Trade Show Marketing Blog

Most exhibitors start out with table top displays and progress to larger exhibits as their trade show marketing program picks up steam. In the past, floor displays were cost-prohibitive to many companies, but today there are many inexpensive options that allow small businesses to move immediately into 10′ x 10′ spaces. These options allow exhibitors to make a big impact on a small marketing budget, making their trade shows more profitable than ever before. Take a look at a few of the affordable options we offer below:

Standard Retractable Banner Stand Wall - $597 (includes graphic design)

OneFabric 10ft Curved Display - $895 (includes graphic design)

Waveline 10ft Curved Display - $845 (includes graphic design)

If you have any questions about these affordable trade show displays, please call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com to speak with one of our professional exhibiting consultants.

The expression “in the driver seat” originated with car salesmen who discovered the value of putting their customers in control of the vehicle. These salesmen discovered that potential customers were much more likely to close the deal quickly when they were allowed to experience the car to the fullest extent. The experience of being behind the wheel of a car is more powerful for the potential customer than anything a car salesman can say.

If a sense of control is important to creating confidence in a person who is looking to purchase a vehicle, how can we apply this principle to the trade show environment? The answer to this question depends on the type of products and/or services you are selling, but one fact remains consistent: You need your potential customers to experience your product first hand. Simply describing it to them or providing information about your product will not be as effective as putting the product in their hands and under their control.

If you sell software or web-based computer applications, allow your customers to use the full version of your product at demo stations within your booth. By letting them experience the interface of your product first hand, they are much more likely to make a purchasing decision on the spot. Even the most effective brochure or sales pitch will leave the potential client with questions and doubts.

If you sell physical products (such as machines, gadgets, tools, or equipment), allow your potential customers to hold the product in their hand. If possible, allow them to use the product in an application similar to the way they would use the product in the real world. The tactile sensation of handling your product and using it in a practical application will reinforce a purchasing decision in your customer’s mind.

Trade shows are so successful because they afford companies the opportunity to meet their customers and potential customers face to face. If you only provide brochures, sales pitches, and branding material, you are not taking full advantage of the face to face interaction. You can send your customers brochures, sales pitches, and branding material by email, so why do that in person? The best way to take advantage of direct marketing is to put your products in the hands of your potential clients. You will be amazed with the results.

Successful exhibitors know that it is important to grab the attention of attendees long before the show begins. If you can generate buzz and excitement about your trade show booth before the show even begins, you are much more likely to have a successful event. The internet is a great way to spread the word about your company and encourage attendees to look for your booth when they arrive at the event. Here are a few ways to get your name out:

• Submit press releases that announce your plans to exhibit at the event. If you follow established guidelines for press releases, you may be lucky enough to get your story picked up by media giants like Google and Yahoo (who regularly grab articles from press release websites), and users who are searching for news related to the trade show may find your company’s press release.
• Purchase advertising space on the show’s website. Most modern trade shows use online registration for attendees, and if you can afford to place an advertisement on those web pages, it is likely that many attendees will see your company name when they are signing up to attend the show. This is a great way to reinforce your presence and your branding image.
• Create a web page that describes the highlights of your company’s exhibit, and use search engine marketing to direct traffic to the page. When attendees search for information about the show they plan to attend on Google or Yahoo, you can have them directed to your web page which outlines your plans for the event. Directing users who are searching for information about the event to your page can be a valuable way to increase exposure.
• Be sure to update your friends and business associates on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites to let them know that you will be exhibiting at a particular trade show. Websites like Twitter are filled with voyeuristic users (called “lurkers”) who are interested in what you have to say, and information spreads very rapidly when lurkers republish information they find from your posts.

The internet is a powerful way to spread information about your company, and successful trade show marketing professionals always use the internet to get the word out about future events. Be creative and come up with your own marketing ideas for the internet.

The VBurst 10ft Media Wall is the perfect system for press events, red carpet events, and marketing seminars. Using only a vector form of your company’s logo, MODdisplays can offer a simple media wall backdrop that looks professional and eye-catching. Professional business marketing firms have found that logo repetition and brand reinforcement are a great way to leave a lasting impression on viewers.

The structure of the VBurst 10ft Media Wall is made from sturdy aluminum tubing, and the graphic is printed on a washable, wrinkle-free fabric that remains on the frame even in storage and transportation. The entire media wall can be set up in less than a minute thanks to the simple frame structure. The exhibit carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects, so there is no need to worry about a damaged frame.

To order your Media Wall today, call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.

MODdisplays is proud to announce the release of Xpressions Salesmate Tabletop Displays. These lightweight, portable tabletop displays are perfect for sales reps, insurance and pharmaceutical reps, college recruiters, and small companies looking to break into the world of exhibiting. The system is compact enough to be stored in carry-on luggage or packed away in your sample case, but provides a huge branding presence at your sales meeting or conference.

The frame is similar to that of a popup display, but the graphics are made from a dye sublimated fabric material. The entire exhibit weighs less than 3lbs., making it one of the lightest and most portable tabletop trade show displays on the market today.

The Xpressions Salesmate offers a number of benefits and features, including:

• Extremely compact
• Fast and easy set up - 5 seconds
• Easy change of images for different presentations
• Fits in sample case or carry on luggage
• Creates fantastic subliminal message in the sale presentation
• Low, low cost especially for large volume orders
• Sets up just about anywhere
• Nothing on the market like it

To get your Xpressions Salesmate Tabletop Display, call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com today.

We recently announced the release of Alumalite Lineare, the newest portable hybrid display to hit the market. We are very excited about this new product because we believe that the sleek, modern design will complement our existing product line-up without detracting from our simple approach. But Alumalite Lineare isn’t just the next pretty face in the portable trade show display industry. This new system offers a number of previously unavailable features, one of which is the option to add a slatwall panel to the back wall of the display.

The Alumalite Lineare with Slatwall offers exhibitors a host of new opportunities for displaying products and promotional items. With slatwall in place, it’s easy to add hooks, shelving, hangrails, and much more. If you’re looking to display a number of small, packaged products, slatwall is the perfect way to create the feel of a point of purchase display with the look of a trade show booth.

If you elect to have one or both of your side panels be slatwall, you will have the choice of six laminate options, which are black, designer white, amber maple, pearwood, platinum, and brushed aluminum. These laminate options will give your slatwall a finished look that will blend in well with the color scheme of your trade show exhibit.

If you have any questions about Alumalite Lineare or any other trade show products we offer, please feel free to call 877.MOD.EXPO, or email sales@moddisplays.com.

No two companies are exactly alike, and every company requires a unique marketing strategy. Balancing professionalism and personality is a challenging task for a new company, but finding that balance could yield big returns on your marketing efforts.

Sometimes the industry itself demands a specific approach. A company that sells life insurance will probably maintain an air of professionalism, while a company that sells toys for young children would do well to create a more approachable feeling. As a result, companies are often forced into a particular mold that they cannot escape without doing irreparable harm to their image.

Some industries allow for a good deal of flexibility and creativity. As you shop for trade show displays, you’ll probably notice that exhibit retailers employ a wide variety of marketing styles. On some websites you’ll find pictures of staff members and their families and other personal touches, and on other websites you’ll find a rigid, corporate, and impersonal style. As a general rule, when there is less market research data available in a specific industry, marketing strategies tend to vary wildly. Companies tend to cling to something that works instead of asking themselves what works the best.

Striking a balance between professionalism and personality should leave your clients with the feeling that you are dependable, honest, and capable. Every industry is different, and you may need to be more professional or more personal to get the best results, but the only way to find out for sure is through trial and error.

At MODdisplays, we believe that we have found the ideal balance between custom exhibits and stocked exhibits. Using only stocked hardware, every trade show display we sell can be packaged and shipped in a matter of days, but our flexible modular exhibit lines allow for virtually limitless customization. With MODdisplays, you get the convenience and rapid turnaround times of a portable exhibit retailer with the flexibility and versatility of a custom exhibit house.

Because we can create custom-looking trade show displays from stocked exhibit hardware, we are able to keep our costs down and streamline the process of ordering exhibits online. Our catalog of stocked components is enormous, and it never stops growing. Whether you need literature shelves, monitor mounts, counter systems, light fixtures, or product shelves, we can meet your needs at affordable prices with lightning quick turnaround times.

You’re probably as tired as we are of the endless bickering between exhibit houses about whether custom exhibits or stocked exhibits are better, so why not experience the best of both worlds by purchasing your next trade show booth from MODdisplays? Call 877.MOD.EXPO or email sales@moddisplays.com for more details.

If your booth staffers are not driven to succeed, even the best trade show marketing strategy in the world cannot save your company from a disastrous exhibiting experience. At business to business trade shows, the people who man your booth will be the single most important factor in determining the overall success of your marketing program. Booth staffers should be outgoing, friendly, and professional, but never pushy or long-winded. They should recognize that everything about their appearance, demeanor, speech, and body language will reflect directly on your company’s image, and that creating a great image is what trade shows are all about. So what can you do to motivate your booth staffers to be top-notch exhibitors?

1-  Take care of their most basic needs. Nothing breeds frustration among employees more quickly than being undercompensated on their trip. If you put your employees in a cheap hotel room and give them a meager stipend for food, they will be less likely to perform at their highest capacity on the trade show floor.

2- Offer incentives for gathering leads and making sales on the trade show floor. It is always much easier for people to work hard for their own benefit than for the benefit of their company, so offering incentives is an easy way to improve the performance of your booth staffers.

3- Take care to pick the right booth staffers in the first place. Although senior members of your sales staff may love to travel and exhibit at trade shows, they may be less motivated to do well than a young, ambitious sales person who works hard to impress. In addition to the fact that younger, more ambitious sales staff usually do better at trade shows, it will cost your company less money to send employees who earn less per hour.

4- Allow your booth staffers to be a part of the exhibiting process from the beginning. They will be much more comfortable working within the confines of your trade show exhibit if they played a role in the planning and development process. Who would want to be a part of a marketing campaign that they don’t believe in?

Attendees will be drawn to your trade show booth if you consistently invest in improving your trade show marketing program year after year. Too often we find that companies are content with “just showing up”, and have all but given up on their exhibiting efforts. As a result, their exhibiting program performs more poorly each year until it is eventually removed from the company’s marketing budget. The lesson here is simple: showing up is not enough. It will be obvious to your attendees that you did not put in the effort needed to gain their interest, and your investment in trade show marketing will be worthless.

Successful exhibiting programs are usually operated by experts who understand the importance of consistency. Year after year, these companies find exciting ways to engage attendees, which keeps them coming back for more. Gimmicks and swag are not enough, you need to release new, substantive information each time you return to a show. Showing up year after year with the same product line, the same brochures, and the same ideas is a quick way to lose the interest of visitors. Each new year should maintain the overall branding message your company wants to send, but your exhibit graphics, trade show literature, and your general industry ideas should be new and fresh.

If you’re short on exhibiting ideas, one of the best ways to get your wheels turning is to attend events that are similar to the trade show where you will be exhibiting. Take special note of trade show displays that catch your eye, and try to isolate what specific features of the exhibits caught your attention. Look for ways to improve your existing booth without spending an arm and a leg. If you see graphics that catch your eye, would it be possible to re-skin your exhibit with new graphics? If a particularly well lit environment drew your attention, you could purchase additional trade show lights to spruce up your booth. Remember that the best improvements to your marketing program will be substantive improvements, not cosmetic improvements, so take particular note of exhibiting strategies or marketing programs that catch your eye, and try to glean what you can from them.