At a trade show, you rely on your booth to attract attention and draw attendees to your space. What attendees do when they get there is mostly up to your staff. Make sure your business is in a position to meet and exceed goals by carefully planning out who will be staffing your booth. Here are some best practices as you think about the team that will represent you at trade shows.
- Assign roles and responsibilities. As you assess your goals for the show, plan how they will affect your staffing decisions. If your goal is to build excitement around a new product, you might want a different type of personality than you would for a show that’s more focused on educating existing customers and strengthening relationships.
As you plan for the show, make a list of the core competencies and skills you anticipate needing to meet your specific goals. When you break these down, assign roles and responsibilities to your staffers so they know how they fit into the team.
- Get hands-on time. Whether you’re introducing a new product or showcasing a flagship staple, make sure all your booth staffers are intimately familiar with the ins and outs of the product. You can’t expect a novice to be able to capture information, bring attention, or answer attendee questions if they aren’t fully supplied with information. This is especially true for niche or specialty products. If a potential consumer thinks your staffer has no idea what they’re selling, you will not get their business.
- Be engaging. With that said, there are a few basic traits that your show staff should have, especially in the digital age. Face-to-face marketing is becoming increasingly rare, so make sure your staff can engage in small talk, give elevator and full-length pitches, and listen to attendee concerns and questions.
To maximize the return on your staff’s work, make sure they are all familiar with the digital tools that can increase engagement and facilitate conversations, whether that’s demonstrating software, showing videos and fact sheets, or simply searching for solutions.
As you staff your booth in the digital era, keep in mind that successful trade show marketers don’t just rely on digital media, as the traditional strengths will still be valuable. Don’t overlook team members who might not be tech whizzes but can still make valuable contributions.
Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Adler Display brings over 78 years of experience to its clients in need of recognition displays, lobby and corporate interiors, custom exhibits, historical timelines, trade show displays, and signage and graphics. For more information about Adler Display, please visit our website at www.adlerdisplay.com or call us at: 855-552-3537.