When you attend a trade show, you know how well it goes could impact your business for many years to come. Because of this, you want to do all you can to impress the many potential investors who will stop by to chat with you and find out more about you and your business. That way you can get the most out of your investment of being at the trade show to begin with. To avoid simply being one face in a crowd of thousands, you’ll need to impress people with your booth. To do so, here are a few tips you can use at your next show.
Stunning Graphics
Whether you use a banner, signs, or both, always make sure your trade show booth includes stunning graphics. From your company logo, mission statement, or even testimonials from satisfied customers, having graphics that are colorful, eye-catching, and also easy to see and read will automatically pave the way for investors to stop by and find out more about your business. When considering graphic design, ensure that the colors match your branding. If you use bold red and blue colors, then try to incorporate that in your signage. In addition to matching your brand, you need to ensure that your signage does well for your brand as well as puts a great foot forward for the investors that you are targeting. Avoid using any images that may be trademarked or copyrighted. If it is recognizable to you, then it will likely be recognizable to potential investors. If they think you are ripping your design off from someone else, then that can leave a poor impression.
Don’t Forget Lighting
When designing your booth, don’t overlook the importance of good lighting. Since you will be displaying various products and company literature, having a backlit exhibit booth display will bring a sense of sophistication and professionalism to your booth. Since you will only get one chance to make a great first impression, using lighting to your advantage will work wonders with your booth. The lighting doesn’t have to be super bright. It just has to illuminate the right places and enough to make whatever you are displaying easy to look at. Avoid putting light at eye level or in the direction that people are likely to look. Instead, try to bounce the light off of the wall surfaces. That way you don’t have to worry about blinding any of your potential investors.
Make it Interactive
If you really want people to not only visit your booth but also stick around, try adding something to your booth to make it interactive. For example, you can use a TV or even an iPad to showcase products, let visitors browse your product catalog, or even take part in a survey, which would give you additional market research data. Since people always like to take part in activities that are fun, using technology and your imagination will always pay off in these situations. Since you are trying to target potential investors, it’s unlikely that a wheel or mini-golf hole will help. Consider including interactive activities that would be worth their time and also provide you an opportunity to share more about your company and products. Even making an interactive presentation where they click on different icons to learn about the history of your company, your quarterly report or other things that investors would be interested in, could provide you a few extra moments to interact with them.
Add Flooring
When you are designing your trade show booth, spend a few extra dollars to add carpeting, vinyl, or other types of flooring to your booth. Since many potential investors will be walking in and around your booth, adding flooring will make their experience more pleasant. After all, it’s always better to walk on soft carpeting instead of a cold, hard concrete floor that may be underneath their feet at other booths they visit. Additionally, it will interrupt the thought process when they recognize that something is different beneath their feet. Additionally, you can affect the design and sound of the space with your flooring.
Sound Proof Walls
In order to really impress your investors, you’re going to need to talk to them about your company, services, and/or products that you provide. Unfortunately, most trade stores are incredibly noisy making it challenging to hold any worthwhile conversations at your booth. In addition to providing contact information and setting up appointments for future conversations, you also need a space where you can build rapport with them. That way you have a higher chance of them actually answering the phone when you call them. A great way to make this possible is by adding soundproofing to your walls. There are portable wall mounts that you can use. However, if you want it to look good, you’ll likely need to cover the sound panels with some sort of decorative material. Adding soft materials such as a rug for the flooring can also assist with decreasing echo and making your booth easier to have conversations in.
By getting started on your trade show booth well in advance of your upcoming show, using lighting and other design techniques to your advantage, and showcasing your imagination and high-tech capabilities, potential investors will be lining up to become part of your company.