March 19, 2020 | Monk Vibe | Blog, Exhibitor, Trade Show Planning | Trade Show Budget
Whether you’re an experienced exhibitor or its your first rodeo, there are plenty of ways to blow your budget. With the data that I have collected from exhibitors and CEOs, I’m able to help you avoid these mistakes.
1. The Wrong "A-Team"
Companies find themselves in a position that requires them to bring staff members to help at their booth. Whether you are big a company or just barely starting, take a minute to really consider who will be an asset to have. From personal experience, I’ve seen many small companies invest on onsite sales representatives to be the face of the company. Whether that was a good choice or not, the lack of enthusiasm and engagement gave me a very poor impression of their company. A lot of the time these onsite sales reps are sitting down, playing on their phones and not knowledgeable about the company or products/services. You need to ask yourself do I really want to waste money on people like this and is it worth it?
2. Blowing Off Social Media
You might think your too old to be using social media but, it’s the heart of your company. It is one of the best ways to engage with your audience and to build a presence in your industry. 80 percent of show attendees do their research to see which companies are exhibiting and plan out who they want visit. By engaging with your clients through social media, you will be able to inform everyone which tradeshow your company will be exhibiting at and what you will be showcasing. You can also advertise pre-show promotions and post-show promotions which may help with the monetary return on your trade show investment. If your goal is to pull in more attraction and gain new sales then blowing off social media is not a smart move.
3. The Bigger The Better - "They Say"
A big mistake most companies make is thinking “The bigger the logo the more attention we will get.” Having a booth and graphics to promote your company comes at a costly price. So, the bigger you go the more it breaks your budget. Instead why not come up with a catchy slogan or tag line that will grab their attention? Having a large logo on display does not speak to your customers especially if it’s a simplistic logo. It’s doesn’t provide any information about your company and what products or services you offer. By having a tag line or slogan it creates curiosity and that curiosity will get them to walk into your booth to see what your company is all about whether it’s a small 10×10 or a large 30×30 booth. Its all about first impressions so make sure yours is screaming out loud.
4. Booth Bigger Than Your Needs
Always do your research before you plan on exhibiting at the show. Make sure you do your due diligence and see how past shows have been and what the expected attendees are for that trade show. If the shows has a history of being slow or not having a lot of traffic, it may be best to book a smaller booth than an excessively over-sized booth. It might be more beneficial for you to downsize and spend the extra money on promoting your company to gain more attraction with the attendees.
5. Design With A Purpose
When designing or creating a new booth we need to keep in mind what our clients are looking for and how we want to present ourselves. By having your design team load up on graphics, backwalls, and counters that include lots of texts and products, it can make your audience feel overwhelmed. The focus should be on the message you are trying to portray and implementing the right images/designs to support it. Figuring out the right layout of your booth design is also just as critical. Sometimes the exhibitors end up finding themselves in a closed off island with too many counters and tables creating a barrier between you and the clients. The visuals should be clear, bold, and compelling enough to capture the attendee’s attention.
