The 5 Biggest Trade Show Booth Mistakes to Avoid
Trade shows expose you to a wider audience, help you gain brand visibility and awareness, and allow you to expand your network. While trade shows can be wonderful opportunities, they can also be total failures if you don’t take the right approach.
The key to a successful trade show is to create an effective trade show booth and avoid these five common mistakes.
1. Your Trade Show Booth Is Far from the Entrance
One of the worst things you can do is have a hidden trade show booth. If you are a new exhibitor and reserved your space late, you may have extra work ahead of you. Depending on your relationship with the venue and the size of your space, you may be able to negotiate a better location that’s easier for your potential audience to find.
2. Shipping Delays & Poor Logistics
What’s worse than a bad booth location is not having a booth at all! That’s why you need to have a plan in place months before the trade show takes place. You’ll need to make sure your booth, equipment, and marketing materials are shipped to the venue on time. Additionally, you should always have a person in charge of logistics.
3. Your Technical Equipment Isn’t Working
Even if your booth arrives on time, you may have last-minute mishaps during the set-up process. For example, your location may not have electrical hookups, or enough hookups for all of your equipment. Give yourself time to test everything to ensure it’s working properly, and double check what the venue provides to all exhibitors before you reserve your spot.
4. Your Trade Show Booth Doesn’t Fit the Space
Next, knowing the size of the space when ordering your booth is essential. You don’t want a booth that’s too small or too large. When you’re reserving your spot, be sure you know the dimensions of your space. Working with a professional trade show booth designer can also help you prevent this issue. .
5. Your Booth Is Not Designed for Your Audience
Lastly, one of the most important elements of trade show marketing is making sure you’re in the right place. You need to know if you are attending a B2C or B2B trade show. This will set the stage for your design. Your booth for B2C will look completely different from the one that’s strictly B2B. Also be sure to have the right type of media for your audience, whether that’s paper, digital, or a combination of both.
The best way to ensure that your trade show booth is designed with your audience in mind is to first define who your audience is and then perform the necessary research. You should have a buyer persona created before you even reserve your spot at the trade show.
Other Common Mistakes to Avoid
Beyond the five mistakes we mentioned above, there are some other less-severe mistakes you can avoid.
First, not setting the right budget is very common. In an effort to cut costs, you may end up spending more money to rectify the mistake. Another common mistake is not getting the word out before the event. If people don’t know you’ll be there, how will they know to look for your booth? You should be promoting your participation months in advance and all throughout your appearance. Finally, the text and graphics you use speak volumes. Your display should draw people in and want them to read more. Your graphics say a lot about what you do, who you are, and how you can help your target audience.
You can avoid these mistakes by having a strong team of professionals by your side. They should know what to expect at a trade show, what costs you should know about, and how to design an eye-catching trade show booth.
Avoid Trade Show Booth Mistakes With Help from GraphiColor
Working with an experienced team can make all the difference. Even if you’re not a first-time exhibitor, a little guidance and advice can go a long way. If you’re planning to attend trade shows this year, reach out to GraphiColor. Our award-winning team has over four decades of combined experience and specializes in designing and building custom trade show booths, displays, and banners.
Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can help you.
