Tricks of the Trade: Design your Booth for Maximum Impact

The fight for your customer's attention at a tradeshow has never been so intense. Budget cutbacks in the travel sector means that buyers spend less time than ever at shows. To make the most of their time, they pre-plan their agendas and do their best to stick to them. The rules of the game are forever changed.

Since so many buyers are on a tight schedule ? frequently, they're only at the show for a day ? they're no longer there to window shop or go bargain hunting. The good news is that they're there to "buy" ? the bad news is that if you're not on their A-list, you may not get the chance to pitch them. But a well-designed tradeshow booth can change their minds ? with the right presentation, you can make sure they "see" you, whether they planned to or not.

Think Outside the Booth

When designing your booth it's important to think about the impression you make from a distance. Focus on distance viewing first, keeping in mind that at an actual tradeshow, there will lots of distractions between your potential customer and your display. Make sure your lettering is big enough to read from a distance and place it the upper half of your display that people standing in front of the booth won't block it! Pay special attention to lighting and color as these two features contribute significantly to the overall image you convey.

What's Your Sign?

Nothing is more important than your signage and there are several key elements you should to incorporate it into your design. First, your sign's lettering must be distinguishable from its surroundings. Make sure your text is large enough to be read from a distance and place it over a plain background ? a textured background can add interest, but it interferes with readability. It's not a good tradeoff.

If space is an issue and you don't have room for lettering as large as you'd like, use light-colored letters against a dark background. The contrast will make the lettering appear larger and viewers will find it easier to read. Adding a border helps focus attention and helps the viewer read it faster.

Use an accent color to present the information you want your customer to retain. Studies show that the use of a second color for key words increases the reader's retention of that information by a whopping 78%. That's a huge advantage in your fight to catch the buyer's eye.

What's your story?

Storyboards have always been an effective tool for conveying the most information in the least amount of time. The tradeshow version of this depicts 10 to 15 photographs of people using your product or service. This is an incredibly powerful way of conveying your message, even if your booth is unattended. The photos give your product a credibility that mere words wouldn't and ideally, will prompt anyone looking at them to seek out a salesperson to find out more. When selecting the photos to use, be cognizant of the message you want to convey and choose wisely - the average viewing time of the entire wall will be around two minutes.

As with anything, a little preparation goes a long way, and this is especially true when it comes to trade shows. But a little "sleight of hand" never hurts either. Take advantage of the tricks of the trade to convey your message, and you'll be well on your way to a stand out show.

Patty Stripes is an editor for The Trade Show Both, an online resource where she has posted various articles about improving your trade show booth performance and getting creative with trade show displays.

---

Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:05:39 GMT Jobless rate soars to 6.1% - CNNMoney.com Macon Area Online Jobless rate soars to 6.1% CNNMoney.com - 59 minutes ago Unemployment surges to 5-year high as employers cut workers for eighth straight month, bringing '08 job losses to 605000. By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney. Unemployment Rate Hits 5-Year High As Economy Continues to Shed Jobs Wall Street Journal Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.1% New York Times TheStreet.com - Forex Pros - Reuters - RTT News all 36 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:05:45 GMT Thai PM buys time with referendum plan - Reuters BBC News Thai PM buys time with referendum plan Reuters - 4 hours ago By Darren Schuettler BANGKOK (Reuters) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has bought some time with a referendum aimed at defusing street protests, but it will do nothing to resolve Thailand's fundamental political conflict, analysts say. Video: Locking horns over politics in Thailand -- 05 September 2008 AlJazeeraEnglish ANALYSIS: Thai demonstration raises democracy issues Monsters and Critics.com AFP - Times Online - Aljazeera.net - Inter Press Service all 3,754 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:33:48 GMT So What If Sarah Palin Used a Speechwriter? - FOXNews BBC News So What If Sarah Palin Used a Speechwriter? FOXNews - 1 hour ago By Betsy Newmark Disdaining Sarah Palin’s speech last night because she had a speechwriter is one of the lamest criticisms of her performance last night. Video: Inside the Tent: Reactions to Sarah Palin's speech Part 4 ReutersVideo Panel Reviews Palin, Previews McCain RealClearPolitics Baltimore Sun - Detroit Free Press - New York Times - Los Angeles Times all 4,224 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:03:46 GMT Haiti doubles hurricane death toll; US extends storm watches and ... - International Herald Tribune Boston Globe Haiti doubles hurricane death toll; US extends storm watches and ... International Herald Tribune - 51 minutes ago AP WILMINGTON, North Carolina: Tropical storm watches and warnings in the United States were extended from Georgia to areas just south of New York City on Friday as states along the Atlantic braced for Tropical Storm Hanna, which killed at least 137 ... Southeast states brace for Tropical Storm Hanna The Associated Press Hanna heads to Carolinas; Ike not far behind CNN International guardian.co.uk - StarNewsOnline.com - Greenville News - New York Times all 2,807 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:14:26 GMT Partisan Reception Greets Palin as VP Pick - ABC News CTV.ca Partisan Reception Greets Palin as VP Pick ABC News - 2 hours ago Sarah Palin is receiving a highly partisan reception on the national political stage, with significant public doubts about her readiness to serve as president, yet majority approval of both her selection by John McCain and her willingness to join the ... Video: Joe Biden On Palin's Speech CBS Obama Camp Turns to Clinton to Counter Palin New York Times Boston Globe - AFP - Evening Bulletin - USA Today all 1,899 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:18:50 GMT McCain honors NH soldier in convention speech - Boston Globe BBC News McCain honors NH soldier in convention speech Boston Globe - 1 hour ago ST. PAUL, Minn.—In his speech to the Republican National Convention, presidential candidate John McCain paid tribute to a New Hampshire soldier killed in Iraq. Video: "Change is coming," McCain tells convention - 05 Sept 2008 AlJazeeraEnglish US media mixed on McCain speech BBC News Marin Independent-Journal - Memphis Commercial Appeal - Today's TMJ4 - Detroit Free Press all 1,008 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:43:54 GMT State falling way behind No Child Left Behind - San Francisco Chronicle Modesto Bee State falling way behind No Child Left Behind San Francisco Chronicle - 6 hours ago California schools, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act to lift more students over a higher academic hurdle this year, instead stumbled and slipped back, as nearly 1400 fewer schools met test-score targets. Only 48% of California high schools meet federal standards, even ... Los Angeles Times Middle schools lead county's API scores The Salinas Californian Visalia Times-Delta - Record-Searchlight - Modesto Bee - Register Pajaronian all 106 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:41:11 GMT RSS For Web Pages Increase Website Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Marketing Tips- Who Are You Competing With?

Before you can market, you need to know who you... Read More

Finding Your Niche: What Do You Want To Be Known For?

In my experience, there are two kinds of small business... Read More

Utilizing Your Best Hidden Asset To Increase Sales

You probably already have in your possession one of the... Read More

The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product!

The REAL key to successful marketing of any product is... Read More

Buzz Word

Offline, it's called word-of-mouth advertising. Online, it's known as viral... Read More

Beyond Repair: The Fixed-price Model

Don't get me wrong. I certainly don't think the majority... Read More

Postcards ? Picture Perfect Promotion

There is a simple but almost mystical law which governs... Read More

The 3 Unknown Steps of Marketing Success

To be your own marketing expert you first need to... Read More

Are You Playing Checkers or Chess?

When you think about how to attract more clients for... Read More

Are You Marketing Backwards?

Marketing is like rowing a boat. When you know how... Read More

Increase Your Profits Through Customer Loyalty

The job of convincing your existing customers to spend higher... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started

1) Create systemsCreate systems for everything you do, especially those... Read More

Hispanic Market Reality and Purchasing Power

How many Hispanic people live in the US currently. Well... Read More

Referrals - How to Get Them

Referrals are an extension of Networking. If people like you... Read More

Strategic Marketing and Tactical Marketing Know The Differences And Profit

Most people mistakenly assume that when you talk about marketing,... Read More

Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition or USP

Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition"Don't tell them what you do.... Read More

Low-Cost Marketing With Postcards

Here's a simple way you can generate lots of sales... Read More

Determining Visitor Types

The trade show floor is full of different types of... Read More

10 Reasons Why Businesses Fail at Marketing.

1) They don't fully understand it.Perception: Marketing is advertising. Reality:... Read More

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More

15 Ways to Promote eLearning Programs

Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to... Read More

Boost Your Direct Mail Response Rates with Mapping Technology

On Superbowl Sunday, Domino's Pizza delivered more than 900,000 pizzas-and... Read More

Small Business Marketing Tip ? Putting the Customer First.

I am a great believer in the keeping to the... Read More

5 Steps for Developing a Marketing Tag Line for Your Product, Business, or Website

A marketing tag line is the one or two line... Read More

Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service

The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect... Read More