I have always considered trade shows to be one of the best ways to promote my business and showcase our new and exciting products. Over the years I have had some great success at trade shows and throughout that time I have learned the best and worst ways to go about business, and how we can best attract an audience, and most importantly, sell our business, and our products.

One of the most important aspects of the trade show experience, and how you can really push for success, is the display booth which you decide upon. I must be honest, in the past I never really saw much value in spending money on a custom designed trade booth, and I used to use a stock display, white, and pretty lifeless. I bought a custom made display at ExpoMarketing after some friends suggested that I did, and the next trade show went amazingly well, convincing me of the power which the display can have. In terms of designing your display, there are some key considerations which you need to make, and from experience, here are my suggestions.

Colours

The common theme which runs throughout this design process is that the display which you decide upon should reflect your brand. Colours are key to this as it is the colours, as well as the logos of your business which people will remember and in terms of brand growth, these are the small details which you should be focussed on. Your display’s colours should represent those of your business and your products.

Space

A large display is only beneficial if you are able to fill it with quality, empty spaces are not appealing and large displays are not going to make you stand out any more than something smaller. The key to your display’s size is that it is functional and fit for purpose, that it gives visitors space to view the product without feeling claustrophobic and that it is sizeable enough of you to deal with customers and sales, separately from the people who are viewing your products.

Bells and Whistles

I have seen all manner of different displays throughout the years and what I have found is that those who want to add all kinds of lights, moving parts or ostentatious designs to their booths, are those who sell less. Firstly this is because if you decorate a display in such an eye-catching way, you need to be able to back this up with the quality of your products, in most instances, this is not the case. The second reason to avoid this is that it smacks of desperation and doesn’t give the message of a business who is taking things seriously. The example I would give here is Apple, think about their stores, clean, bright, spacious, fresh and simple product presentation at its fines. The reason that Apple do this is because their products are so good, if your products are great, just get them out there, without the necessary bells and whistles.