HAVE AN ACTION-BASED BOOTH - The Ultimate Trade Show Success Series
- Chad Chesmark
- Apr 11, 2024
- 5 min read
MASSIVE ACTION FOR BOOTH ATTRACTION
Static trade show booths are not designed to succeed, plus they are just boring. Take a walk at any trade show and you are certain to see static booths where the staff is sitting down with their heads buried in their phones. They are waiting for the customers to come to them, but trade shows don’t work that way.
A good trade show booth is not a passive operation. It is a well-oiled machine that is designed to attract crowds, hold their attention, share your information, and convert prospects into leads.
While handing out free stress balls and pens can be a nice gesture to the attendees, does it actually do anything to produce solid leads? Have you ever done business with a company because they gave you a pen with their logo on it? Neither have I, and I have droves of pens.
Giveaways are great when used properly, and we will talk a lot more about that in the next chapter, but they cannot be your only success strategy at the show. Why? It is because too many attendees make a game out of collecting as many freebies as possible. They grab what they can without every hearing your company’s message.
Use Games to Collect Their Names
Games can be a great way to bring action into your booth. The trick is to find something unique that can also be tied into your company’s branding.
If the game you choose does not somehow tie into what your company is about, you must at least use it to collect leads. Most of the time, if you get creative enough, you’ll find a way to tie it all together. Just get creative and think outside of the box.
A few ideas for games are:
Ask trivia questions that fit your industry, then give prizes to the winners (They must scan in before they can play for a prize)
Have a giant jar full of coins or beans and give a prize to whoever guesses the value or bean count correctly (In order to make a guess, they must scan their badges)
Do a business card drawing for a prize.
Have a custom bean bag toss game and award prizes to winning teams.
Create a custom hashtag for the event and randomly award prizes to those who post it on social media (I love this one!)
Entertain Them - People love to be entertained. The booths that have the best entertainment are generally the busiest throughout the convention. Let us look at a few possibilities for your booth.
Celebrities
If you have the budget, because they can be terribly expensive, celebrities are a great draw. The trick is to find a celebrity who will be known to the majority of the attendees.
Trade shows are made up of a very wide age range, so finding the perfect celebrity can be tricky. For example: Having a current rapper at your booth will only appeal to the younger crowd, while having an old actor might only appeal to the older crowd.
Most of the time celebrities are going to be quite expensive and will not stay for the duration of the show. You will only have them for a few hours to get your crowd. Also, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get your company message across through the celebrity.
Booth Babes
I am seeing less and less of these nowadays, but they still pop up from time to time. Some booths choose to hire beautiful women who wear revealing clothing in order to attract customers to their booth.
I would not recommend going this route, unless your company does not mind being associated with something like this. It might be a good idea for a beer manufacturer perhaps.
Professional Trade Show Speakers
There are speakers who specialize in delivering a company’s message at a trade show booth. They are generally very good at what they do and save your staff from having to attempt public speaking.
The way it works is, you provide them with a script, they learn it, and then give your presentations 2-4 times per hour throughout the show.
Trade Show Magicians & Mind Readers
This is my specialty. As a trade show magician, my job is to attract a crowd, hold their attention, and convert them into leads.
I do this by combining your company’s message into a short, entertaining, and interactive magic & mind reading show. Once they have been informed about your company through a highly entertaining mini show, they are passed on to the booth staff, where they become qualified as leads.
The thing that makes this so powerful is the amount of traffic that it generates. A small crowd turns into a large crowd, and within that crowd are your ideal clients.
Other Entertainment
The types of entertainment that you can have in your booth are limitless. From jugglers, balancing acts, branded body paint artists, acrobats, etc. The key is to choose an entertainer who specializes in trade shows and knows how to fit your brand into the show.
To Chair or Not to Chair - That is the Question
Some exhibitors decide to place chairs in their booth. I have seen booths with 2 or 3 chairs for the booth staff, booths with chairs used as a resting area for attendees, and booths who use chairs as a mini theater for their presentations.
My opinion is that chairs should generally be avoided. Here’s why:
Chairs for Your Staff
Psychologically, a booth that has a seated staff is actually more approachable than a booth with standing staff. The problem that I have seen is that most staffers who are seated end up looking lethargic. They slouch in the chairs and end up looking bored. No one wants to approach a booth that looks boring.
Some will have a table and chairs that they plan on using to try and close deals. This is a bad idea. The trade show floor is not the best place to close a deal. There are ways to many distractions that can happen.
If you need a location to work one on one with a client, either rent a conference room or invest in a hospitality suite. This will allow you to invite your most qualified leads to a special place where conducting business will be much more effective.
Chairs as a Relaxing Station for Attendees
Remember that we want your booth to be action-based. When guests approach your booth, they should get a feeling of excitement, not a feeling of tranquility.
Chairs for Your Presentations
Chairs will take up a large chunk of space in your booth. If your goal is to give the appearance of a mini theater, you’re going to need at least 5 or more chairs. These chairs can serve as a psychological barrier to your booth when not being used.
If you have too many chairs available during a presentation, you will risk not having all of them occupied. This will give the appearance of a non-exciting booth. If you do not have enough chairs, people might choose not to stay and watch the presentation because they did not get a seat. Empty Chairs Scream “Boring Booth!”
Another reason not to use chairs is the expense. You will either have to bring the chairs, a large and bulky item, yourself, or rent them from the convention center. Why not save the money and the hassle, and use that space more efficiently?
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