How to encourage attendees to participate in trade shows

Attending a trade show is an effective way to increase awareness of your brand. Don’t just sit back and expect attendees to swarm your booth, however, as there is no guarantee they will have ever heard of  or even remember your company’s name. It’s important to engage attendees so that your brand stays at the top of their mind. Global Experience Specialists (GES) Chief Sales Officer Jeff Quade said it’s possible to turn visitors into active participants with a “bottom-up” technique. “Attendees aren’t passively sitting at events watching a talking head, meeting participants are demanding a greater say and expect active engagement,” he explained.

Here is some advice on how to encourage attendees to participate in trade shows:

Conduct a demonstration
Demonstrations help visitors understand how your products can benefit them in their daily lives. An eye-catching presentation that explains how your products work could make attendees more likely to stop by your booth. Mike Thimmesch, director of industry relations for Skyline Exhibits, believes it’s okay to begin the demo before anyone is at your booth. “Eventually they will stop, and if they don’t, you didn’t lose anything for your time.” Once the demonstration is over, you can even hand out promotional items to a more captive audience.

Play a game
Another great way to keep trade show attendees engaged is to host a game. Everyone loves a good competition, which will make it easier to inspire active participation from the crowd – especially if they know they could win a prize at the end. For example, consider having a raffle. Before you ask attendees to fill out cards with their names and contact information, show them the prize they might  win. This will get them a little more excited about taking part in the raffle.

Choose quality promotional products
If you want to entice attendees to stop by your booth, it’s important to display unique promotional items. Although pens and coffee mugs are always useful, they aren’t very original. Stand out from the crowd by offering promotional products that are more tailored toward your audience. If you are at a trade show for writers, for example, consider giving away laptop bags. When writers see these bags at your booth, they will be more likely to stop by to see what your business is all about.

Ask attendees open-ended questions
Instead of giving a sales pitch, ask attendees questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Doing this will directly engage potential customers and show that you are willing to offer solutions to their problems with your products and services. For instance, if you run a skin care company, ask attendees what their biggest complexion issues are. After they give you their answer, explain how your company’s products can help them with their problems.

Trying one or more of these techniques at your next trade show can motivate attendees to participate.