During your trade show retrospectives, you may come across some issues that need to be addressed. From low foot traffic to poor engagement with show attendees (when compared to your competitor’s round-the-clock visitors and crowd-drawing product demos), you may be faced with the harsh reality that the culprit may be your booth design—and you’re probably right.
So how do you know whether your booth needs a few design adjustments or a total makeover? Here’s the breakdown:
Why refresh your booth design?
1. You’ve got a case of “booth envy”:
You may find yourself strolling the expo, coveting the booths with the tallest tower or the phenomenal flooring. Identify some specific elements, like a hanging feature, trade show kiosks or new lighting, that could enliven your trade show booth design without a total teardown.
2. You’re missing some booth functionality:
The busy booths have something you don’t, but it’s not always related to how your booth looks. Perhaps the lingering visitors at a competitor’s booth are due to comfy seating and charging stations. Consider swapping out furniture, or wiring for your guests’ convenience.
3. You’re attracting visitors who aren’t leads:
If your booth is frequently drawing people in who don’t actually turn out to be lead candidates, something is amiss. Perhaps your trade show graphics aren’t conveying your business type or product. Maybe your product is not prominent enough. Swapping out images or relocating products could solve the problem without investing in a new booth.
4. You’ve been out of the loop:
Maybe you can’t put a finger on it, but your booth is just not looking fresh anymore. Rather than scrapping it for a brand new option, focus on cost-efficient upgrades or portable trade show displays that make a big impact. Updated flooring, a new light-box, or some fresh colors in your backdrop can modernize your trade show booth ideas and design without putting a hole in your pockets.
Why restart your booth design?
1. You’ve rebranded:
Branding changes don’t just affect your logo and handouts. They impact the entire identity of your business. For example, if your company has gone from “professional and serious” to “hip and casual,” it’s not likely that your old booth will draw in the right leads. Your trade show booth design will need a total makeover.
2. You’ve got a Frankenbooth:
Maybe you’ve refreshed your booth so many times that your aesthetic becomes inconsistent and your space looks cobbled together. Consider scrapping that monster and starting over to a simple trade show booth.
3. Major layout issues:
Perhaps you’re receiving feedback that leads don’t feel comfortable discussing sensitive details in your open-and-airy booth, or just the opposite, and your quiet seating area now needs a major boost to liven up the space. In these situations, you’ll likely need to rebuild from the ground up and seek new trade show ideas.
4. Being ahead of the trends is part of your business strategy:
In aesthetic-heavy industries, your leads can spot an outdated booth from a mile away. If being at the forefront of fashion is a unique selling point of your business, a brand new booth is a priceless investment.
5. You outgrew your booth:
This one is an excellent problem to have. Your booth is bustling with visitors, you’ve increased the size of your trade show team, and everyone is feeling a bit cramped. Time to level up with a brand new booth!
Whether you choose to restart or just refresh, here are some tips:
1. When thinking trade show booth ideas, take your upcoming projects into account:
Know what’s coming down the pipeline and plan accordingly. Make room for a large-scale new product you’ll be featuring, or gear your design towards a new target market your company will be approaching in the future.
2. Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your key booth design features:
Give yourself plenty of time to come up with new trade show booth ideas and complete your new booth design. With space in the timeline, you’ll avoid rush fees in design process and construction. You’ll also be able to prepare for any changes in transportation, setup, and storage.
3. Work with an experienced exhibit house:
When you’re partnered with trade show experts, there’s no more guesswork. A reputable exhibit house will manage every step of the design process, from rendering to reality, to create the perfect attention-grabbing exhibit space for your company.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our design portfolio for some trade show booth ideas. Ready to get started with Exhibit Options? Contact us today.
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