Within the first few seconds of encountering a tradeshow booth, attendees must understand the company's message and want to spend more time there. To achieve this, companies should develop a clear, simple message and include interactive elements in their booth design. Effective preparation includes researching the event layout, training booth staff, and learning about past attendees. The goal is to generate interest and get people to engage with the booth for longer through technology, games, or opportunities to learn about products and services.

1. One one thousand.
two one thousand.
three one thousand. STOP!
That is about the amount of time you have to make an impression on
your tradeshow attendees. Companies spend tens of thousands of
dollars on those short seconds. Within that time, your audience needs
to understand your message and be convinced your booth deserves
their time.
There are two keys to conquering those first few seconds of a
customer’s attention—a good clear message and interaction within
the booth. But before you start your brainstorm, you need to do a little
research.
First, do your homework
Take the time to research the specific tradeshow you will be
attending. Review the room and layout of the show, and try to solve
any potential problems or challenges. For example, is your booth in
the corner of the tradeshow floor? Or does the tradeshow room have
any electrical or structure limitations? It is best to have all the
information possible before any booth planning occurs.
Another way to prepare for your show is to train your booth workers.
A person representing your company should be friendly and
knowledgeable about your company and the tradeshow message.
A booth worker should be approachable by attendees, but more
importantly should feel confident approaching attendees and building
conversations without being pushy. The idea is to build relationships,
not blurt out every sales pitch you’ve developed. Personal attention to
your attendees can be game changing and your tradeshow
representative should be prepared for the challenge.
Second, Know Your Audience
It’s a good idea to study the potential attendees of your tradeshow.
This can include gathering information about the demographic that
has attended the tradeshow in the past few years. Also, if there is any
way of getting a list of attendees from the previous year or those
registered for the upcoming show, that list can be very valuable.
If budget allows, an email blast and call campaign can generate
awareness of your presence at the show and could build some
specific knowledge of your tradeshow attendees. You could also
have a tease offer that will encourage people to show up to your
booth communicated through an email blast and call campaign.
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The message
Your team needs to come to the table with a purpose and clear goals
for the upcoming tradeshow—then develop a plan for the attendees
with a few simple calls to action. The message should be constructed
to play into the purpose and the attendee call to action. Then the feel
and theme of your tradeshow booth will grow from there.
Don’t make the message too complicated or confusing. It needs to
be something that can easily be communicated through tradeshow
booth graphics, any materials that will be passed out at the
tradeshow and pre-show email blasts and direct mail.
Get your attendees to interact
People are fickle about how and where they are going to spend their
time at the tradeshow. You need to make it worth their while to enter
your booth and stay. The longer they stay in your booth the more they
are exposed to your message and your organization. And the hope is
for them to respond to your call to action.
Interaction doesn’t necessarily mean company representatives
conversing with the audience. This can mean including technology
and/or products for the attendees to engage with. These items can
be entertaining and at the same time educate the attendee of your
business and message. Give the attendees some power and control.
Offer them a card as they enter the booth and direct them to monitors
that will explain information to them for their specific card. Create a
game for attendees to play on monitors that discuss your company.
Essentially you want to create communities, connections and
interactions. A great way to accomplish this is through social and
mobile technology. For example:
• Allow attendees to make an appointment with a company
representative through Twitter
• Allow attendees to download an application to their phone at your
booth
• Set up a mobile technology charging station where attendees
can check in their phone, laptop, etc. and leave item at your booth
to charge while they visit your booth
Good luck at your next tradeshow. Create a clear message reinforced
with an interactive booth and you can conquer that three-to-six
second opportunity.
Tradeshow 411
Kim Allen // Client Services
Sudden Impact Marketing