Expert Advice From Event Booth Rentals San Francisco: 10 Helpful Pointers

The San Francisco Bay Area is a prime spot for some well-thought and lavish trade shows. With numerous events held each year and a number of brands scrambling to attend, it has become quite a difficult task for exhibitors to stand out.

Trade shows provide brands with an opportunity to connect with potential clients in person. But planning to exhibit in one of these events isn’t exactly easy.

Despite the advances being made in the digital world, nothing is quite as convincing or successful as face-to-face marketing. At a trade show, you can meet with hundreds of prospective clients and tell them exactly how your brand can assist them in their day-to-day life.

You can show people what your offerings bring to the table while also getting your name out in the market and placing your brand firmly on the industry map.

Given the increase in the number of trade shows being held in the city every year, numerous companies offering booth rentals in San Francisco have started to crop up. These rental companies will help you create the perfect booth for your needs.

But, despite their help, there’s still a lot that you will need to do in the run-up to the show. Here’s a look at 10 of our expert tips that you should keep in mind:

1. Create a To-Do List

For any successful event, planning is key. Create a master to-do list after carefully considering everything that will need to be done. Generally speaking, you should begin your preparations a year before the event.

This way you don’t have to rush through the process. Of course, if you don’t have a year, even 6-8 months will allow you enough time to execute a stellar booth.

Before you start your preparations, you will need to have a clear idea about what you want your booth to look like keeping in mind the décor, display, graphics, vendors, booth location and more.

It is also important to have a well-defined goal in mind before you start your preparations. Do you want to increase your brand visibility in the industry, launch a new product or gather new leads?

Whatever you decide, it will dictate all the other decisions you make in the lead up to the show. Once you’ve prepared your list, take charge of the requirements and set timelines for the same.

Organize your items into categories such as display, props or demos. Constantly keep a check on the event page and website for checklists, deadlines and rules and regulations.

2. Forge a Bond with the Organizer

Even the best-laid plans may go awry if you haven’t taken the trade show venue into consideration while making decisions. Once you’ve picked the event you would like to participate in, it’s a good idea to get in touch with the organizer.

If you can strike up a good relationship with them, you may even manage to secure yourself a discount on the cost of the display space. The organizer will also have access to details that could be useful to you.

They will know who has attended the show previously, helping you identify your target audience for your trade show booth rentals in San Francisco.

3. Keep Your Display Simple

Your booth has to be made attractive, interesting and inviting. This means there has to be minimal content on your display. Nobody at the venue is going to stop by and read paragraphs or long stories.

The content has to be short, catchy, crisp and quirky. You could use hashtags as well, inviting people to engage with your brand over social media.

When a person passes by your booth, they should be able to get a gist of what your brand is about. For that, you have to make sure your content is simple yet informative. Remember, when it comes to your display – less is more!

4. Choose the Right Staff for Your Booth

Your booth should have employees who are outgoing and knowledgeable about your offerings. Ensure that you provide them with adequate training before the event.

Your staffers should be attentive and motivated at all times to engage the visitors. They should be friendly and cheerful while engaging with customers.

One of the biggest drawbacks you might face while looking for the right staff is a relaxed attitude. Members of staff who walk around the booth chatting on their phones or eating could be a big turn off for prospective customers.

Prospective clients will only interact with you and your brand if they’re convinced that you’re interested in having them as a client. During the event, your staff needs to embody this interest.

If required, set a few ground rules for your team and ensure that everybody knows when they can take a lunch break and where they should eat.

5. Create the Right Ambience

It isn’t uncommon to spot weary attendees at trade shows. They might end up getting exhausted after walking through the venue, even before they reach your stall. At such times, it’s very tough to capture their attention and keep them interested.

If you really want to make an impression, your booth should appear inviting and comfortable. They should feel like they can relax a little and rest their legs before they continue with their day.

One way in which you can create the right ambiance is by using aroma oils to make visitors feel calm and at ease. You could also make the effort to hire comfortable chairs for the event, instead of standard plastic or metal chairs that are common at trade shows.

Depending on the amount of space available in your booth, you could try and create a lounge, where visitors can relax on bean bags or massage chairs. You could offer them refreshing drinks or light snacks as well.

These small gestures will go a long way in helping attendees feel a little better, which will make them more open to listening to your pitch.

6. Promote your Event Online and Offline

To spread the word about your participation at an event, it is necessary that you promote the event in the month leading up to the show.

You could start by calling regular clients and inviting them or by sending them personal invitations. Reach out to potential customers via email and ask them if they’d like to attend.

A couple of days before the show, drop another message to clients who have promised to attend and say you’re looking forward to seeing them. You can also use your social media pages to your advantage here.

You can post exclusive content about what you’re planning for your event booth rentals in San Francisco on your page or offer customers exclusive promo and discount codes. Every time you post something, ensure you also use the event’s official hashtag. This will help your posts reach a wider audience.

7. Pick Eye-Catching Attire for the Event

If you can, do away with the black and blue suits and get uniforms for your staff. Smart attire in your brand colors with the subtle placement of your logo will help visitors easily spot your staff at crowded events. It will also help increase your brand’s visibility during the show.

9. Script Your Event and Demos

Other than training your staff, it is important to script your entire event. Individuals who have fixed appointments with you are genuinely interested in your brand.

Make sure to put your best foot forward by letting your best salespeople interact with them. Find out as much as you can about your competitors and try to initiate conversations with them.

Learn more about what they do without giving away too much about your company. Be smart during your interactions with customers as competitors may come disguised as prospects.

Another great way to draw crowds towards your event booth rentals in San Francisco is by demonstrating how your product or service works and adds values to a customer’s life.

This can be achieved with presentations, although live demos are definitely more efficient. For the demo, create a script beforehand and try to stick to it as much as possible. Using the right words at this time could be instrumental in converting a number of potential customers into qualified leads.

9. Give away smartly

Most of the time, giveaways seem like something exhibitors provide just for the sake of it. It might not have anything to do with the brand or their booth. This is precisely why we always advise our customers to think about what they’d like to provide as giveaways during shows.

Gifts that are useful and unique also require some careful budgeting. You should ask yourself whether it suits the theme of the event and your brand. If your giveaways are in alignment with your business, it will reflect positively on your company.

10. Contact Leads After the Show

Just generating a long list of leads is not enough, you need to follow up. Make sure that you do not waste any time in contacting your leads as clients might forget who you are a week or two after the show.

Even if they showed interest in your brand during the event, it will amount to nothing if you don’t take your conversation offline and set up a meeting as soon as possible.

With these tips from our industry-leading experts, you can rest assured of success at your trade show in San Francisco.