10 Ways to Stand Out: An Exhibition Guide
Need inspiration for your stand at Multimodal? Take a look at our top exhibition stand ideas and how to make the most of your setup.
Expos and trade shows are all about putting your best foot forward and appealing to your audience. Much like a stage production, getting the setting, cast, and action right is key to leaving your audience wowed and ensuring you develop lasting business relationships. With that in mind, we’re going to look at the top 10 tips and ideas to stand out with your exhibition stand.
Prepare for success
First and foremost, the event doesn’t start on day one, it starts months before! To get the most out of your exhibition you should prime potential attendees or customers with dedicated marketing strategies. This could be sending invites to existing or potential customers, shouting about the event (and your presence) on social media, or making plans to chat with industry professionals at the event itself.
Multimodal is all about sharing ideas and developing the industry, so use your time wisely and carry out a little self-promotion in the months leading up to the event.
Know your audience
This is another preparation task but one that can certainly help inform your stand, its layout, and any other strategies to catch attendees’ attention. Consider your industry and its expectations;
- What pain points do they have?
- What unique selling points can you offer?
- What type of language would they expect?
- Are there any themes that are hot topics?
These questions can help you map out how you want to prepare, be it with topics for conversation, some research, or stats to wow prospective clients, or just understanding the issues that need to be addressed.
Once you have an idea of who will stop by your exhibition stand, you can start jotting down ideas for stand layout, the info that you need to present, or features to draw the crowds.
This also works the other way around. If you are looking to subvert expectations, make your approach a bit more tongue-in-cheek or otherwise challenge the norms, then this exercise is a must.
Whichever way you play, knowing your audience allows you to attract the right customers, making your experience that much more beneficial.
Make the most of your location
Your stand location has strengths and weaknesses. It may be near a central route, or food trucks. Whatever your location, consider the best place for advertising or visual elements. You will want to make sure they attract visitors’ attention and convince them to stop by your stand.
You should also consider the dimensions of your stand and make the most of the space you have. Do you have products to display? Create an experience or bespoke display unit to show off your products. Do you offer a unique set of services? Create an inviting space where visitors can stop by and have a chat.
Once you have your audience in mind you can get to work creating a memorable exhibition stand that will be the talk of the UK market.
Find a theme
One of the best ways to build an exhibition stand design is to centre all your research is to create a theme for your exhibition stand. This doesn’t have to be a gimmick, but rather an extension of your brand. Think about your ethos, branding, and corporate identity. Are there any parts of the business that can be used as a starting point for your theme?
For example, if you run a logistics company that specialises in 24-hour deliveries, perhaps create a race-themed stand or one that highlights your ability to deliver products quickly.
Alternatively, if you have a cause close to your heart, like green energy, you can set up a stand with this in mind.
Your theme will all depend on your services and message, so plan accordingly and ensure that your theme centralises who you are and what you can offer potential customers.
Entice visitors
You’ve got your stand picked out, you have your theme, and now it’s time to think of how to engage your audience. Do away with business cards in a bowl and go for something different!
A giveaway or competition is a fun way to incorporate your theme into your stand and provides a nice icebreaker for your team. For example, a simple skill game can be an effective way to attract visitors with the promise of potentially winning gadgets, luxury items, or perhaps a free consultation with your team.
Complimentary food and drink are also incredibly useful in attracting visitors in this regard but do require additional planning for preparation, storage, food allergies, and refrigeration.
Live demonstrations of your products and services can also be a great way to show off expertise and initiate conversation naturally.
Make your brand stand out
With all of these bells and whistles it’s easy to lose focus on what matters. Your brand. All games, giveaways, and themes should gravitate towards your brand. Be it branding on cupcakes, a bespoke VR experience, or even just a play on words, your brand should always stand out.
Doing so ensures that when someone leaves your stand they remember who you are and are more likely to look you up or contact you after the show. But more on that later.
Keep it bright and inviting
Sometimes it’s the small things. Take lighting. When you approach a restaurant, do you gravitate towards places that flood warm light or harsh white light? The same works for your exhibition stand. A warm, inviting space is easier to approach than a dark or harshly-lit stand.
Depending on the budget you have, and the skills or time you have available, consider how you can enhance the aesthetic appeal of your stand or concept. For example, a bespoke stand with recessed lighting or minimalist standing lamps can give the idea of modernity while filament bulbs create a warmer, more laid-back space.
You can also employ angled light boxes or targeted coloured light to entice attendees and draw them in.
Don’t be too wordy
Visual impact is important to designing the best exhibition stand you can so avoid getting too wordy wherever possible. Punchy calls-to-action, highlighting unique sale points, impressive statistics about your performance; these are all great ways to convey the value of your proposition without getting bogged down in walls of text. Save the details for brochures or your chat.
Get tech savvy
Showing off new tech can be a great tool for enticing attendees or highlighting your services. Use your stand to show product demos or prototypes. Alternatively, set up a VR experience, tablet or touch screen experiences, or other tools that attendees can engage with while your team is busy. This will help keep people engaged at your stand, and potentially lead to more conversations and networking.
Follow up after the event
Last, but not least, once you’ve completed all the planning and attended the event, take the time to follow up with highlights from the events, social media posts, and outreach. Email prospective attendees after the event and ask about their experience.
By opening a dialogue after the fact, you can show you are committed to developing new opportunities and remind people of who you are. You should aim to follow up within 2 weeks to ensure you make the most of the momentum.
If you’d like to learn more about Multimodal UK and how you can get the inside track, then enquire about Multimodal here and discover the UK’s biggest logistics and supply chain event. Packed with exhibitions and seminars, this event is not to be missed and is perfect for networking, learning new skills and supercharging your business.
