Take your exhibit to the next level: Master

Take Your Exhibition to the Next Level: Master the Visitor Journey

If you’re ready to move into a larger island exhibit space, you have a unique opportunity to create a memorable attendee journey. Island exhibits offer multiple entry points and allow for many activities and features to truly engage your audience. This blog will guide you through the steps needed to leverage your new space and master the attendee journey.

Outline clear goals and objectives.
The foundation for a successful attendee journey begins with clearly defining your goals and objectives. Take the time to determine your business objectives and how you will measure success and report on exhibit results. This will help you focus on the activations and features that matter most to ensure you have the data to accurately assess results. Outlining clear goals aligns your exhibit with achieving business outcomes and optimizing the attendee journey.

Know your audience.
To create an exhibition experience that truly resonates with your audience, you must deeply understand their needs, challenges, and expectations. This includes not only new customers and media, but also partners and existing customers who are familiar with your brand. Segment your audience and create an engaging and informative attendee journey for each segment. By catering to the unique preferences and interests of different audience groups, you can enhance engagement and build meaningful connections.

Understand your industry landscape.
As you embark on your journey to a larger exhibit space, it’s critical to stay informed about industry trends. Staying up to date on the latest developments and emerging technologies allows you to determine which experiences will resonate most with your audience. Whether showcasing product demos, providing interactive digital experiences, or hosting expert presentations, make sure your booth provides attendees with a compelling reason to engage with your brand. Leverage an adaptable, customizable modular system that allows you to perfectly reflect your brand while scaling up or down to meet your program requirements.

Create an exhibition experience map.
Before you even think about designing:

1. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the show floor layout. This will help you develop a booth design that meets your business and marketing goals.
2. Determine the traffic flow to your booth and identify high-traffic areas to guide attendees through an informative journey that showcases your brand’s image.
3. Think of your booth as a board game, carefully designed to capture your audience’s attention and keep them engaged at every turn.

Reflect your brand identity with impactful graphics.
Now you have Strategic Planit’s time to design a show-stopping exhibit. Work closely with our expert designers to create an engaging space that reflects your brand’s personality. Utilize clear, high-impact graphics to effectively communicate your key messages. Make your booth a visual representation of your brand’s essence, capturing the attention of every attendee who passes by.

Engage attendees with a welcoming entrance.
The entrance to your booth is the gateway that draws attendees in. Make sure the entrance is clearly defined and has a reception area so booth staff can greet and welcome attendees. Capture visitor attention with dynamic content and eye-catching visuals by installing displays or LED walls. This approach will not only engage attendees, but also set the stage for meaningful interactions.

Think by region to tailor your message and assign booth staff.
Divide your exhibit design into zones with specific messaging to deliver a personalized and impactful attendee journey. Assign booth staff based on their expertise to ensure every attendee receives relevant and valuable information every time. Universal lead capture tools will help you collect the necessary attendee data to accurately qualify leads and conduct personalized follow-ups.

Train booth staff to tell your brand story.
Your booth staff and sales team are the front-line ambassadors of your brand. Provide them with comprehensive training to ensure seamless interactions before, during, and after the show. Make them aware of your show goals and brand story, and give them a deep understanding of your products and services. With their expertise and your guidance, they can effectively guide attendees through the booth experience, leaving a lasting impression.

Capture data to boost sales and prove effectiveness.
Make measuring the attendee journey an integral part of your trade show strategy. Ask relevant questions at every touchpoint to identify success metrics and capture important data, such as engagement, purchase intent, and content performance. By aligning metrics with your exhibit and business goals, you can streamline reporting and optimize future trade show experiences.

Connect the experience with post-show communication.
The attendee journey continues after the show. Develop a comprehensive post-show follow-up strategy to nurture leads and stay connected with prospects. Tailor your follow-up based on the conversations and data collected at the show, and make sure to align with your sales, marketing, and product teams. Let the attendee journey continue after the show, and continue the conversation to build relationships.

Transitioning from a small exhibit space to a large island exhibit is a great opportunity to shape the visitor journey. By developing clear goals and objectives, working closely with exhibit partners, understanding your audience, and staying abreast of industry trends, you can strategically design an exhibit experience that engages visitors and drives meaningful results.

By Adam Deming, June 21, 2024