Technology has infiltrated every aspect of modern business, and trade shows are incorporating innovative techniques, like never before. Companies are now in direct competition to see who can offer the latest and greatest trends in their booth, while still getting their message across. Technology allows most exhibitors to benefit from fresh leads, and 82% of surveyed marketers stated trade shows generate leads of “good,” or “excellent” quality.
There are a variety of platforms and strategies that exhibitors can take advantage of to make a difference in their booth. When designing marketing strategies for an event, engagement is the key phrase, and technology not only keeps people interested, it helps enhance brand recognition.
There are a few top technology trends that are seeing much success at trade show events, and the number is growing every day. Booth operators are devising creative ways to keep people coming back for more, and track their marketing strategies.
Trade Show Technology Trends
Event Planning Software
Prior to setting up your booth, the entire planning process can be streamlined with the use of event planning software. These types of tech platforms offer full project management capabilities, and the ability to oversee the entire event, from start to finish.
Whether it is booth design or managing your mobile apps, event planning applications can help provide an optimal timeframe for project managers and organize team communication. The software should also have data analysis capabilities, which can be used to track important metrics before, during, and after, an event.
Charging Stations
With mobile devices being the key means of communication at a trade show, people are desperately searching for outlets to keep them up and running. By providing charging stations at your booth, you create several marketing opportunities.
While consumers are charging their device, you can incorporate visual media about your product or service, in the form of a TV screen or touchscreen monitor. In addition, many companies will post hashtags and other social media calls to action, that users can incorporate into their posts, as they’re charging their phones.
Mobile Apps
Smartphones dominate trade shows. Adding to the idea of mobility, a successful form of marketing your trade show booth, is by creating a mobile application to use in conjunction with the event. Capitalizing on the short time frame of the show is critical, and a mobile app that incorporates geo-location, can help visitors easily identify where your booth is located. You can even design an app to send push notifications when your stand is nearby.
Touch Technology
A common element to many trade shows is one-on-one engagement. There is no better way to hold the interest of an individual, than interactive touch screens. Tailored presentations can be delivered via this form of technology, at surrounding kiosks and stations.
A user can be prompted to enter data that can personalize the brand experience just for them. This type of deep engagement, allows the visitor to go on an entire journey, directly related to their needs— all with the use of touch technology.
Digital Signage
Gone are the days of printing and hanging up signs. Those practices are considered archaic, at best. Digital signage isn’t the newest of trade show technology, but it is one of the least expensive marketing tools. An LCD monitor can provide versatility to your brand message, and can easily take the place of wasteful and expensive brochures. You can adapt the content from show to show, and it takes minimal maintenance to do so.
Wearables
The latest in trade show technology has to do with altering the classic name tag to track attendee information. Small data collection devices, much like those in the fitness industry, can interact with an exhibitors device to instantly collect lead data. For convenience, the exhibitor devices can be placed anywhere within the booth.
Wearables allow for a hassle-free way of collecting visitor data, without interrupting the process of disseminating product information. Other forms of these devices contain RFID chips that can track various data sets (like wait times and consumer behavior) to improve marketing strategies.
Order Writing Software
Many exhibitors are taking advantage of mobile order writing software solutions that house digital catalogs, an order writing interface, customer contact information, order history, and more at trade shows to write orders more quickly and reduce wait times due to queuing in the booth. This allows exhibitors to have more meetings with attendees, display the entire range of their catalogs with high-resolution images on a tablet, and ultimately make more sales. It also helps the back office process orders much more quickly by eliminating the need for data entry.
Due to innovative steps in technology, the trade show industry has seen a recent revival. With $25 billion spent on exhibits and displays, the industry is slowly increasing each year to the rate of 4%.
Applying these tech trends not only enhances the visitor experience with your brand, but it engages them on a deeper level. Incorporating technology into your trade show plan, will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your overall marketing strategies.
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