Setting up an exhibitor’s booth and attracting a sufficient number of visitors isn’t the easiest of tasks. Event marketers will tell you that you must research the entire perspective of the conference or trade show including the theme, type of visitors, locality, and the duration of the business event to get a good gauge of what you're in for. Most importantly, in order to increase sales it’s extremely important to demonstrate why your booth is worth the visit.
Whoever is managing your both must be experienced and wise enough to know how to engage visitors who are passing by and looking over at your booth. Your booth design will make them glance over but using some of the tactics below will draw them in and encourage them to actually walk over.
6 Tactics that Will Drive Attendees to your Exhibitor’s Booth
1. Fishbowl Raffle. When attendees are passing by your booth, draw them in and invite them to drop their business cards in your fishbowl. Then ask them to stop by later to see if they won the prize.
2. Social Media Competition. Host a giveaway competition on your social media pages and have people enter their contact information online for a chance to win. Event marketers usually recommend that the results for the competition be declared online but invite the winners to pick up their prize at your booth.
3. Celebrity or Influencer Presence. Invite and then announce the presence of a local celebrity or industry influencer at the booth. That will encourage people to stop by your booth during the hours you announced the honorary guest would be there. It’s up to you to use those hours wisely and have a couple of sales team members ready to engage people while they’re there to pitch your products or services.
4. Relaxing Pitstop. Attendees will naturally become tired at conferences because besides the fact that they’re walking around the exhibitor’s hall, they spend ample time listening to keynote speakers and attending workshops. You can create a spa-like ambiance by renting a massage chair, connect an essential oils diffuser that will diffuse a calming aroma, and set up somewhat of a relaxing pitstop. Then have your sales team take this opportunity to talk about your business in a noninvasive manner so that while people are resting a bit, they’re also connecting to your brand.
5. Tech Station. You’d be surprised at how many people will be drawn to a booth that offers a few convenient services. Ever see how many people gather round the charging stations at the airport? People use their mobile devices nearly the entire day so when they see the opportunity to charge their devices, they take it. Attract people that are passing by with convenient services like free printing, WiFi, and charging stations for their mobile devices.
6. Product Launch. Announce the launch of a new product or service on your social media pages and via email in advance and then use your booth as the center stage for the event. Have someone on your team ready to produce a live demo of the new product or service you’re launching to keep people engaged.
Conclusion
If you have an attractive setup at your booth with eye-catching décor and prominent lighting, you’ve only taken the first steps to attracting more visitors. Once you draw visitor’s attention, you must offer good hospitality to make attendees feel comfortable and then have your sales team ready to explain your products or services in a way that doesn’t come across as abrasive. Rather than aiming to land a sale, your goal should be to connect and begin building relationships. The rest will follow.
Event marketers have proven that prior to the trade show, it’s your advertising efforts that will get you on the map so make sure to heavily promote your participation through various marketing channels and include an incentive that will inspire your target audience to feel obligated to find you at the show and stay a while.
Event industry pros will be gathered round this October at the 2019 Event Planner Expo in New York City. If you’re interested in exhibiting your products or services, feel free to contact us today!
