5 Easy Tips to Increase Exhibitors for Your Next Trade Show

Each exposition, conference, and event are all unique to one another, and so are your exhibitors. The first way to understand your audience is by identifying the key exhibitors you’d like to target. Through this, create buyer personas unique to the different types of exhibitors you’ve chosen to target. Below, we’ve provided a great buyer persona example for “Marketing Executive, Melissa”. You can also download our Buyer Persona Template, here.

Once you have created your unique buyer personas, you can focus on tailoring your trade show to their needs and offering experiences that each persona may be interested in.

2. Offer Diverse Booth Space Options.

As things continue to change in the event industry, so do your exhibitor’s needs. One way you can be adaptable to these needs is by offering a diverse range of spaces during the booth selection process. With Map Your Show’s Booth Sales module, an exhibitor can create their ideal booth, merging selected spaces until they achieve the size they need. Show organizers can choose to sell these spaces by square feet or by space before this process begins. We also would recommend breaking down the floor plan to include Island Booths (also known as Island Displays) where the booth is open on all four sides for attendees to visit. These booths are typically larger than the standard 10’x10’ booth, offering more of an eye-catching appeal. Another option would be a Peninsula Booth (Peninsula Display, or End Cap Booth), where the booth is open to attendees on three sides. This allows for increased foot traffic than a standard inline booth. Within the Floor Builder module, show management teams can also view the maximum fit for their exhibit halls to assist with placement prior to the booth selection process.

3. Exhibitor Communication and Education.

One of the most important parts to the success of your exhibitors is through education and communication. Throughout the years, trade show managers will meet many exhibitors at different timelines. Some may be experienced in exhibiting at trade shows, or to some, this may be their very first show. This is why keeping up continuous communication with your exhibitors is so important. You can achieve this by offering multiple formats of communication. While email is largely a standard option, you can also utilize your show’s social media platforms, and notifications within the Exhibitor Resource Center. An IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events) blog, “Mind Meld with Your Exhibitors”, also highlights the importance of valuable and timely communication strategies, stressing that the “key to reaching that level of connectedness with your exhibitors lies within your communication methods”.

Exhibitor education should be at the front of your communication strategies. Even the most experienced exhibitor will have questions, as each show is as unique as their show management team! To combat this, try offering a pre-show webinar to ensure exhibitors understand what is needed for the upcoming show and how to use the Exhibitor Resource Center. To aid in your education, try utilizing our inclusive checklist for exhibitors below in your next email communication. It is also recommended to have a team specifically dedicated to exhibitor education and resources. This is something that the Exhibitor Engagement Team does best. For further advice on exhibitor education, pre-show webinars, and more, reach out to our Exhibitor Engagement Team.

4. Create Effective Marketing, Promotion, and Experience Opportunities.

If there is one thing that exhibitors are looking for, it’s more ways to gain quality leads, increase overall ROE (Return on Experience), and for ways to elevate their show experience. You can achieve this by offering assorted tangible and digital advertising, or enhanced sponsorship opportunities. Try implementing the following:

Online Content and Sponsorships:

• Press Releases
• White Papers
• Videos and Images with Descriptions
• Social Media and Website Links
• Online Contacts (also referred to as "Virtual Business Cards")
• Product Category Sponsorships
• Product Spotlight Sponsorships
• Hall Sponsorships (specific Exhibit Hall and/ or overall Directory)
• Mobile Sponsorships (Notifications, Sponsor entire Mobile app, and more).

On-Site Sponsorships:

• Signage
• Wi-fi
• Charging Stations
• Sanitizing Stations
• Floor Decals
• VIP Areas and Lounges
• Swag and Giveaways
• Badges and Lanyards
  
  

On the other side of offering new and unique sponsorships for your exhibitors, is the revenue potential for your show. If you have a part of your show that year over year cuts into your profit, offering sponsorships is a great way to overcome that burden. For more sponsorship ideas, check out, “10 Unique Sponsorship Ideas for Your Next Trade Show”.

5. Review Exhibitor Statistics for Year-After-Year Improvement.

There is a huge learning opportunity available with recording exhibitor statistics before, during, and after the show. While each company may have its own standard way of measuring success, such as monitoring sales and revenue generation, there are many more ways to use insights to improve an exhibitor’s overall show experience and return from the event. This all starts from the beginning of your show’s planning process with choosing the right event management company. Consider using a platform that records exhibitor statistics from start to finish. These can include company page and directory views, clicks on links from their company profile, collateral views such as press releases and other documents, as well as leads. With these exhibitor-specific statistics, you can use this both to prove the overall value of your show and also as added proof that sponsorships at different levels are increasing the traffic to a specific exhibitor.

Overall, attracting and retaining exhibitors is essential for the success of any event. By understanding your event's unique exhibitors and tailoring the trade show to their needs, offering diverse booth space options, and prioritizing communication and education, you can create a valuable experience for exhibitors. Additionally, creating effective marketing, promotion, and experience opportunities, as well as reviewing exhibitor statistics for continual improvement, will help increase exhibitor count year after year. If you want to learn more about these strategies and delve deeper into the world of exhibitor engagement, be sure to explore our resources and reach out to our dedicated Exhibitor Engagement Team. Together, we can take your trade show to new heights.