Trade shows offer a unique opportunity to get your business in front of a large audience. Often industry-specific, you can select trade shows that help you network with exactly the people you want to reach. Attendance at a trade show is often pricey, and a bad performance can also do your business harm. Be sure to put your best foot forward by following these rules in your booth design.

1. Plan. Too many companies create slap-dash booths that use a backdrop from one event and a brochure from another. They throw all of their collateral on the table and hope for the best. You should plan ahead on the set up of your booth and create custom materials for your backdrop, table, and collateral that work seamlessly together and have a logical organization and set up. 
2. Have a cohesive brand. Part of your materials design should be ensuring that your brand standards are followed and applied carefully across all of your materials. We’ve seen companies show up with more than one iteration of their logo visible on their materials. This is a major no-no. It makes you look unprofessional and creates confusion among your prospects about your brand. 
3. Limit your messaging and speak to your audience. No one wants to read a white paper from your backdrop or stand in front of your booth to watch a 30 minute presentation. The text in your design should be limited and quickly get to the point about your value proposition. You need to catch a prospect’s attention with a message about how you can solve their pain, not just a blanket statement about what type of company you are. 
4. Use props that count. Does your product require a physical demo? Then have one. Do you offer a service where you could share useful information that someone could implement today? Make a piece that people will want to read and use that they can take home. Don’t give away “stuff” that no one needs. It’s expensive for you and will probably end up in the trash. 
5. Have pens and business cards at the ready. It should go without saying, but even with today’s digital badges and networking technology, it’s still nice to have a business card for those who want one. They offer a more memorable record for someone you spoke to and are appreciated. People still like to take notes. Have branded pens handy for people to use at your booth and take with them if they like. 

If you’d like help planning your booth and designing your materials, get in touch with Champ today and we can help you to get started.