small space, you can make the most of that space with a professionally designed tradeshow display, the finest and most eye-catching graphics, various components like tables, banner stands and round and square towers, dramatic lighting and other effects, and more. It’s all dependent on your budget and how much of an impression you want to make.

12. Use a variety of sizes and components to create the most intriguing space. To create an eye-catching booth or convention exhibit, choose several sizes of trade show displays and display components. Use one for a backdrop; add pop-up displays on tabletops; and create an entranceway or border for your booth with banner stands. The more creativity and imagination you put into your displays and exhibit, the more traffic you’ll stop. If you’ve attended trade shows or conventions before, no doubt you’ve seen one booth with no one in it, while across the way a crowd has gathered. With years of experience in trade show exhibit design and engineering, and from attending hundreds of shows and conventions, we can help you create a booth that will draw the crowds.

Call us if you are planning on exhibiting your business at a tradeshow or conference, we would be glad to help you with the right materials to get an audience to your booth.

Word of mouth marketing is the easiest marketing approach ever. Will it be the only marketing you can rely on? Most definitely not, but it should be part of your marketing mix. Everyone talks about word of mouth promotion, however few people really think about how it can affect your business.

A positive experience with your company or service, can be a plentitude of referrals. Unfortunately, people are more likely to talk about your business when they are unhappy than when they are happy or satisfied. Therefore, good customer service generally reduces “negative” word-of-mouth. However, there are many things entrepreneurs and business professionals can do to positively impact their business through word-of-mouth. Building your business through word-of-mouth is about cultivating relationships with people who get to know you and trust you. Here are some few simple ways you can start your word-of-mouth marketing.

• Include a signature on the bottom of every transactional email your company sends out, include this even on personal emails. Your signature should have an email address, contact number and most importantly a web address. Ask your recipients to tell their friends or refer you to anyone they know that could use your service or goods. This way they always have your information handy.
• Include customer testimonials on your marketing materials. There is nothing more impactful than hearing another persons experience with something. Its customer influence that can greatly boost a business. Think about how often a friend has said “Oh you should go there, it’s great!” More often than not, you make a mental note to definitely check it out.
• Giveaways with your logo or company name on it – I am all for giving away useful gadgets with your companies info on it. If you can afford some promotional items, like a pen, calendar or coffee mug – have them done up with your company logo and website. These in-your-face items can really go a long way for you. Plus if they use it around others, your logo gets viewed again and again.
• Sponsor an event -some times organizations may need your service instead of your money. Try asking your next event planner in your area that you are looking to donate time and service in return for advertising. This is a great way to start getting your name out there.

Rocket science, no way but these are really pretty easy ways to get marketing at a really low cost!

There are so many ways to use promotional items to advertise your business! How can the promotional items benefit your business and increase your sales? Check out these reasons:

1. When you give out promotional items, it will be thought of as a “gift” by the person picking it up or receiving it. Most think of a “gift” positively, which will result in positive thoughts about your business. This is true no matter how the customer receives the promotional items. The scenarios are endless! At the end of a purchase, you could thank the customer with a promotional gift. At a conference or expo, you can have attendees sign up for a mailing list and not only get your future mailings, but get a promotional item. You can even give promotional items to your employees – like stress relievers or company shirts – and make them feel positively about the place they work.
2. Promotional items make everyone and anyone picking them up feel appreciated by you and your business. Free promotional items are just that, free! And everyone appreciates getting something for “nothing”. When you give out promotional items after a sale, as a thank you, your business may find it gets more customers as the person you made feel good will spread the word and suggest their friends bring their business to you!
3. Promotional items make the employees giving them and those who have purchased the items feel generous. Just like “Santa” at the mall loves to give out candy canes, your company employees will enjoy giving out promotional items. When a funny promotional toy is given to a child or a thoughtful promotional calculator is given to a woman shopping, the gratitude and customer’s thank you will surely benefit your business down the line, whether it be with repeat business, referrals, or happy employees.
4. Promotional items just keep working for you! Magnets stay on refrigerators, pens can circulate from one customer to another, and coffee mugs will sit on workplace desks or in homes. Each and every time someone sees that item, your business will be advertised! The customer will remember your exemplary service, their friends may ask about your company, and passersby may look up a website or phone number to find out about the services you offer. Once they are given, their advertising message can last for years!

These are just a few of the many reasons promotional items can work for your business. Give them a try and see if they can work for you! For more information on promotional gifts visit our promo store by clicking here