If you’ve worked hard to create a fantastic exhibition stand, going the extra mile to introduce new ideas to make sure as many people as possible head your way is so important. Creating interaction on your stand with your potential clients ensures they stay with you longer and start to engage with your team.
1. Preparation Is Key
Make the most of your event by sending out invites in advance, promoting through your social channels as much as possible on the lead up to the event and, where possible, booking in appointments to guarantee a chat with your most important prospects. Spreading the word and a little bit of self promotion will stand you in good stead and your clients will be grateful to know about any opportunities to meet face to face especially when there is an opportunity to make a day of it and attend an industry exhibition!
2. Create an Experience
Businesses are getting increasingly creative when it comes to ideas for exhibitions. Stay ahead of the curve by creating an experience that will draw people over to your stand from across the room. Hiring things like virtual reality experience equipment can create this kind of buzz.
3. Engage Engage Engage
Once you’ve got someone to come over to your stand, you need to engage with them instantly. Use games and competitions to get chatting to visitors in a fun and informal way.
Everyone loves a competition – why not try a wheel of fortune prize, it is super eye-catching and popular with attendees. They are great at engaging visitors getting them to start a conversation and talking about your business. One of the great things about this game is that everyone is a winner – you can offer larger prizes with a mix of small and medium prizes from branded promotional merchandise for example branded notepads, sweets and more. You can purchase a physical spinning prize wheel or you can also create a virtual one!
Also, racing driving simulators are extremely popular with leader boards to create a little competition, definitely gets your customers talking and is a great way to break the ice.
4. Be Social
Don’t forget your social media while you’re at the event itself. Create a hashtag and keep tagging other people at the event. Have someone from your team on social media watch for the day to connect with other people posting about the event.
5. Have Fun with Snapshots
Engage with your visitors and encourage them to take a branded snapshot on your stand.
This is a low budget way to grab attention and keep people with you for a little longer. It’s also a quick and easy way to ensure a new social connection. Use a range of different props for a photobooth including cardboard cut outs and photo props.
6. Take Advantage of Technology
Use technology that is now easily at your disposal. Set up large LED Screens or even use our touch screen or giant Itab service to show off your social pages, new promo videos and more with high impact.
7. Offer Refreshments
Set yourself up with appliance and fridge hire and make sure you can offer your visitors beverages and nibbles, which promise to keep them a little longer and almost always leads to more engagement. Refreshments from ice cream, smoothies, juices, cocktails, tea, coffee, chocolates, sweets and popcorn – the more creative the better and more memorable!
8. Create the Right Environment
Planning your complete environment in advance will make your space stand out in the exhibition hall. Create an experience that truly reflects your brand and other retail spaces with everything from exhibition carpet and furniture to branded selfie frames to finish your stand perfectly. You could also create a place to relax by building a lounge area complete with beanbags and soft furnishings.
9. Offer Free Wi-Fi
Make life convenient for yourself, your team and your visitors by ensuring you have your own fast and reliable exhibition wifi without having to trust the venue’s Wi-Fi. Find our event Wi-Fi guide for extra advice and tips on choosing the right one for you.
10. Offer Something a Little Different
Lots of brands do giveaways to draw people over to their stand. Get creative and think of something that will really surprise people and get them talking.
11. Create a Theme
If you really want to draw the eye and get people over to your stand, say goodbye to your typical business expo stand and create a theme that evokes your brand’s personality. From artificial grass and lawn chairs to floral walls or industrial décor, think outside the box for maximum impact. Themes that will certainly catch attention could be a movie themes (such as James Bond, Super Man) to different environments such as Tropical, the Seaside, Fun Fair to even the London Underground- the trick is to link it to your company! For example, your company might be a interior company so you could recreate a bedroom theme.
12. Graphics with Impact
Don’t stick to an old exhibition package that you’re not entirely happy with. Use shell scheme graphics,pop stands, and a huge variety of fabric display stand to make your graphics work harder for your business.
13. Bring the Best Team
Choosing the right people to represent your brand at an exhibition is crucial. Think about your exhibition goals and only bring the team member who you are sure will bring the most value to your experience.
14. Give Them an Incentive
Think about how you can ensure your visitors convert on the day instead of heading off home to “think about it”. What incentives can you offer for on-the-day sign ups? Any special offers or discounts?
15. Show Off Your Expertise
If possible, get a spot at the event or exhibition speaking or conducting a workshop to show off your skills and expertise and place yourself as an expert in the minds of the exhibition visitors making them more likely to head over to your stand.
Try something new at your next event and opt for anything from fun cardboard cut-outs to encourage social media photos and posts to a brand-new package of shell scheme graphics to create the ultimate experience when your potential client’s step onto your stand.
