Having a great booth design experience starts with finding a professional, innovative exhibit house. But what comes next? How can you guarantee that your exhibit will suit your marketing goals?
Here are 15 questions to ask to ensure that your booth is effective, lucrative, and perfect for your trade show needs:
1. DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE BRANDING GUIDELINES, logo and graphic files, and other design specifications? Can you share these files?
Coming prepared with a brand guide, logos, and other important graphics helps your design team formulate and create an exhibit that is unmistakably yours. Similarly, providing your branding guidelines and brand materials will help to prevent any unwanted surprises related to colors, fonts, and graphics.
2. WHAT SIZE SHOULD THE EXHIBIT BE? Do you plan to reconfigure the exhibit for other shows? If so, what sizes might you need for the future?
Make sure your design team knows if you plan on using your booth for other events. A great design team can create a booth that can flex in size and shape to suit any exhibit space. Knowing whether you plan to reuse your booth multiple times will also affect the choice of materials.
3. WHAT IS THE BUDGET?
Having a clear budget is essential. Still undecided about an exact budget? The next best option is a workable budget range. No exhibitor wants to be presented with a beautiful booth outside their budget, or underwhelmed by a booth designed for a lower budget.
4. Do you want to purchase your booth, or rent one? Or, a combination of both?
This information assists the designer in choosing materials and designing to a specific budget, and also helps your design team ensure that your budget is being used as effectively as possible, based on your specific needs.
5. What physical properties does the exhibit need to have? For example, workstations, counters, slatwall, a semi-private or private conference area, monitors, storage, etc?
Think about what you’ll be doing in your booth. Will your product require samples to be displayed or handed out? Will your staff be performing intricate demonstrations or presentations? Is there a chance your potential clients would prefer a confidential conversation space? Questions like these are imperative.
If you don’t have all the answers yet, don’t panic. A great exhibit house can help you hash out your booth needs and the best course of action for your trade show goals.
6. What type of display have you used in the past? Are you looking for something similar or would you like to go in a different direction? What did you like or not like about the previous booth?
Your previous exhibiting experiences serve as excellent guides for your new design team. Think about what you would KEEP from your previous booth and what you would CHANGE. Refer to past trade show debriefs, if you have them.
7. Are there any materials or construction methods you prefer?
Maybe you’d like an easier setup in the future. Maybe you found that the materials from a past booth were a breeze to clean, and you’d like to use the same ones. Maybe shipping was a pain and you’d like something with less hassle. All of these little details can help your team create a booth that’s just right for your needs.
8. Are there any unusual dimensional restrictions? Can you provide show regulations?
Some shows have unusual restrictions for aspects such as booth height, signage, or setbacks from the aisle. It’s helpful to provide this information, or to come prepared with a list of the trade shows you may be interested in so your exhibit house can look into it.
9. Will you display product(s)? What are the dimensions and specifications of the product(s)? How do you prefer to show the products?
Your products should be the star of the show. Your design team can help them take center stage using display cases, countertops, shelves, hooks, mounts, and more. Provide as much information as you can about your products and how many you’d like to display.
10. Does the display need to be portable or modular? Does it need to ship via FedEx or UPS or are you OK with packing in custom crates?
The answers to these questions will guide the choice of materials and the sizes and shapes of the various aspects of your booth. If you aren’t sure, your exhibit house can help explain how shipping might look for different types of booths. Then you can pick the option that’s right for you.
11. Who will assemble the display: show labor or your own team?
Your exhibit house needs this information to determine how the booth setup should be designed. Exhibit Options, for example, has effective solutions for either option and will book and coordinate show labor for booth rentals - that's one less thing to worry about!
12. Do you have any images of design elements you like?
Even if these "inspiration images" are not trade show related, they are still very helpful. For example, architectural elements, finishes, colors, natural elements, retail environments, etc. can all help your design team to better understand the aesthetic that you're looking for.
13. What is the design due date?
Typically, Exhibit Options designs are ready to view within a few business days. However, every project and every client generally has a unique timeline. Be clear with your design team so that they can stick to a timeline that suits your needs.
14. What is the show's opening date?
This is very important to know from the very beginning, as it helps your exhibit house formulate a timeline for designing and building your exhibit. It's important to note that the timeline can have a variety of implications related to your booth design. For example, your designer will select very different materials to use for a 3-week timeframe than they would for a 3-month time frame.
15. What words would you use to describe your company?
This is our design team’s favorite question. What do you want visitors to your booth to "feel" about your company? The way in which you describe your company helps provide the designer with additional insight to craft a personalized, experiential space that exudes the feelings you've specified. From "opulent" to "badass," we have heard some interesting descriptors.
Don’t have all the answers?
Don’t worry, no one does! That’s where an experienced exhibit house can provide additional value. The professionals at Exhibit Options have been trusted partners in the trade show industry for over 15 years. We can help you turn that "dream booth" into a reality, as well as partner with you to help ensure you have a positive trade show experience.
Give us a call today!
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