Every marketing director's nightmare is a trade show booth with zero traffic. In today’s media driven society, it has become increasingly difficult to attract and hold your visitors' attention by traditional means. Although people don't want to stand at your trade show booth and listen to a longwinded sales pitch, they will share their valuable time with you if you plan correctly.

Pre-Show Planning

By properly planning your booth at a trade show, you can minimize errors while maximizing your ROI (return on investment). First, visit the trade show's website and find the Exhibitor's Manual. This will let you know what the trade show allows for booth promotion, as well as any rules regarding worker's unions and transporting equipment.

Be sure to ask yourself the right questions:

• Where will my booth be located?
• How will I attract crowds to my booth?
• What is my final goal (sales, lead collection, surveys, etc)?
• Who is my target audience?

Statistically speaking, a booth at the intersection of two aisles (corner booth) will maximize visibility and give more room for a crowds to gather to watch a company presentation or a live marketer.

Live Marketing

There is a reason that infomercials are still so successful. There is no more effective way to sell a product than by a live demonstration. Unfortunately, this isn't feasible for every company. Service-based companies, for instance, cannot perform a product demo. Most companies turn to giveaways or models to draw in a crowd. They may acheive a marginal success, but these types of promotions do not reinforce your product or service.

A study conducted by independent trade show research firm magician for your trade show booth can be one of the most effective ways to stop traffic. An experienced trade show magician will not only stop traffic, but will keep people at your booth and help generate qualified leads for your sales team. The best magicians will provide infotainment by creating a customized script for their routines. This will reinforce your sales and marketing efforts, and help give people at the show a reason to remember your company and booth.

Proper Use of Giveaways

Trade show giveaways are expensive, and do not necessarily help brand your company unless they are directly related to your product or service. Useful giveaways, like pens or pencils, only get lost in the shuffle. Many companies have found recent success by putting their marketing materials on a flash drive, and using that as a giveaway. Obviously, this is not feasible for everybody. Find something that your target audience will keep, and make sure to trade them a giveway for their contact information!

When using a magician in your booth, you can give away customized magic tricks. These can be printed with your logo, and they give people something to hold on to and share with their friends and children.

Conclusion

Secure a contract for all bookings, and make that you understand all the rules for your show. Contact everybody working with you a couple days in advance to make sure that they are all on the correct schedule. Arrive early to make sure things have been set up correctly, and make sure to have a good amount of coffee on hand for the day. And finally, don't forget your badges!