There are literally thousands of people at your show—and yet you're only engaging with a fraction of them. How can you increase the number of attendees you have the opportunity to meet and qualify?
The following are 3D Exhibits' four favorite tactics to increase booth traffic.
1. Work the aisle. The quality of your booth staff is almost as powerful in attracting prospects as the combined impact of almost every other aspect of your booth. Chances are there are dozens of people who slowed down to look at your booth and would have stopped—if only someone from your booth staff had interacted with them. Rectify this and capitalize on those otherwise lost opportunities by training your staff to step out of the booth and engage anyone who slows down (this is a service 3D Exhibits can provide for you).
If you'd like a suggestion of what your team should say to the people they engage, one of the most universal lines we've heard is this: "Hi, I noticed you slowed down. Can I ask what caught your eye?"
If your booth staff is too shy to engage, hire a professional booth ambassador to connect with people in the aisles and transition them to your team members. There are several agencies that specialize in trade show talent. Specify that you want someone who exudes a professional appearance and is articulate enough to confidently and convincingly ask attendees if they'd like to learn more about your product. This level of talent will cost more than a young model who smiles and hands out literature, but the impact he or she will make in engaging prospects will be worth it (this is also a service 3D Exhibits can provide for you).
2. Highlight what's new. Most attendees we interview when we do exhibit audits tell us that when they walk the show floor, they scan every booth to see what's new. This means that if you've clearly highlighted your newest offerings, the people who will be interested in them will notice and stop.
3. Get on attendees' must-see list before the show. Many attendees make a list of exhibits they plan to visit before they even get to the show. By reaching out to attendees prior to the show, you can secure a place on their list.
The best tactics to do this are pre-show mailers, eblasts, personal emails—and even phone calls with a personal invitation. Just make sure your message includes a clear WIIFM (what's in it for me) that resonates with your target audience.
4. Activity attracts crowds. The rule of rubbernecking applies as much to exhibit halls as it does to highways. When people spot something happening, they'll slow down to see what's going on.
Apply this to your exhibit by running frequent presentations or demos—either manned or mechanical. Sound amplification will increase the number of people who stop.
If you have technology in your exhibit, entice more people to engage by having a team member get them started by demoing how the activity works.
A small trick many people overlook is to seed a crowd by having a couple of their own team members stand and watch the demo. This works because when people see other people gathered, they automatically stop to see what everyone else is looking at.
Regardless of which tactics you use, always engage and qualify everyone who comes by. That way you'll leave the show with metrics on how many qualified attendees you connected with and a list of prospects to follow up with.
How have you increased your booth traffic?
