You have already done the hard work ?selecting the right trade shows to exhibit in, creating a dramatic trade show booth that tells your company's story with flair and excitement, and following up with contacting all your A list prospects from the show. You are thrilled with your success and you give yourself a big pat on the back. But wait ?there is more to do.
Now that you have designed a booth that is a true winner and extremely valuable to your company's next show appearance, you will need to protect and preserve it by storing your display in a facility that specializes in the proper storage of trade show exhibits.
It would be a big mistake to put your exhibit at risk by not insuring its security, its luster, and its variety of graphic elements. With that in mind, here's a list on how to avoid such critical storage mishaps.
Trade Show Exhibits Storage Mistakes:
Mistake: Storing Your Exhibit On Your Own
Don't try to save money by storing your exhibit on your own. You need to find a professional warehouse with a dedicated person who will thoroughly inspect your exhibit, get repairs done in a timely manner, and handle all your new show requirements quickly and with precision. Find a professional who will refurbish and restore hardware and graphic components to assure long life, protection and readiness for your next show. If you try to cut corners, you will put yourself at risk for missing deadlines, losing parts, and incurring extra trade show booth shipping and storage costs.
Mistake: Erratic Temperature At Storage Facility
Find a storage facility that offers ideal temperature control. Maintaining proper heating is important as woods, laminates, and glues will warp in heat. Also, your materials will not hold up well with extreme swings in temperature from hot to cold.
Mistake: Lax Security
It is essential to have security 24/7 to insure your assets are protected and locked up properly. Surveillance cameras and sophisticated security systems in place can give you peace of mind by protecting your company assets against unwanted theft.
Mistake: Lack of Proper Insurance
Your company is responsible for insuring against flood, fire and damage to your trade show exhibit. Make sure you carry an adequate amount of insurance.
Mistake: Sloppy Inventory Management
Look for quality inventory controls. Find a trade show exhibit warehouse that offers state- of- the art inventory tracking. Inquire about an automated web-based service that is available 24/7 online at no extra charge. You will want the ability to seamlessly track and order parts direct from the warehouse.
Check to see if this inventory asset management service is included in your warehouse service fee or if there is an additional charge for this important service.
Mistake: Not Previewing Your Trade Show Displays Prior to the Show
It is always best to preview your trade show displays exactly as they will appear at the trade show before it is shipped to the show. This staging should be done at a facility that has the right amount of space to adequately preview your exhibit.
If you have a 2-story exhibit with a hanging sign above it, you will want to find a professional storage facility with the actual clear height and floor space to stage your exhibit as it will look at the show.
If your company is out of the area from your storage facility's location and it is difficult to travel to the warehouse for the preview, digital photos of your staged exhibit should be readily available for you to preview your exhibit online.
Mistake: Inability to Reach Warehouse Staff In an Emergency
If there are last minute changes on your trade show booth shipping and storage needs?and there often are ? make sure you can reach your warehouse staff to make these changes. Find a facility with emergency access 24/7 and one that you can reach around the clock to make timely changes. Look for a facility that provides full drayage, shipping and 24-hour tracking, so that you know where your exhibit is at any given time.
By doing your homework and selecting a facility that specializes in trade show exhibits storage that will receive, inspect and secure your trade show booth, you will be able to avoid the sometimes disastrous and always costly trade show booth storage mistakes of trying to do it on your own.
A trade show exhibit is a practical tool for expanding product recognition, brand awareness, and reaching new customers. In order for a business to capitalize on the investment and stand out from the masses of other trade show exhibits, it necessary to provide exactly what trade show attendees desire.
There are several things common in trade shows that will assist a business in deciding the main factors that drive people to and from a trade show exhibit. While coming up with a marketing plan for a trade show exhibit, businesses should jump into the shoes of the attendees instead of executing an exhibit that works only for the business. Trade shows are loud, huge, and even exhausting. It is not always easy for a trade show exhibit to get attention.
Keep Your Information Short and Snappy
The enormous scale of trade show exhibits often leads to data overload for trade show attendees. When only given a millisecond to make a point, producing visually attractive information that is short, snappy, and gets to the point can mean getting read versus getting tossed.
If an attendee reads your information, you are more likely to have a positive follow up reaction and may even turn that prospect into a customer.
Give Gifts and Prizes
Who doesn't love getting a prize? Giveaways are a wonderful way to drive attendees to your trade show exhibit. An enticing giveaway, which will lead attendees to want to learn more about your company, is usually something simple and considerate. For example, a sturdy canvas bag (with your business logo) is a helpful and considerate way for you to assist attendees in carrying around all of the information they collect during the trade show. A small, battery operated fan is a thoughtful gift for tired and hot attendees. A cute toy is a helpful gift for parents lugging around cranky children.
Make sure you brand your giveaway items with your business logo and contact information, especially your website. By branding your giveaways, you strengthen your brand, and you receive free advertising every time attendees use your giveaways.
Prizes always draw a good crowd. Prizes will generate a buzz of excitement and suspense around your trade show exhibit. The opportunity to win a great prize will drive attendees to you and will bring them back at the time of the prize drawing.
Prizes ultimately provide multiple contact opportunities with attendees, including before, during, and after the trade show. During these opportunities, businesses should include product or service selling points. For instance, an e-mail about the trade show exhibit prize before the show can also include information about the products or services showcase during the trade show.
Offer Complimentary Food and Drinks
Trudging around a huge trade show, exhibit to exhibit, can make a person famished. Consider providing attendees with a small complimentary food or drink. Good examples include mini bottles of water or small bags of pretzels (including your logo, of course). Your welcome gift will produce good feelings and possibly even lead attendees to take a moment to stay at your trade show exhibit for a presentation.
Offer Seating
An often overlooked technique for attracting visitors to your trade show exhibit is to offer a place to sit down. It sounds too simple, but providing seating for tired attendees to rest a moment will attract people. Consider offering simple seating like small benches or office chairs, or go bigger and offer larger comfortable chairs or even extravagant sofas.
A seating area gives your booth sales staff a place to sit down and talk business. Having a spot to get away from the crowd for a business discussion with a prospect brings about a relaxed sale.
Both Dick Wheeler & Christine Okelly are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Dick Wheeler has sinced written about articles on various topics from Trade Show Exhibit, Trade Shows and Trade Show Exhibit. Dick Wheeler is President of , headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with showrooms in Sacramento and Sunnyvale. Find more useful inform. Dick Wheeler's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Christine Okelly has sinced written about articles on various topics from Disease & illness, Finances and Accident Lawyers. Christine OKelly is an author for Jonathan Edelman, consultant. Jonathan is the founder of Ideas 4 Now, a trade show marketing company of. Christine Okelly's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.