While it may seem simple to organize a trade show booth that will effectively inspire attendees and competitors alike, it takes far more planning and foresight than simply showing up and providing giveaways and handing out business cards.

In order for your booth to be a success, it is important for attendees to walk away not only knowing what your business does but also that you should be the first company they call when they need your services. There are a lot of ways to make sure that your booth runs smoothly, but there are also some specific things to avoid if you’re looking for a positive trade show appearance.

Lack of Marketing or Social Media Presence

It is essential to have a brand that is understood and recognized by your customers, and one of the surest forms of marketing in today’s market is a social media presence. What better way to connect with your clients than by encouraging them to directly engage with your brand, now readily accessible with your mobile device.

Marketing strategies are constantly evolving, and they do so through interactions online with their clients and competitors. How should anyone know to attend the trade show and come see your booth unless you broadcast that information? And the easiest, and cheapest method, of communication is through social media platforms.

Rushing Setup or Dismantling Your Booth

A booth that is sloppily put together or disorganized is going to be immediately visible to an audience, while a visually appealing, neat booth (like the one above) will encourage attendees to stop for a better look. It’s recommended to allow yourself ample time to setup your booth in order to create a put-together impression geared towards ensuring trade show attendees that you’re serious about your business.

Dismantling your booth deserves ample time to ensure that none of your display items are broken or lost, as there is often travel and shipping issues involved with returning it to company headquarters.

Not Having the Right Person In Your Booth

It cannot be stressed enough that the people responsible for your booth must be trained with a working understanding of your product and they type of business you’re looking at doing. Too often at trade shows, there is little interaction between those running the booth and attendees. With interns and temporary hires set to work booths at trade shows, this often leads to a general disconnect between your brand and the impression that show-goers walk away with.

While you don’t want someone that will aggressively try to get attendees into conversation, a completely passive attendant of your booth is also not recommended, as there are many competitors on the floor that are engaging those potential clients. It’s important to consider the best staff for your booth.

Not Walking the Show and Engaging With Competitors

Too often those  who are running the booths have very limited interaction with their competition; but it’s highly recommended to make a couple rounds of the showroom floor in order to see what your competitors are offering and how they’re presenting those things to their audience. Just like social media becoming an active tool in expanding your marketing strategy, understanding the appeal of your challengers is essential in order to ensuring that you’re putting your best product forward. Sometimes a simple understanding of what competitors are offering can be beneficial when creating your next booth, as future organizers can take into account the trade show feedback from multiple sources when creating their next display.

Failure to Follow Up

It can be easy to forget that following up on any leads garnered during the trade show is an essential need in order to keeping your brand relevant in the eyes of attendees. There’s roughly only a few weeks in which your brand will still be relevant and fresh in their mind before favor wains or their trade show experience, no matter how positive, is forgotten. In order to prevent your product from losing relevance, it is important to reach out to create a lasting impression with your leads that could potentially open up a positive future partnership.

Often these simple mistakes go unnoticed by booth hosts until they have already affected the appeal of their product or brand. While they may seem like simple issues with easy solutions, it is important to note that they are easily preventable issues as well. A little pre-planning and a strategy for an improved attendee experience can often be the difference between a successful trade show and a failure.

If you need help with your trade show planning checklist, contact Structure Exhibits today, and let us help you avoid some common trade show mistakes!