10 top tips in how roller banners can pull in the crowds
The market place is tough. With savvy shoppers and competitors at every turn, no business can afford to rest on its laurels. With the vast majority of businesses failing in their first year due to lack of advertising and marketing – or not targeting either activity in the right place – all businesses need to take time to make sure they stand out from the crowd.
Exhibitions, trade shows, conferences and seminars are not only a great way to sell your product or services to customers but to also get your brand noticed. Recognition of your logo, colour and overall brand are important marketing factors that many business, companies and charities forget.
Standing out
In a crowded conference hall, it can be difficult to appear different and instantly visible in a sea of clashing colours and competing logos. But have you stared in envy, wondering how the stand opposite is attracting visitor after visitor, and people seem to be passing your space without stopping for more than a fleeting glance?
The answer starts with roller banners!
Getting people to come on over so you can start that all important conversation starts and ends with your stand and this is how roller banners can create an attractive stand…
- How do you look and feel?
Think about how you shop on the high street or even online; how do you make the judgement to spend your hard-earned cash with that company or shop? The likelihood is you will do it on how you perceive the company to feel and look. Do they look professional? Do they feel like a company that is trustworthy?
Selling you product and services depends on the image you portray to your potential customers, whether you are selling business-to-business or business-to-customer. Take an objective view of your current set-up – does it actually say what you do? Does it make the customer feel valued and that you can be trusted?
Roller banners can be the perfect tool for projecting basic, yet essential information to customers from the products and services you sell, to your experience and how you can be contacted etc.
- Is your space too big?
Many businesses throw their marketing cash at conferences and exhibitions but can make one fundamental mistake – size. Opting for a larger, double-spaced stand might be all well and good but if you have one poster and a view leaflets, it can look a bit lost and lonely. Roller banners can create brilliant back drops to exhibition stands and spaces, and can be used to zone areas too but if you really don’t need a big stand, opting for smaller is not saying your company is too small to cope.
- Practice run
If you have recently ordered new roller banners for exhibitions etc. it pays to have a practice run beforehand. There is nothing worse than 30minutes to the doors opening for you to be the only one struggling with your gear!
The other reason behind having a practice run is to take a step back and really look at how your stand looks to people passing on by. Is it inviting people to take a look or does it look sparse and ‘cold’. It can also be a great way of deciding what you must include and what you need.
- Decide on your objectives
Businesses often sign up to exhibition space without really thinking what it is they want to achieve from the event. This way sees you waste expensive space, as well as valuable opportunities to engage with potential new customers.
Investing in roller banners also mean that they need to be a tool that works for you and having objectives – targets in some cases – can be a way of your time being used effectively at these events.
- Don’t be limited
To entice people, your stand needs to look interesting. Be creative and you will stand out. Lighting on your stand is important; place your roller banners where they are lit effectively. Screens with rolling presentations or repeated short films can be a really effective way of getting your stand noticed.
Hint: take a walk around the exhibition yourself viewing stands through the eyes of your customers. Can they find you? Do you look different?
- Budget
Stick to it! Businesses and fledgling companies spend hundreds, if not thousands over their original budget but, if you do not reap the rewards of new custom, then it may not have been the best budget spend – after all, it constitutes a loss. Roller banners are a wise marketing investment as the initial spend on them will be reward time and time again as they can be the backbone of your exhibition stands for years into the future.
- Freebie Mania!
There is no doubt that many people attend conference and the like for the freebies! The bag with the obligatory pen, pad and a variety of useless ‘stress balls’ and wonky paperclips is a euphoria that is short lived. Beware of the freebie giveaway as they can be a drain on your already hard-pressed marketing budget.
Freebies that are linked to your business is one of way of getting your name, website and contact details out there, so be wise and a little prudent in your decisions.
- Place your pitch
Many people sign up for a stand, turn up on the day and up go the roller banners and await the arrival of the delegates. However, take a look at the conference hall map before you book – which stands will suit your business better? Being tucked in a corner is great – but you need to be visual and stand out. If your budget is tight, you can always try and negotiate a smaller price for the awkward spots and then work your creative magic to draw in the crowds. After all, the organisers would rather have a full hall than empty spaces…
- Your team
Roller banners, freebies, screens and leaflets are great but you need a conference team who will engage with people. Many think this means a ‘sales’ team but this is only half the story. On one hand, if you are going to sell then this rings true but for other businesses, it can be about getting your logo and your business visibility increased. In this case, you need engaging people who do not just want to sell, sell, sell but engage, forming relationships! Think about how the information on your roller banners fit with this too!
- Tell people
Social media is a great tool and if you and your pristine roller banners are off to dazzle the crowds, use this opportunity to market yourself across the various social media platforms you use. Invite people to come and see you, for example or to come and try out a new product. Roller banners mark the spot at the conference but if you do not tell people you are there, how will they know?
The impressions customers make are formed within 9 seconds of meeting you, seeing your stand and simply gauging the style from your roller banners and other tools. A weak start is difficult to overcome and so it is essential you make a strong impression from the word ‘go’!
Unlike other conversations you will have, engaging with potential customers and clients at a conference or exhibition is not about ‘passing the time of day’, it is about making connections. You need your stand to start this conversation for you to able to engage or ‘close the deal’.
Colour Graphics has explained how you can make your business stand out from the rest with the use of roller banners. For more information on the topic, visit the site today.
