In this age of digital communication and social media the value of the trade show has never been clearer. It is one of the few opportunities that companies have to show off their business in a personal and face-to-face manner. In fact, although there are many benefits to exhibiting at a trade show, your trade show booths have one important advantage over other popular means of promotion and marketing. Namely, they feature live staffers who can engage attendees in ways that no website or TV advertisement ever could. That’s why it’s so important to make the best use of your trade show display staff in order to ensure that your booth is as engaging to attendees as possible.
The Trade Show Difference: Face-To-Face Interactions
Trade shows are an excellent way to network with companies and other important players within your industry. They are also a great way for customers or potential clients to engage with your business in a more personal and intimate way. That’s why it is absolutely crucial to focus not only on trade show display design and facilities, but also on the people who will be staffing those trade show booths.
These days it is common for exhibitors to utilize technologies such as computer or tablet kiosks and video displays in their trade show display. And while these technologies can certainly provide value and add interest for attendees and visitors, they should not be seen as a substitute for a well-trained, knowledgeable and friendly staff.
This news may not be entirely welcomed by all businesses. That’s because although many managers and business owners know that people are a crucial part of a company and especially a company’s trade show exhibits, hiring, managing and training trade show staff can be a big job. Still, when done well it can pay off in spades. That’s because people are still much better at engaging others, gathering leads and promoting a business than computer kiosks or video demos.
To Outsource Or Not To Outsource, The Eternal Question
Okay, so we’ve established that your trade show booth staff is a crucial part of your overall exhibition and so should be assembled with care and managed diligently. The next big choice that you will have to make as a trade show manager is whether to outsource part or all of your staffing needs for a trade show exhibit.
There are different schools of thought on this and, in general, there is no right answer for whether or not to outsource. It depends on each business’s needs and also whether that company possesses the human capital and talent to be able to effectively integrate company employees into a trade show display staff.
The decision should be made primarily based on a determination of the size of a given trade show display and thus its staffing needs combined with the available talent for staffing within a company. It is sometimes difficult to pull employees away to help staff trade show booths, but it should also be noted that it can be more difficult to adequately train and educate outsourced staffers on a company’s products and services as well as other information.
Often it may be a good idea to go with a combination of the above. Utilizing contracted staff who are more adept at engaging attendees and sprinkling in a smattering of employees who have more in-depth knowledge of the business to answer detailed questions.
Taking On The Challenge: How To Boost Trade Show Staff Performance
As we’ve noted, trade show display design is important for a company but it can only get you so far. The rest of the job must be done by the staffers and individuals who run your trade show booths. Trade show staff is therefore one of the most important determinants of your trade show performance as a whole. Whether you outsource some or all of your trade show display staffing needs, it is important to engage in some training for staffers.
The type of training that you will need to provide will vary depending on your business goals for that trade show as well as the subjects of the training. For example, if you are announcing a new product launch you will want to obviously make sure that staffers are aware of the advantages and characteristics of this new product. They should be able to defend its utility and demonstrate how and why it is superior to competitor’s products.
This type of training on company products, history, culture and more is especially important for outsourced staffers who will obviously be less familiar with the business than company employees. On the other hand, staffing agencies may be able to provide training programs for employees who will be staffing trade show booths in terms of general tips to better engage attendees and connect with visitors. All of this is a crucial part of ensuring your overall trade show success.