Do you have a specific product or line of products that you want to promote at your next trade show? Promoting your products at a trade show is a fantastic way to present them to your target audience and expand your product recognition. However, exhibiting with a product in mind takes some unique display and marketing techniques. Keep reading to discover how to successfully display your product at an expo.

What To Consider When Planning a Product Display

Before you’re ready to hit the trade show floor with your display booth and products, you should consider several factors to channel into your displays. Here is a quick list of what to consider during your booth design phase:

• The size of your product
• How many products you want to focus on
• The target audience for your product
• Your goals for the trade show

Remembering these factors will help you tailor your booth design to serve your company and best fit the products you want to display. If you plan to show products that have unique sizes, quantities, and target audiences, you may want to consider a custom booth design. Custom booth design companies can help you tailor your exhibit to comfortably fit your products and branding into the marketing.

Use Product Demonstrations To Gain Attention

Product demonstrations are the fastest and easiest way to help trade show attendees learn more about your business’s products. Trade shows and expos provide unique opportunities for you to demonstrate your products in person, which many digital companies and online retailers don’t get to do. Take this opportunity to explain how your products work, the stories behind them, and why they are so useful to your audience.

Product demonstrations are educational, and they attract more foot traffic to your booth. Demonstrations, whether in person or on video, are fantastic for attracting attention from the crowds passing through a vendor hall.

Allow Attendees To Interact With Your Products

Interactive displays are some of the most effective ways to draw more foot traffic to your booth during a trade show. Interactive elements include features like touch screens, product samples, and giveaways. Interactive displays help customers learn more about your products, and they help your brand stand out and become more memorable. When a trade show ends, you want attendees to remember your products and booth over all the rest of the vendors they saw that day or weekend. This is how you form leads and future clients through a trade show.

Highlight Your Products’ Benefits

One of the biggest reasons you want to evaluate your target audience before the show is to incorporate them into your display marketing. You can do this by marketing how your products can benefit them. For example, explain how your products can make your customers’ lives easier or make certain processes more efficient. You’ll also want to consider your competition and include how your products have more benefits than what your competition is selling. Trade shows often feature hundreds and even thousands of vendors, so this is crucial to help your products stand out over the competition.

Use Supplemental Lighting

The overhead fluorescent lighting that many trade show venues provide doesn’t always do your products and displays justice. Instead of highlighting your products, it can make them look washed out or blend them in with the rest of your exhibit. Instead, highlight your products by supplementing the venue lighting with spotlights, portable LED lights, and lamps.

If you use any type of shelving unit for your display, remember to light the products on each shelf. Overhead lighting can cast shadows on products on shelf displays, so consider using LED light strips or display cases to illuminate these products.

Use Your Product Display To Build Your Brand

When customers walk away from your booth and the trade show, you want them to remember your products and associate them with your business. Being able to trace your product demonstrations back to your business is crucial for securing lead follow-ups. For this reason, don’t neglect your business’s branding while trying to highlight your products. Fortunately, you can use your product displays to build your brand. Product displays can incorporate your brand name in white space on banners, display walls, posters, and signs. Don’t forget to include branded elements throughout the rest of your display booth as well, including the flooring, countertops, banners, and more.

Work With Expert Trade Show Consultants

When it comes to having a successful trade show, you need to plan out everything from your exhibit’s design to its dismantling. Some businesses don’t have the time or workforce to oversee so many aspects of the planning process. Working with a certified exhibition management company can take some of these planning and execution burdens off your company’s shoulders. Custom trade show companies like West Coast Exhibit are here to help you tailor your exhibit to your products and your goals. If your goal is to increase the brand recognition and popularity of your products, a management company will help you cover all the above design recommendations and more to showcase your products.

How To Measure the Success of Your Product Displays

Finally, once you’ve packed up your trade show exhibit and gone back to business as usual, you might be wondering how you can measure the success of your product display. Start by retargeting any leads you picked up at the show—these are potential customers who signed up with their contact information for future offers and promotions. You can reach out to these leads with follow-up information on the products you featured at the trade show. The success of these retargeting emails, texts, and other marketing can help you evaluate the success of your show.

Now that you know some tips for how to successfully display your product at an expo, try incorporating these strategies into your next exhibit. And if you’re looking for assistance as you design your exhibit, West Coast Exhibit is here to help. Our certified trade show managers can help you plan your exhibit from design to tear down while keeping your marketing and products in mind.

Setting up your trade show booth for an event can be an intimidating process, especially if you don’t have much exhibiting experience under your belt. However, there are several preparations you can make to help ease the setup and assembly process. Here is a guide to successfully setting up your trade show booth that you can reference for your next event.

Get Details on the Booth Location

Ensure a smooth setup experience by first inquiring about your booth’s location. You may want to ask for a map of the showroom floor so that you can get a better idea of where you want to reserve your booth space. Try to find a location that is near high-traffic areas or near the entrance. Show promoters and staff can also tell you who is exhibiting near your potential spot on the show floor. This knowledge can help you ensure your booth is not near one of your competitors or find a space further away if they already reserved a booth nearby.

Another important aspect of your booth location is its dimensions. Trade show promoters will provide you with your reserved space’s dimensions so that you can design and fit your trade show booth accordingly.

Perform a Trial Set Up at Your Business

Once you have all your trade show booth’s pieces, equipment, and materials, you should perform a trial setup at your business. This process allows you to double-check that you have all the parts, accessories, and items that you need to complete your booth. Performing a trial assembly will also allow you to test your exhibit’s dimensions and ensure they meet the venue’s standards and comply with your reserved spot’s dimensions. It will also give you an idea of how long the assembly process takes so that you have a better idea of when you need to arrive before the event.

If you’re working with a trade show display management company, you could also request they perform a trial setup and record the time.

Make a List of All Electronics and Accessories

Forgetting a phone or tablet charger can leave you scrambling to rent or buy one on the day of the trade show, which eats into your valuable preparation time. While packing up your exhibit materials, create a list of all the electronics you’ll need and their operating accessories. Making a list and checking it twice while you’re packing can save you the headache of tracking down necessary cables after you reach your destination.

Start Setting Up Early

Arriving at your trade show venue early is never a bad idea. Most vendors will arrive a day or two early to fully assemble their booths before the showroom is open to the public. Doing so will allow you to make your booth presentable and not cut any corners when it comes to quality. After completing your trial assembly phase, you should have a better idea of the time it takes to put up your display. Use this information to determine how much time you’ll need the day before or a couple of days in advance. Many modern displays use power from wireless connections or electrical cables, so setting up early also allows you to test your exhibit’s digital displays and electronics.

Meet the Exhibitors Around You

No matter where your exhibit is on the showroom floor, you’ll be surrounded by fellow vendors and exhibitors. During your setup phase, take the opportunity to meet the exhibitors around you. This practice is not only productive for networking and marketing your business, but it also helps to know your fellow vendors in case you need assistance with your booth. For example, if you or your team needs to leave for meals or breaks, you can ask a fellow vendor that you trust to watch your booth temporarily. Being friendly and helpful to your neighbors is part of good trade show etiquette.

Secure Your Giveaways and Belongings

While most exhibitors and attendees will be friendly and respectful of your booth, others may have their own agendas. Therefore, securing your belongings during a trade show event is crucial. It’s easy for your giveaway merchandise or personal items to be swept up in the busy crowd. Make sure you have a lockbox at your table or the venue has a location for you to secure your items. Attendees or even other vendors could target expensive items, such as your smartphones, tablets, and other devices. If you’re using gadgets as a part of your trade show display, make sure you secure them to your exhibit with locking cords or other methods so attendees can’t walk off with them.

Make Notes for the Dismantling Process

Taking notes while setting up your booth can save you time during the dismantling process after the event. For example, if you use certain tools to construct your booth materials, you’ll also need them as a part of the tear-down process. Labeling your storage and shipping containers before setting up your booth can help you remember where everything fits when it’s time for the takedown.

Use a Portable Trade Show Exhibit

Choosing and designing a portable trade show exhibit allows you to skip many of the traditional setup steps before the trade show. You can set up your booth independently or with minimal help in a matter of minutes when you use a portable exhibit such as a tailer model, a pop-up display, and more. These displays also make the dismantling process easier. If you’re interested in using a portable display, double-check the standards and dimensions of your venue and find a customization company that offers portable display fabrication options.

Hire a Trade Show Exhibit Management Company

Working with a trade show exhibit manufacturer or management company can help you skip many of the hassles of the exhibit setup process. For example, display designers and manufacturers can perform trial assemblies to take this preparation task off your hands. These teams also help you format your trade show displays to meet your venue’s dimensions and various needs and standards. If you’re looking for a trade show booth design company to assist you with the preparation process, trust West Coast Exhibit to help you.

Follow this guide to have a successful exhibit setup process for your next trade show appearance. And learn more about the services we offer at West Coast Exhibit to have a positive trade show experience. We can guide your business through the exhibition process, from booth design and setup to dismantling and shipping at the end of the event.

Summer is a popular time of year for hosting trade shows, which means many vendors and guests are getting ready to attend events. Trade shows are expensive investments for any business, but the payoff can be well worth it with some careful planning and preparation. If you’re considering attending a local trade show this year, it’s important to start preparing now to get the most out of the event. Keep reading to find a guide full of tips to help you prepare for your next trade show event. Following these steps can help you get more out of the event and make your exhibitor badge well worth the investment.

Sign Up as Early as Possible

Time is of the essence when signing your business up for a trade show appearance. While the amount you’re willing to spend at sign up will determine your trade show booth’s size and placement, many venues also determine placement based on which companies sign up first. Don’t wait to sign up if the trade show you’re considering has a first-come, first-served policy. How early you purchase your table and exhibitor pass can mean the difference between an optimal booth placement and a placement that doesn’t receive as much foot traffic.

Outline Your Goals for the Event

After securing your spot on the show floor, the next step is setting your event goals. Getting a return on your investment at a trade show takes planning and goal setting. Start by setting clear, measurable goals so that you can analyze your success at the end of the event. For example, if you want to aim for a specific number of sales during the event, make a note of this. You can also quantify your goals by aiming for a certain number of social media subscribers or newsletter sign ups. Every business will have different goals that are realistic for them, so formulate these numbers based on your personal business, not lofty goals that other, larger businesses set for themselves.

Assemble Your Trade Show Team

No one can tackle the entire trade show process alone. The next step is to choose the right employees or partners to attend the trade show with you. These will be the people helping you set the stage, staff your booth, sell your products to customers, and more. Because of the many tasks that running a trade show booth involves, you may want to bring several parties from your business, such as representatives from your marketing team, customer service crew, store staff, and more. Go over your goals with your team and invite them into your planning process to encourage other perspectives.

Plan Your Booth Design

Your booth will encourage trade show guests to stop and learn more about your brand. Without a unique and engaging trade show booth design, you won’t attract as many new customers as you set in your goals. If you’ve previously attended a trade show using a rental booth or a setup with plain displays, you may not have had much luck generating leads. Working with a company with years of booth design experience can help take your design to the next level. At West Coast Exhibit, we offer custom exhibit fabrication to match your company’s branding and message. Design companies help you create interactive, on-brand displays that help customers understand your products just by glancing at your booth. Engaging displays like these will help increase your booth’s foot traffic and encourage more leads.

Gather Your Trade Show Materials

One strategy that can aid you during your trade show preparation time is to create a checklist of everything you need to bring to the show. Creating this checklist in advance can help you minimize the chances of forgetting something important. Here are some of the big-ticket items you don’t want to forget.

Promotional Giveaways

Planning promotional giveaways is another strategy that can help increase your booth’s customer engagement and encourage visitors to check out your brand. Consider ordering custom merchandise emblazoned with your company’s logo that you can giveaway as raffle prizes or freebies for visiting your booth. The custom logo will help promote brand recognition and encourage customers to check out your business even after the event ends.

Marketing Materials

Along with giveaways, many company members also create custom business cards to hand out to customers or potential partners at trade shows. Other marketing materials that you may want to order in advance include product samples, vouchers, coupons, and more.

Announce Your Attendance

Consider posting that you’ll attend the local trade show to boost your brand recognition with the target audience. Use your business’s social media accounts, text messaging system, email, or newsletter to announce that you will be attending your local trade show. It helps to tag the event’s account when making social media posts so that other exhibitors and guests can see your business when they check who will be in attendance.

Prepare a Way To Gather Leads

One of the most crucial steps to boosting your trade show ROI is to prepare a way to gather leads. You can accomplish this in several ways. Prepare a sign up list to record interested guests’ phone numbers, emails, or other ways to follow-up with them after the show. By providing a sign up sheet or interactive tablet to collect their information, you can create a list after the show and send them promotions, business updates, and more. One way to encourage sign ups is by offering a limited-time promotion or discount for trade show sign ups.

Where To Find Trade Show Display Resources

You may be wondering how to put this together now that you know the main steps to prepare for your trade show appearance. Creating an eye-catching exhibit is one of the biggest steps to a successful convention appearance. West Coast Exhibit is here to help you with everything from designing your trade booth to setting up at your event. Browse our website to learn more about our trade show fabrication and management services to help your business have a successful event appearance.

Follow these tips to help you prepare for your business’s next trade show appearance. If past vendor events have felt intimidating or not been as successful as you’d hoped, following these main steps can help you have a more productive event experience and increase your ROI. With proper planning and preparation, you can turn your trade show sign up into an excellent opportunity to grow your business.

First-time and veteran trade show exhibitors alike can experience theft and security concerns during these high-traffic events. If you don’t practice key security strategies and tips, attendees can easily make off with restricted items from your booth. Here are some top security tips for trade show exhibitors to keep your booth secure and protect your belongings.

Never Leave Booth Items Unattended

Whether you’re unwrapping your booth displays after unloading or packing up after the show, never leave your booth and its contents unattended. If you leave items, particularly expensive ones, unattended at your booth, the odds are high that someone could swipe them while you’re away. Thieves may even try to steal things such as giveaways and raffle items. Always have a booth representative present for loading and unloading and when you set up and dismantle your display. Their presence makes it more difficult for thieves to take items from your booth.

Stay Vigilant During the Show

Trade show booth theft doesn’t just occur during the show’s off-hours. Watch out for thieves during show hours when booths are open to the public. Attendees can and will walk off with your items if you don’t secure them properly. Keep expensive items such as tablets, monitors, and laptops on your tables and only allow your booth’s staff to use them. Additionally, secure any personal belongings in lock boxes or lockers provided by the venue. Losing items such as your phone or wallet in the chaos can be easy.

Practice the Buddy System

Always strive to have at least one representative present at your booth until the convention hall shuts down for the day. Even when you need to leave your booth for lunch or a simple bathroom break, make sure that someone has eyes on your booth. If you don’t have other representatives from your business present, ask a neighboring exhibitor to watch over your booth while you’re gone. Your neighbors will usually be happy to help—just remember to practice good trade show etiquette and offer the same help to them.

These are some of the top security tips trade show exhibitors should know before setting up their tables at an event. You’ll pick up on many of these skills and their importance with trade show experience. When you partner with our trade show exhibit management experts at West Coast Exhibit, we’ll walk you through security tips and other booth management strategies to help your exhibition experience go smoothly.

If you’re new to exhibiting at a trade show event or convention, you may wonder what you can do to have a successful show. Familiarizing yourself with some of the common trade show mistakes new exhibitors make is one way to start. Once you’re familiar with these mistakes, you can recognize them in your own planning and determine how to avoid them to have a more successful show.

Exhibiting at the Wrong Show

Exhibiting at a trade show can be a big investment for some businesses, so it’s important to ensure you’re attending the right event for your business. Some trade shows target specific audiences that could be outside your business’s typical clientele. This is why it’s crucial to choose your trade show carefully; otherwise, you risk not connecting with the audience. Look into industry-specific events in your area that align with your business.

Sticking With the Same Booth Designs

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your trade show booth designs. This can be difficult to fully commit to, especially if you’re new to exhibiting. However, the extra creativity you add to your booth design goes a long way in attracting more visitors and potential customers. For example, consider swapping the traditional banner walls of your booth for interactive screens and other displays. Using creative and interactive displays will help your exhibit stand out from the rest of your competitors.

Overcomplicating Your Trade Show Designs

While you want to avoid playing your booth design overly safe, you should also avoid creating a booth that is overcomplicated. Try not to use too many images, colors, and blocks of text in your display designs. Overusing complicated elements such as these can overwhelm passing visitors, and they won’t know where to look. A unique yet organized design can help guide a potential customer’s eyes across your display and encourage them to learn more about your brand.

Not Training Your Booth Staff

Without an engaging team staffing your booth, you may have trouble attracting visitors. This is why training before the show is so important. Once you’ve chosen your trade show promotional staff, schedule a pre-show training course that will help them learn how to work the booth. You want your team to come across as engaging without being pushy or promotional. Give them time to practice this tone in a low-stakes environment.

Not Pursuing Leads After the Show

Your business’s event marketing shouldn’t end once the trade show does. Always follow up with potential leads after the trade show to seek out future customers. Sometimes, businesses will wait weeks or even months to send follow-up materials. But sending prompt, relevant responses to visitors who signed up at your booth is crucial to keeping your business fresh in their minds.

Now that you know some of the most common trade show mistakes businesses make, you can avoid them while planning for your own event. At West Coast Exhibit, we provide the resources and expertise you need to navigate the trade show landscape and avoid mistakes like these. Learn more about the trade show booth rentals and management we can offer your business.

Designing a trade show booth can be an intimidating process for those who are new to it. Fortunately, there are some main design guidelines you can follow to achieve a professional and eye-catching layout for your booth. Keep reading to learn a few key rules of booth design with this quick guide to creating an effective display.

Text Should Be Readable Brom a Distance

It’s crucial that trade show guests can understand your booth’s message from long distances away on the show floor. One way to achieve this is to make your text large enough to read from far away. This may mean you need to shorten the phrasing for your slogans or taglines. When you have shorter phrases, you can increase their size and still take up the same amount of room on your display. Keeping your taglines short and sweet is another way to grab passing attendees’ attention more quickly.

Don’t Overuse Images

Images are essential in visual marketing, but you can quickly overwhelm your customers with too many if you’re not careful with your design choices. If you try to push too many images into your display wall or other parts of your booth, the overall effect could become too busy and detract from your design.

If you want to incorporate multiple images into your display booth, using a television or monitor is an interactive way to do so while providing visual appeal and drawing in potential customers. Technology and modern displays will often catch patrons’ eyes faster than traditional print media.

Respect “Less Is More”

In the same way that too many images can be distracting or overwhelming to a passing attendee, too much text or too many colors can also overwhelm your audience. Stick to a few simple taglines or slogans that represent your company and your mission. Additionally, choose the main colors that correspond to your business’s branding. You can also use one or two colors with specific psychological effects tied to them. For example, green can make your display feel more inviting and trustworthy, while red is ideal for grabbing attention and instilling urgency. Whichever approach you choose, focus on solid colors and avoid busy backgrounds that incorporate too many designs.

If you’re looking for a trade show booth design company that understands these steps to create an effective display design inside and out, choose West Coast Exhibit. We use these design rules at the core of our exhibition design services and fabrication process. Learn about these design tenants and more through our expert booth design services.

When you’re packing for your first trade show exhibit, it can be difficult to know what to bring. Here are some tips for trade show packing and the key items to bring to your next event.

Trade Show Exhibit

Your business will stand out for all the wrong reasons if you attend a trade show without a display booth. You’ll need more than an empty table and a tablecloth to encourage customers to learn about your business. Work with a trade show exhibit company to fabricate your own or rent an exhibit for your next event. At West Coast Exhibit, we can help you create an eye-catching booth that highlights your products or services and encourages customers to learn more.

Business Cards

At any convention or trade show, you’ll want to offer ways for potential customers or clients to get in touch after the show. Consider handing out business cards or leaving them on a table for passing attendees to pick up. This provides customers with all the information they need to reach your business and gives other business leaders a way to contact you for collaborations. When designing and printing your business cards, try to include your business’s contact information, social media handles, links to websites, and any other information you think may be pertinent.

Extension Cords

Not all trade show floors feature optimal electrical outlet placement. If your trade show booth features video walls, monitors, or other digital displays, you’re going to need multiple outlets to power these devices. Be sure to pack plenty of extension cords with your exhibit parts since convention spaces don’t always provide them for you.

Giveaway Items

Some of the most important items to bring to your trade show event are things to give away. Whether you choose to hold a raffle for a larger prize or offer smaller, branded goods for every person who stops by your booth, bringing items to give away can help draw attention to your exhibit. Everyone loves free stuff, so potential customers will flock to your booth for your giveaways. This provides an extended opportunity to tell them more about your business’s products or services.

These trade show packing tips will help you remember to bring all of the key items for your next event. If you’re looking for a trade show exhibit company to help you get ready for your next show, don’t forget to check out our services at West Coast Exhibit.

If you’ve already selected the trade shows you want your business to attend this year, start thinking about your booth materials now. Due to supply and demand issues in the manufacturing market, exhibit parts have become more difficult to acquire in a timely fashion. Keep reading to learn three of the main reasons why you should order your trade show display early this year.

Limited Inventory and Supply Delays

While the world supply chain continues to improve, many manufacturers are still experiencing material shortages. Due to ongoing labor and parts shortages, these companies can’t keep up with supply and demand like they used to. If your business repeatedly faces supply delays for trade show pieces, be sure to order your display as soon as possible after you’ve settled on dimensions and design. Another option that could help you avoid issues with shortages is to get creative with display solutions, such as using mobile displays and trailer exhibits.

Shipping Delays

Another reason you should order your trade show display early is because of shipping delays. Labor shortages are impacting shipping times around the world. To receive your trade show display and materials on time, it’s crucial that you order in advance to allow plenty of time for processing and shipping. After all, it’s better to receive your booth materials earlier than you need them rather than after the trade show takes place. It’s also important to choose a fabrication or rental company that actively communicates with you so you know when to expect your materials to arrive.

Increased Prices

Due to a shortage of parts and the decrease in production volume, many companies have had to raise their prices in recent months and years. Fuel prices have risen drastically as well, which will impact your shipping costs. During exhibition season and parts of the year when conventions are common, these prices are likely to increase even more. This is yet another reason to order your trade show materials early and outside of the usual convention season. Acting now can help your business save money overall.

At West Coast Exhibit, we oversee the entire booth fabrication process, from initial concept and design to construction. Additionally, we offer exhibit management services to help make the installation process quick and easy on trade show setup day. West Coast Exhibit is here to work with you through every step of the trade show display process.

If you’ve ever attended a trade show as a consumer or guest, you may already be familiar with getting lost in a sea of identical booths. Many trade show exhibits use the same combination of banners, posters, and other materials to promote their products or services. If you want your upcoming booth to really stand out, consider using any of these alternatives to banner stand walls for your display.

Truss Display Back Wall

Banner stands can be effective for beginner vendors and displays, but once your trade show booth starts to expand, they can become lost. Truss back walls offer a much larger space for images than a single stand can. This allows your business to get more creative with its marketing and booth designs. You can also incorporate more eye-catching text and colors into your displays. Truss displays utilize industrial materials to provide a unique and eye-catching appearance for any marketing exhibit.

Interactive Displays

Rather than displaying a simple vinyl or fabric banner on your back wall, consider turning this space into an interactive exhibit. Interactive elements provide a unique experience for your visitors and create a longer-lasting impression of your booth and business. For example, when designing your booth’s back wall, consider turning it into a functional space where you can hang and display items for customers to browse through. You can even incorporate technology into the back wall, such as touchscreen kiosks for showcasing and explaining your products or services.

Mobile Exhibits

If you want to take interactive displays to the next level, consider ditching the traditional booth setup altogether. Mobile exhibits are becoming more and more popular for pop-up shops, conventions, and more. For example, AWS, a notable welding foundation, has created a mobile exhibit that allows attendees to watch and test equipment in a hands-on setting. Trailer exhibits like these can tour trade shows and conventions across the country due to their mobile natures. Mobile displays also offer creative solutions to many supply shortages currently affecting the display manufacturing industry.

Remember these three alternatives to traditional banner stand display walls as you design and order your company’s next trade show exhibit. If you’re looking for unique display fabrication or rental options, learn more about our conference booth rentals here at West Coast Exhibit. We’ll help match you with the best design for a successful conference or trade show.