Is Your Company Making These Mistakes With Your Trade Show Displays?

Conventions are an excellent way to collect sales leads, make new connections with potential clients and solidify relationships with existing customers. However, if you're making these common mistakes, could you be sabotaging your efforts?

Trade Show Displays That Are Too Cluttered Or Too Sparse

There's a fine line between cluttered and empty. If your trade show exhibits are too crowded, event attendees will have to fight their way through banner stands, podiums, kiosks and more to work their way through to you. Trade show booths that are extremely crowded are a hassle, but can also be a safety hazard. What happens when someone bumps into a banner stand and the entire thing comes crashing down? Although many elements of trade show displays are designed to be light, that doesn't mean someone can't get hurt if it crashes down on them.

On the other hand, trade show exhibits that are too sparse can look dull and boring. If it doesn't look like you have anything to offer, many attendees will just walk on by.

Giveaways That Don't Tie In With Your Business

Event attendees are trained to expect free giveaways and are often disappointed when they don't leave with some sort of trinket. These giveaways don't have to be large, but should tie in with your business. Have a paper company? Consider giving away pads of post its or other types of stationery at trade show displays. Do you work with software or computers? Give away small USB drives imprinted with your company's logo, phone number and website. No matter what you decide to give out, make sure that customers have a way to contact you without sending them to their rolodex or your business card to look up the information.

Sending Untrained Sales Staff

Working trade show exhibits can seem like a punishment to some companies. They make it a point to send their least trained or newest sales personnel to the event. This is the entirely wrong attitude to take, and an exhibition should not be looked at as on-the-job training! Companies should look at these events as a unique opportunity to send its best and brightest. After all, where else are you going to have access to hundreds of potential customers all at once?

Not Choosing The Right Exhibitions

Just because an event is happening in your town doesn't mean it's the right one for your company. The best exhibitions are the ones that directly relate to your business, even if you have to spend money to travel to them. It's better and more cost effective to attend events that attract your target market instead of making an appearance at every local event.

Avoiding these mistakes isn't hard to do. Instead, take a close look at how you use your company's trade show booths and see if you can find any other mistakes you could be making.

Chris Harmen is a writer for Skyline, a company that specializes in trade show displays in New York. Skyline offers New York trade show exhibits and custom solutions for a multitude of clients.