Studies show that we have 7 seconds to capture someone’s attention. That means your trade show booth must be designed with the correct intentionality. Here’s few ways you can become a better “attention grabber.”
Define your goals
What are the goals of your booth? Are you looking to distribute giveaway items, trying to get direct sales, or simply collect information of the visitors? No matter which it is, understanding what your goals at the trade show are will help you dictate the appropriate ways to grab an individual’s attention. Here are a few examples:
- Giving away items: If your goal is to distribute items as a giveaway and to build your brand voice, try making it a game. Maybe something with lights, sounds, or by providing individuals who encourage passersby to engage.
- Getting direct sales: If your goal is to get direct sales, give a discount for individuals who purchase at the show, and provide a means of which them doing so. You could also try the following concepts: Announce a new product, a special opportunity just at the show, or schedule “next steps” appointments to close the sale in your office.
- Collecting information: If your goal is to just collect information, provide some sort of a trade for their information. Some trade ideas you could use to collect include giveaways, discounts, contests, etc. You can collect information via surveys, a Business Card Scanner or by using lead retrieval.
Engage them in the booth
Great, you got people into the booth (or to stop out front of it). Now what? Well, you must be able to further attract your audiences as they are engaged in what you have to offer. The main elements that you need to have in your booth include:
- The correct people. This includes individuals who are warm and welcoming, passionate, understanding and willing to listen. Once you have the ideal audiences in your booth, it’s up to the people to engage them appropriately.
- Create and distribute appropriate collateral: Guess what? Not everyone will be looking for a large conversation. So, make sure you have collateral that’s available to be digested at a later time.
How do you let them leave?
How people leave your booth can really determine how they remember the experience. Was it exciting, unique, or just plain awkward? Make sure that you’re intentional about having a “walk away” strategy.
Grabbing the attention of your trade show audience is completely up to you. Go ahead and be intentional, you know your audience better than anyone.
About the Author:
Greg Johnson is the Managing Director at Skyline Exhibits Utah. He has 20 years of industry experience with more than 12 of that spent within the Skyline network.
