3 Ways to Ensure Your Exhibit Does its Job

Industry Insights & Trends

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We looked into Exhibit Survey’s trade show trends and wanted to share ideas about how to use the results to improve an exhibit program’s performance.

Here are the results of their survey across various industry trade shows:

Attendees with Buying Power: 84%
Plans to Purchase (within 12 months of the show): 49%
Time Spent on the Exhibit Floor:  9.1 hours


The main takeaway:

Not only does your exhibit have to impress the right attendees at the time of the show, but it also has to extend the impact for a number of months post-show.  Statistics like this have already helped standardize the average trade show program to include feverish pre- and post-show marketing to do exactly that.

Marketers have clearly had great success using this strategy, but there are more ways that make your exhibit go even further.  Here are three quick ways that might help attendees spend more time in your exhibit and in turn speed up the ROI pipeline.


3 quick tips for ensuring your exhibit does its job:

Branding.  Physical exhibit identities are always trying to move upward, higher in the air so more people can see their name.  But with the continued trend, the midlevel of many exhibit halls has become wide open.  Use this area to help further brand your area.  Make sure this middle space allows attendees to easily find what they are looking for.  Even though an attendee has an average of 9 hours on the show floor, exhibitors still have a very short period of time to grab their attention— make sure your exhibit clearly brands your company and helps them locate the products they are interested in.

Presentation.  Think about how your product and its unique features are showcased to buyers as they enter your booth.  This should sound like Exhibit Design 101, but oftentimes managers give this aspect much less of their attention than it deserves.  Remember the statistics from above: 84% of attendees have buying power, 49% of whom plan on purchasing within the year.  Find innovative ways to engage them and teach them about your products while they are in your space so you make an impression that can’t be beat. 

Room to talk. Once a qualified lead is in the space and has been engaged with a terrific presentation of the advantages of your product, why not work on closing the sale then and there?  Exhibits that devote space for semi-private or private conversations tend to have more immediate success.  Utilize a section of your exhibit for meetings to make a direct impact on its ROI.

 

Ferrara Pan's custom trade show exhibit

Ferrara’s exhibit for Sweets and Snacks utilized all of these features to create an exhibit that had an immediate impact on their ROI. See more.

The details of these tips change based on your industry, company and specific trade show.  In order to use these statistics in your favor, remember to not only discuss creativity and vision with your marketing team, but make sure your exhibit house understands your needs and is up to the challenge. A well thought-out RFQ helps there.

 

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