Because of the current health crisis, all our usual habits are being disrupted—most notably our social habits.
Gone are the days of stopping by your favorite coffee place before work, catching up with a friend over lunch, or bringing the kids to the park after dinner. We’re all having to get creative or even re-imagine the ways we usually connect now that we’re spending so much time cooped up.
For most of us, the routines of everyday life provide plenty of social engagement—even when we don’t necessarily want it! But now we must actively create that engagement. Technology certainly allows us all stay connected in more ways than one, but there are many other ways to connect with a little creativity. Here are just a few tips to stay connected during this period of social distancing.
At AffordableDisplays.com, we wanted to spare a moment in this busy holiday season to thank all of our clients for their continued loyalty and support. We are truly grateful for having the opportunity to work with unique brands all over the Unites States and beyond with such unique situations and interesting stories.
We love getting to know you and your needs so that we can better assist you. We’re thankful for your loyalty and for trusting us with your trade show display needs in 2019 and into the new year.
From our Team to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Our office & production will be CLOSED DECEMBER 23-JANUARY 1, 2020. We will reopen regular business hours on January 2, 2020.
A positive attitude will be remembered better than a negative one.
Put your game face on because attitude is everything when you want to be remembered at a trade show. Improving your image and demeanour is the reason why your attitude at a trade show makes the overall feel of your booth space memorable.
It is the expertise and professional demeanor of booth staffers that people will remember the most, despite all of your display magic. Remember to sound fresh and excited when talking to each prospective client – every interaction is a chance to make sales and generate leads.
Most of all, project confidence to show that you really believe and are excited about your product. Your enthusiasm will be contagious!
Reasons to recycle, reuse and refurbish your existing trade show display.
Change is inevitable – logos, marketing, products — and that sometimes means an upgrade for your trade show booth. So, how do you decide what to do with your old booth when it’s time to upgrade but still want to consider eco-friendly principles?
The earth-friendly principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle also apply to trade show booths just as much as they do elsewhere. We’ll also add another term to the list: Refurbish.
Here a few reasons to recycle, reuse and refurbish your existing trade show display. Don’t throw your old trade show display into a land fill just yet. There still may be hope.
Reduce
Reducing your trade show booth’s impact on the environment can be accomplished by investing in better quality, longer-lasting and lighter booth materials that don’t have to be replaced as often and don’t cost as much to ship. Some environmentally friendly materials are available for pop-up displays, fabric panel displays and eco-friendly printing media for banner stands. And when you choose these materials, you’ll reduce your overall trade show booth impact on mother nature.
Reuse
When you design your trade show booth, consider ways to make it reusable. For example, if you can use the same graphic to represent more than one product or use it to attend more than one trade show, you’ve extended the life and usability of that booth without incurring additional expense.
Recycle
Of course, there will be times when you really have to start from scratch, and this gives you the opportunity to get creative. Consider donating the booth to a nonprofit, a school, church or company that may not otherwise have the funds to afford such an item.
Refurbish
There are times when the expense of a new trade show booth is not necessary. Maybe all that’s needed is a well planned out remodeling effort. If your booth is looking a little, shall we say, used and abused, Affordable Exhibit Displays can update your graphics, resurface fabric panels and add new elements of your booth that give it a renewed, fresh look for your upcoming trade show season.
Remember, keeping your booth in tip top shape doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the environment. Plus, following practices that help the environment may also save money for your company in both now and later.
Take this one simple step to make sure you don’t forget the trade show lessons.
You might be thinking “how can one trade show tip help with my success?”. Well it’s true – we have just one tip to help spark ideas for the next trade show.
Write down any lessons learned. This way at the next show you won’t make the same mistake a second or even third time. Review the list prior to your next trade event since it’s easy to forget once you’ve left.
So simple, yet so effective. Try it and make the next trade show a success with this learned tip.
Let us know if you’ve got any lessons you’ve learned along the way.
It’s time to enhance your motivation and awaken the power within.
According to Wikipedia, Motivation is the activation or energy of a goal-oriented behavior. You already know the goal: focus on Trade show exhibit success. So are you actively trying to complete the steps you’ll need in order to achieve your goals. When it comes down to exhibiting in a tradeshow environment all attendees will know what kind of motivation you truly had. So, what can you do to enhance your motivation and awaken the power that will push you toward accomplishing trade show success?
Here are a 7 Motivational Suggestions:
MOTIVATION #1
Set one major goal for the trade show exhibit along with a few minor goals. The minor goals will act as small stepping stones heading towards your major goal. An example of a major goal is: to obtain X amount of new contacts at the show. Your minor goals are the road map to get those X new contacts – a giveaway entry form, a sign-up sheet to your newsletter, promotional product giveaway, product or information mailings.
MOTIVATION #2
Understand that finishing what you start is important. Whatever you start must be finished. Develop the habit of going to the finish line. Keep a running list of goals with dates on completion. Plus, keep it in plain view to look at each day.
MOTIVATION #3
Ask around. Know of someone else attending the show. Pick their brain on what steps they are taking or plan to take. Then mold their advice to fit your needs.
MOTIVATION #4
Don’t procrastinate. Procrastination leads to fewer accomplishments. Need a flyer printed; don’t wait until 2 days before the show.
MOTIVATION #5
Persistence, patience and not giving up despite failure and difficulties keep up the motivation to succeed.
MOTIVATION #6
Constantly affirm to yourself that you can and will succeed.
MOTIVATION #7
Visualize yourself at the show feeling great about the steps you’ve taken. Be proud!
Ask us at Affordable Exhibit Displays how having the right trade show exhibit display can also help your motivation.
Attending and exhibiting at an industry trade show is one way to get an edge.
Exhibiting at a tradeshow can offer you another avenue to get in front of a lot of customers and prospects in a relatively short period of time. With trade shows going on in convention halls all around the world, new contacts are made every day. Knowledge sharing is happening right now!
Education is what trade shows are all about. Whether attendees are catching up on the latest trends and techniques discussed at seminars, exhibitors informing buyers about their newest products/services or show-goers walking the aisles expecting to come out with more information than with which they arrived, knowledge was the main objective – getting it, expanding it, using it. And make sure you know what the most important trade show investment is.
Attending a tradeshow – even during a down economy – can be the best vehicle to obtain that knowledge and receive ideas that can help you make educated decisions on how to help your company move forward. Move forward by learning something new like that special technique or process you’ve been putting off, move forward by introducing that new product you’ve worked so hard on, move forward by getting that edge you need.
Or if you feel your business is in slow mode, you may need to apply some creative thinking to your business – step out of the box and tap into your creative side. Attending a tradeshow can pump up your creativity locked inside and provide the momentum needed to take the action to move forward. Get that push you need from a trade show!
Here’s another reason to consider: visibility is important. If you’ve consistently attended an industry show in the past and suddenly do not, your absence may send a negative message about your business to your employees, suppliers, and worse – your competitors. Keep going even if you think the profit is not there – what you don’t know is that it is.
The TRADE SHOW is an ideal vehicle to obtain the knowledge that you need to help you strategize, improve operations and make smart decisions to help you compete and win. You and your business should be a part of the action – starting right now!
PS: How about this tip: Remember that most shows also publish daily news bulletins — both print and online — use that to your advantage for recognition before, during and after the show.
Success at a trade show depends upon this one important piece.
“A positive attitude is an individual choice that impacts the whole team.”
The people that staff your Trade Show booth are an investment in the overall success of the show just as the display and graphics are. They make up the ‘feel’ of your booth. Not only should the booth staffers be an expert with your product or service, they must be your most ‘people oriented’ individuals as they represent your image.
Trade shows are a place where talking is not only a must but where too much of it is perfect.
You advertise with newspapers, magazines, online, before and after the trade shows – the list goes on and on. Has that been working for you? Of course, your still in business aren’t you. But a whole new world can open up with this marketing tactic at your next trade show: word of mouth marketing. Here are some tips to keep the talk going.
Word of Mouth Marking:
1. Is rarely talked about and has the potential to boost you not only in general but at a Trade Show tool.
2. If done right, it costs nothing.
3. If you have a great product it should come easy to you.
4. It carries far more weight than any of the other media methods above.
Word of Mouth Marketing is the best ‘consumer-to-consumer’ based marketing technique. Sealing the deals at a trade show by making sure your engagement is high and Word Of Mouth Marketing can take you there.
Myth: Word of Mouth Marketing is about getting others to spread your ‘marketing message.’
Truth: Word of Mouth Marketing is really about building a great product and letting your customer pass on the news however they feel.
Word-of-Mouth marketing builds immediate value and worth for your company/product because it comes from a trusted source – business partners, peers, relatives, friends and so forth. How many times have you tried that new razor or brand of gum just because someone else told you how great it was? I bet you can think of at least one time and it may even be recent. That was Word-of-Mouth advertising – effortless to do and great for the product.
But how can this be encouraged and transfer over into a trade show environment? Word-of-Mouth can greatly increase the interest at your booth during a trade show.Try some of these simple techniques to help boost the word that is spread about you at a trade show.
1. Engage the attendees. Like we have said before it’s all about keeping the attendee entertained. Product demonstrations are a great way to engage the attendees giving them the ‘wow’ factor you are looking for. The ‘wow’ factor is what prompts them to turn around and whisper in the ear of others – check out xxx’s booth, their product is really cool.2. Interact with them. Take their photo at your booth. Utilize this a couple of ways: either send a white paper after the show with their photo or let them know you will be using it in your newsletter or posted on a web page thanking all of the visitors you had. Conducting interviews or surveys gives you an opportunity to mingle and gather valuable feedback information all at the same time.
3. Ask their opinion. Asking for their honest opinion of your product or service can prompt conversation as well. This is a opportunity to get some feedback from the end users, giving you an incite into what they may be saying to others out there. Ask if they have ever recommended your product to anyone they know. This may give you a good idea on how word of mouth works for you.
4. In last months July newsletter, we talked about choosing your Promotional giveaway. Well, this little item is also intertwined with word of mouth at the trade show. If it unique enough the show-goers will be spreading the news – visit booth # to get your own. The giveaway can work for you throughout the whole show. A carrying type item will do the advertising for you.
5. Lastly, start early with your advertising efforts. Promote your strongest reason to get the attendees to start talking about visiting your booth before the show even begins. Enticing them to tell their fellow associates attending the show will draw more visitors to you. In the end more word of mouth will be spread.
Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about your product and how much they – the users – like it. The more buzz you create the greater word spread will be achieved. Isn’t that what you are aiming for?
Scanning the trade show crowd sometimes can be surprising at how many people stopped their every day business to attend the show. Coming from local and from far away places but yet all are there for the same reason.
Yet, year after year attending that same trade show with so many others may seem tedious and repetitive feeling what’s the point in all this effort…
The point: if nothing else, a Trade Show is no better a place to form new relationships while maintaining and reinforcing the existing relationships.
Here are 5 strategies to keep you and your business going. Because the point is: reinforcement of strength in both presence and relationships.
Tip 1:
Focus on Features. Does every user of your product or service know it completely from the in to the out? Doubt it! Try taking your most overlooked features and push them. Get them recognized as a ‘new’ benefit.
Tip 2:
Focus on the Future. Is something new and exciting coming but not quite there? Are you starting to focus on eco-friendly processing but it’s not quite ready to unveil how. Start the buzz talk now, ahead of time, to get your new and old prospects talking and especially wanting that new service or item. Jump start it now.
Tip 3:
Use the Proctor & Gamble strategy to make something old something ‘New and Improved’. Here and there you may notice they use that on their laundry detergent, shampoo brands, etc. If you have changed your product and it is New and Improved well say it. No need to reinvent the wheel when you can just enhance what you already have.
Tip 4:
Focus on the People. Take your best faces and best workers and put them out there. The ones who make your products, the ones who make your services run smoothly. Put a face on the action behind the scene.
Tip 5:
Focus on Service. Have great customer service. Keep on proving it. Highlight your best services that make your customer’s happy to work with you.
So, the point is even if you think you don’t have something new to say, step back and really think about it. You will find something new based upon what you already have. And don’t forget to search for new trade show events you’ve never been to before. A new venture could be the new avenue your brand has been searching for.
SHOP DISPLAYS NOW 
