How to Prepare for a Trade Show:
5 Secrets of Sucess at Furniture Design Events
According to the IBISWorld Market Research Report, in 2019 Trade Show and Conference Planning Industry had a revenue of 16B in total. Participation in trade shows is an integral part of a common marketing strategy wheeled out by companies. They are designed to help manufacturers promote the latest products and network with other companies, customers, future partners in the same domain. Such events add to the brand awareness increase, bigger customer engagement, and boost in sales. In the USA, they are still one of the most successful B2B media strategies.
In 2019, the exhibition industry saw a 1.6% increase in revenue, and the after-pandemic period promises to catch up on the trend. Thus, furniture businesses need to keep up with the trend and figure out how to shine in a highly competitive environment. To address this, here are 5 tips on how to prepare for a trade show and succeed at product design exhibitions.
#1. Start an Early Pre-Show Promo
Pre-show marketing is very powerful so that’s where we will start finding answers to the question of how to prepare for a trade show. It heightens ROI and increases event attendance, booth traffic, and brand awareness. As a result, this type of marketing boosts sales, improves the quality and quantity of leads, and brings about more effective media coverage. Nowadays, the most popular channels to pre-reach out to people are newsletters, social media, and web advertising.
They open great opportunities to impress people before actual trade shows. Thus, manufacturers can send email promos to the customers from their existing database. Also, it is possible to get pre-registered attendee mailing lists from the organizers. In promo materials, manufacturers and marketers need to promote their attendance at the event, communicate why people should stop by, and tell where to find them. In simple words, prospects should get a compelling reason to visit the company’s booth.
#2. Promote the Booth on Social Media
Another tip on how to prepare for a trade show is to create the talk before the day of an exhibition, which refers to a pre-show stage of the whole process. Social media is the most versatile and vital way to do it effectively. With the right hashtag and countdown to the main day, marketers can generate necessary attention before trade shows.
The main idea here, besides promoting the booth, is to engage with potential attendees prior to the event. This can happen via DMs, for example. Staffers who are in charge of the attendance rate need to get people excited to see what the company has to offer. Live streaming and explaining all the amazing moments of the new coming show will pique the interest of the account’s followers. If it’s a multiple-day convention, then live streaming during it with the booth demonstration will be beneficial as well. Such an interaction is a great tool to reach out to a target audience online in an entertaining way.
#3. Use Immersive Video and Slideshows
When trying to figure out how to prepare for a trade show, it’s important to remember that visual content works better than a textual one, and motion solutions are more engaging than still ones. Video and slideshows are beneficial for the furniture industry in the same way. They can bring an absolutely remarkable effect at trade shows as they take the visitors to a virtual world where exhibited products are used or installed. Product 3D animation can easily demonstrate how furniture pieces work in motion as well as their structure and design.
This visual tool also taps into people’s wants and desires for a cozy lifestyle. Before-after slides embody a powerful marketing trick — they convey the actual “product-free” life right beside the dreamy life as it could be with this particular item. For example, someone’s living room brightens up immediately with a brand new sofa in contrast to the old one. Thus, prospects get that grasp of a better life with the product involvement.
#4. Incorporate Engaging 3D Technologies
In the furniture domain, effective visuals are the blood of the sales’ vessels. At present, traditional pictures cannot communicate the full usability and functionality of the object as well as provide enough reasons to buy here and now. With old-school images, the company does not stand out amongst hundreds at trade shows. However, 3D technologies implemented in every single milestone of the exhibition score a quick following in the pre-show phase and then during the convention. How can it help to prepare for a trade show?
3D technologies such as photorealistic lifestyle shots, animation, VR and AR modeling will enhance the exhibit’s booth design by lending some futuristic flair to the company’s display. For example, the presentation board can demonstrate the 3D images of the products leading with a QR-code to an online store. Herewith, manufacturers can offer multiple 3D design variations with the items. This way, visitors will definitely get a clear idea of how a particular item blends in with their home interior design. Moreover, before-after CG images can provide enough reasons to decide on a purchase since it implies the method of strong contrast. The brochures and catalogs can feature the products’ 3D models showcasing their characteristics, such as texture, dimensions, usability, and functionality in detail.
#5. Prepare High-Quality Goodies and Merch
Giveaways, certificates, and food goodies do work because people like getting freebies. However, it is recommended to research the target audience and pick the giveaways that will resonate with it. It’s also important to understand from the very beginning the target demographic and the purpose of the gift. The demographic will help outline the audience’s profile while understanding the purpose will make the outreach more efficient.
Goodies, such as inexpensive coffee mugs, can generate booth traffic. To attract qualified leads, marketers should change the tactic and offer a higher-value present to visitors and meantime engage in some activity. Additionally, after the convention, they become brand evangelists by taking pictures with the brand’s merch and logo and leaving positive feedback online.
Marketers can also combine giveaways with sales promotions. For example, they can add discount coupons on the next purchase and the like. This strategy will be especially workable in conjunction with an intense pre-event advertising campaign. It allows building up huge interest before and after trade shows.
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In the USA, furniture manufacturers and marketers can find more than 100 top-rated furniture trade shows and conferences planned for 2021-2022, including top-10 most popular furniture exhibitions. However, now it’s not the participation in all of them that defines the brand’s success and total revenue increase. It is more the overall efficiency at each of them, which rests on the shoulders of the well-thought event marketing with not the least bright product presentation.
The latter takes time and solid investments, which is especially a sore subject as the convention is approaching. So how to prepare for a trade show and present your products in an unforgettable fashion? This is where 3D rendering services help out. They provide the material of different formats for the presentations, merch exposure, booth decorations and so on in a much faster and cost-saving way. On top of that, by being way more instructive and insightful to the visitors, CGI reaps more leads and sales than traditional images do.
Willing to try CG visuals for your goods to enhance your event marketing? Use 3D product rendering services to shine at trade shows with outstanding marketing materials.
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I can say that this is a good guide and a highly informative one. That’s why it is hard not to comment. Plus, I just want to add that proper preparation of the actual trade show booth is important. After all, the design will represent the company, so it should be eye-catching.