We usually think of a presentation being used in a board meeting, at a conference or within the classroom but have you ever thought about using one to help increase your sales at a trade show?
Shows need to be well planned for in terms of taking the right products, enough stock, having the right people as the face of your company and so on but one area you cannot bank on is how much footfall is going to come through those doors on that day. A quiet day will give you the chance to speak and mingle with most customers and give them your undivided attention but what about the days when the customers outweigh the staff? How can you ensure that you are still reaching all of them and not letting potential business walk away into the crowds?… By using a presentation.
Picture the scene:
You are inundated with customers trying to ask questions about your products. Your staff are all tied up with demonstrations and you have others waiting to speak to somebody. This is where you needed to plan by thinking outside of the box.
Solutions:
There are, in fact, more solutions than you may have thought of.
- Set up interactive games relating to your company and your product/services. For example, if you sell a brand new state of the art vacuum cleaner why not have the customers guess what the new parts are or do, how they go together, what the benefits are etc. Having one that can easily come apart for them to see inside gives them the chance to view much more of the item than they ever would do.
- A photo frame in place to allow your customers to take their own photo and upload it to social media with a specific hashtag relating to your company.
- Hand out promotional goodies for the customers to wear and have a laugh with- this could then tie into the photo frame idea.
- Have a competition running. Again, it could relate to the promotional goods idea/photo idea or it could be something that works well for your business.
- Have i-pads at hand. This will allow your customer to browse your product/services as well as being able to access your social media sites and see what is trending… hopefully your hashtag from all the photos!
- Think about having a seating area. Those who need to wait to speak to you can take a rest and enjoy looking at the fun being stirred up within your stand, they can sit and look through your i-pad and they will be much more relaxed by the time you get around to speaking to them.
- Provide refreshments. Even if it’s just a free bottle of water you will be ensuring that no one will be leaving before you’ve had the chance to talk to them.
And my top idea is, of course, the presentation. Your presentation needs to be hard-hitting. It needs to draw the customer’s eye and it needs to keep their attention. This should be running on a screen in the background of the hustle and bustle. If you have several sides to your stand at the event see if you can project this multiple times so that no angle is missed. Sound isn’t a must because remember it will be busy and noisy within the venue but if you are allowed music this could have just the impact you need you back up your message.
Your presentation needs to include certain factors in order to have this impact:
- Your company’s colours
- Logo on display throughout
- Your core values
- Clear, concise images
- Videos with demonstrations or information
- Transitions throughout
- A powerful message
- Your key products, their benefits, their features, your services, why they need this in their life
- Animation
- You! The faces of the company, the trusted sales people, the owner… people relate to a business more when they can see who is behind the company. They may then choose who they would like to speak to on the day based on who they have seen in the presentation.
Now imagine how your stand will look:
You will be able to feel the buzz from the atmosphere, there will be laughter and fun, you will have smiling customers. The buzz will bring in more footfall and your stand will be the go-to place. It will be eye-catching and appealing to those walking in and you will hopefully reap the benefits from being innovative and prepared.
Protect your Intellectual Property.