Top 10 Exhibition Stand Ideas

1. Free Wifi

Less relevant now than a few years ago when expo wifi was decidedly dodgy but still these days, exhibition wifi can be heavily loaded particularly in high traffic areas, creating dead spots in the exhibition hall so offering free wifi around your stand can move exhibition visitors towards where you are.

2. Games & Competitions

Always a winner. Try to make it different or unusual rather than just putting a business card in a bowl, but this still always creates interest. Just check on the rules in the country you are exhibiting in – in some countries such as China raffles or “lucky ticket” can be hugely popular drawing large crowds of exhibition visitors whilst in others it can be frowned upon or even illegal. However, something engaging that encourages more attendees to stop or come onto the exhibition stand can help initiate conversations in a really natural way.

3.  Refreshments

Another well tested method to attract maximum visitors onto your exhibition stand on a busy show floor. Any sort of food and / or drink will work but look for creative ideas or something unusual to really create a draw and even possibly get covered in the show marketing channels – live food demos or interactivity such as making Belgian chocolates can add something to this tried and tested method. However, when considering your exhibition stand designs and build make sure you include food storage / refrigeration areas if needed.

4.  Stand Design & Location

This is more important than you might think. Choose a stand location which is right for you – think high footfall areas but worry not if you can’t get the traditional main aisles – how about near food outlets, networking areas, theatres or even restrooms. Ensure the stand design is open and inviting rather than closed off so maximum visitors want to wander onto the stand. Ensure your exhibition stand design is eye-catching with striking images so that you pop out in a busy exhibition show floor out and ensure you have a visible stand number on the stand so that those using the show map can find you easily as there’s nothing more annoying to the customer experience than not being able to find the exhibition stand you are looking for. 

Ensure your tradeshow booth is designed with your key tradeshow objectives in mind - do you need shelving or areas to showcase products, comfortable seating to encourage valuable business conversations or an interactive element to demo your products? All these should affect the design of your stand along with your own creative ideas such as arches, 3d elements and lighting.

5.  Get interactive

Whether this is getting hands on with a product demo so they can see your product for themselves, having some cool tech such as VR or an interactive game or getting to experiment with your product themselves – helping visitors immerse themselves with your brand is the best way to get them interested and also remember your company in amongst a sea of other exhibition stands they’ll be visiting at the event.

6.  Create A Newsworthy Moment

Exhibition organisers are always looking to promote interesting things happening at their event. Create a newsworthy moment – can you launch a new product? Do you have any celebrity brand ambassadors who can appear to get people talking and create a buzz at your exhibition stand? Tap into the exhibition social feeds and PR team as well as your industry trade press and you may appear in videos or news coverage wider than your own target audience bringing even more exposure and amplifying your brand way beyond the show days.

7.  Train Your Exhibition Stand Staff

Bring your best people and train them so they know what to expect. Ensure the sales team are dressed smartly or reflective of your brand and have product training to be able to talk to potential customers knowledgeably. They also need to be enthusiastic and not afraid to initiate conversations – sitting at the back of the stand engrossed in their phone is not going to encourage your target audience onto your exhibition stand or to give you their contact details.

8.  Use Your Exhibition Or Tradeshow Organiser

Use the tools made available to you by the organisers as many are happy to promote you and your services in the many channels they have available to help you gain more attendees visiting your exhibition stand. From sending out social posts promoting you to featuring you in the event preview or on-site newspaper, the organiser can provide you free of charge opportunities for extra promotion of your exhibition stand. It's always a great idea to get to know your venue.

9.  Preparation Is Key

Much of the success of your exhibition stand will actually depend on the work you put in pre-show rather than on the show days. Create a sales strategy for the event - and the earlier you start, the better your results will be. Don’t leave it until the week before to start preparing or you are missing out on weeks or even months of potential exposure in the run up to the event. Don’t forget to promote your participation and invite your customers and target audience to visit you on the stand. Setting up appointments in advance can be a great idea to manage your time effectively and commit potential customers into seeing you face to face. Make use of the banners and graphics that organisers can provide you with and add a footer to the bottom of your emails. How about a marketing campaign offering leads a discounted product or service or show only offer if they visit you to try and convert someone from your leads list to a face to face contact?

10.  Don't Forget To Follow Up

All that work to create high quality leads for your business will go to waste if you don’t follow up in a timely and effective way. Look into a lead scanner to collect and categorise your contacts, then ensure you follow up with anything you have promised within 2 weeks while the momentum is there.