Chicago Trade Show Event Exhibiting Tips presented by Skyline Metro Chicago

Your exhibit serves many purposes; it’s a three-dimensional commercial, a meeting place, a product display and has other functions as well. So make sure that you take all of these roles into account when you go through the exhibit design process. Some key aspects to consider:

- Make sure your exhibit architecture is an appropriate carrier for your graphics. You want to make sure visitors can feel welcomed and are able to identify and learn about your products and services.

- You should have a space where your staffers can record their leads. This can be a small table for a small exhibit, or an actual reception counter for larger exhibits.

- Plan for storage. You need to have a place for all of the staffers’ personal items, extra literature and giveaways, and other things that happen to accumulate.

- If you decide to do a product demo (which is always a smart decision) then you will need a place for the demo to take place. Will you need a counter or table? Will you need floor space, or a computer kiosk?

- Speaking of products — you’re going to need some sort of tables, counters, shelving to display your merchandise. Try not to bring everything in your product line, though. Stick with the big sellers or your newest items.

- Is your goal to have lots of one-on-one time with customers and leads? If so, you may want to think about setting aside some kind of meeting space that is private or semi-private.

- If you’re planning on having a live presentation of some sort, you need to take audience seating into consideration.

Not only is your trade show exhibit a billboard for your products and services, it’s your work space for the span of the show. Plan your design on the different roles your booth will play and you are to be sure to have a smoother show experience.

Many companies these days are looking to get competitive bids on everything from Tradeshow Exhibit Purchases, to Installation and Dismantling and Online Asset Management. The way that most of them do it is through an RFI or Request for Information, or an RFP or Request for Proposal which is an overview of what the company is looking for based on past purchases and future needs.

These general requests often lead the company to secure a purchase or service, but most times do not have all the information they need in them. This can lead to purchases that do not accomplish goals that may be set for the future, or purchases that are focused only on the information provided, as incorrect as the information may be. Skyline Metro Chicago is promoting an initiative by the Trade Show Exhibitors Association and the Exhibit Producers and Designers Association, to help companies who are writing an RFI/RFP get to the bottom of what they are looking for, and take into consideration the whole program, and future investments.

This has culminated in a “Best Practices” document that walks you through the process of writing and RFI/RFP and also has a mock version done for a fictional company. This document is available here. The better requests you have to potential vendors the better the answers. Remember, its all about the details!

While a great display will grab attendees’ into your exhibit, it’s your staff that reels them in and holds them there, getting the important leads. In order for them to be successful, they have to be invested in what they’re doing. A staffer that is giving it their all will be much more effective that the lackluster salesperson who does not want to be there in the first place.

But finding this kind of gung ho staffer is harder than it might seem, which you know if you and your sales force have been in the game for a while. It’s hard to get people excited about 6-8 hour days on their feet, 6-8 hours of constant smiling and cheer, 6-8 hours of cleaning other’s messes. It’s a hard job, but as they say, someone has to do it—and do it well.

Dan Lumpkin of Exhibitor Magazine has a solution. Instead of trying to come up with ways to please your staffers—bring them into the problem solving process. Just because you think something would be a great incentive to work the show floor doesn’t mean your staffers agree. Set up some brainstorming meetings with them starting at least 3 months before the show. Ask them these two questions to start off:

- What do they feel they gain when they staff a booth?
- What do they feel they lose when they staff a booth?

After they’ve hashed out these questions, ask them what they think would help in compensating for the losses. What would be appropriate compensation for getting behind in their daily work? What would reward them for the long hours of hard work?

In booth staffing, as in life, people are more inclined to do a job if they’ve had a hand in the decisions that crafted it.

So you’ve just wrapped up your major trade show of the year. Time to pack up, head home and get back in the normal swing of things, right? Wrong. Before you move on, take this opportunity to assess your performance so you can exhibit at your next show smarter and better prepared.

A post show evaluation is an essential aspect of any successful trade show program. This doesn’t have to be a drawn-out, complicated process. It’s pretty simple - on the last day of the show gather all your exhibit staff and have them fill out an evaluation form. This form should cover as many elements of the show that it can: from exhibit issues, to staffing and customer care, to logistics and everything in between. Let everyone have a say in the exhibiting effectiveness and offer their suggestions for improvement.

Synthesize this information into a post show report on what worked, what didn’t, and possible improvements for the next show. Make sure this is done within 2 weeks of the show’s closing to keep the show fresh in everyone’s minds. Distribute the information to everyone who has a hand in the show and it processes, so they are aware of changes for the next event.

Not only will this information serve to give you something to learn from, it also serves as a framework for goals for all following shows.
More Knowledge = Better Exhibiting

Upon returning from the RSNA show at McCormick Place this week, I was not surprised by the sizes of the exhibits, which if you have not seen them are pretty impressive. Instead, I was enthused by the new design concepts that have hit the show floor. The use of fabric structures in combination with hard walls helped to create some dynamic designs, while the use of all of the space on the floor, as well as the space above the exhibits, helped to guide attendees, or better yet identify the companies exhibiting. The use of the overhead space is important in larger exhibit spaces as it gives your exhibit a real punch and impact from across the show floor. The visit also validated Skyline Metro Chicago’s system for designing these larger exhibits.

Let me explain.

in these larger exhibits, Skyline tries to use a 3-tiered branding strategy. This is done by working from the ceiling down to eye level with consistent messaging. It’s geared toward drawing attendees to the exhibit and slowly introducing them to taglines and then to products and targeted messages.

Level 3 would be the overhead signage. The overhead signage would be large simple branding, logo and color scheme to match the other tiers. Again, this works to identify your company from across the show floor, as well as have you stand out. In large shows it can even help fit into the landscape around you as other large exhibits follow this formula as well.

Level 2 would be medium overhead signage or signage originating from structures based on the floor. This tier allows you to start to brand different aspects of your company, taglines, lifestyle images, services offered and possibly large product images. This allows the attendee to qualify themselves as they approach your exhibit, and gives them an understanding of who you are and what you do.

Level 1 would be targeted signage. This would include detailed information about the products or services that you offer to that particular market or audience. It also allows the exhibit staffers to guide a prospect to certain areas that they would be interested in, surrounded by support graphics and messaging for that particular product or service.

The best part about Skyline Metro’s design strategy is that when it comes time to change out the products, or the services, or even target the message to a particular audience, the replacement of graphics is only on one of the 3 tiers! This saves money, as well as keeps the exhibit consistent in the different markets on the upper 2 tiers.

Employment of this strategy has often been successful for companies looking to make a splash while not spending a ton of money to update their graphics, year to year or even show to show. Make sure you investigate this process as you start your new designs.

Remember, it’s all about the details!

Pre-show invitations are one of the most popular promotions that exhibitors in every industry use. But watch out - you should take some things into consideration before you get out those stamps.

The biggest thing to take into account is your list. You want your mailing list to be as targeted as possible. The most targeted list for bringing prospects into your booth is a pre-registration list from show management. If you can’t get a hold of the pre-reg list, the next best lists are: last year’s registration list, your company’s customer/prospect list, show management’s prospect list and a list of association members. If these lists may have many non-attending prospects, be sure to include some type of bounce-back method so that the recipients can have another avenue to request information from you.

Also think about this: What are your prospects more apt to actually open and read? The format of your invitation is an extremely important decision. You don’t want to spend all this money on your promotions just to have them pitched in the trash without a second glance. What designs are these potential clients more apt to respond to? What kind of offers will entice them into your booth? Or are offers the right way to go; will your prospects be more interested in information over prizes?

If you put just as much thought into your pre-show promotions as you do to the actual show you will increase your chances of success.

Of course you want your booth to attract a crowd - that’s the whole reason you’re at the trade show right? But what happens if you don’t have enough booth staff to handle this rush of people? Say you only have two staffers in your smaller booth. How are they supposed to handle a rush?

First things first, you need to acknowledge all visitors that come into the booth, even if you are already engaged with a prospect. A simple head nod or wave while making eye contact should do it. An ignored prospect will be a gone prospect in about 30 seconds. Another good way to snag those prospects is to bring in newcomers into the conversation. If you’re demonstrating a product, include the new people as they come in.

Some other things to keep in mind:

- Keep your one-on-one conversations limited to 3-5 min.
- Keep your booth open to allow more people to step inside. Forget about chairs or big displays. Just bring the bare minimum of product and use graphics, brochures and swatches to show other options.
- Using AV is a great way to keep your prospects involved while you are with another person. Video can attract and educate visitors.

Remember to make every visitor feel important - that way you still get big leads from a small staff.