Despite the significant move towards more and more digital methods of promoting businesses, there is no denying that traditional marketing methods are still very much alive and well. Whether it’s through flyers, leaflets, storefronts or anything else, there is little chance of traditional marketing going the way of the dodo anytime soon. But there’s one form of marketing that can be more effective than just about any other and is, perhaps, the most traditional method of marketing a business there is: actually talking to people. Things like trade shows are incredible opportunities for businesses to have discussions with, and promote themselves to customers and investors without a middleman. Rather than relying on social media or leaflets, customers can hear everything straight from the horse’s mouth. Now, it’s fair to say that the idea of being able to attend things like trade shows is a little unrealistic for the time being, but that it’s naive to think that this is going to remain the case forever. There will come a time when it’s possible for trade shows to happen again and when they do, they will likely be an even more important way to promote your business. Of course, if you are at a trade show, it won’t matter how interesting you are to talk to if you can’t get a customer to actually take an interest in your exhibition stand. With that in mind, here are a few ways to make sure that your business can stand out at a trade show.
Catch their eye
Trade shows are often extremely busy, crowded affairs with a lot of different stands vying for customers’ attention. If you want to make sure that you’re consistently bringing in customers, then you’re going to need to be able to catch their eye. The best way to do this is to have strong branding and to deliver it in a visually engaging way. By featuring your brand on eye-catching roller banners then you’ll not only get customers’ attention, but there is also a chance that they’ll be familiar with your brand and will be drawn to your stand because of that recognition. The benefits of strong, instantly recognisable visual branding simply cannot be overstated in any aspect of your business and trade shows are definitely no exception to that rule.
Encourage discussion
Once you actually have customers to your stand, your primary concern should be about keeping them engaged enough so that you can discuss your business with them. The very best way to achieve this is by allowing customers to experience your product themselves. You can do this by offering free samples, tryouts at the stand, or through demonstrations. Of course, the way that you do this will depend heavily on your product, but there are few better ways to engage customers than by giving them a chance actually to try something out themselves. Not only that but a hands on experience is often so much more memorable than simply looking at something. After all, a trade show is in person for a reason so why not leverage that fact for everything that it’s worth?
Get creative
Because of how busy trade shows can be, it can often be difficult for any given stand to really make an impression on a customer. After all, if you saw dozens upon dozens of similar stands over the course of a single day, they’d start to blur together too! The best way to combat this is to try and be a little bit more creative in the way that you engage with your customers. Experiment with things like lighting and sound. Consider what the first things that customers are going to see when they first reach your stand are. It’s worth observing the space around you to figure out exactly what you can do in order to set your stand apart from the many others packed into the same venue.
As said before, it might seem as though it’s silly to think about the ways that you can make the most of a trade show as a method of promoting your business. However, it’s important to remember that a big part of running any business is being able to look towards the future. If you’re not willing to look ahead to the way that things are going to be once life begins to get back to normal, you may find yourself going through as much of a shock and difficult adjustment period as when the pandemic first started.
