In Giveaways Are Out – Experiences Are In! – Part 1 we talked about when the traditional “free giveaway” works, and when it doesn’t. We also discuss how creating a memorable event with fun and interesting experiences can be more rewarding for visitors to your trade show booth. In part two, we’ll look at a fun new example of experiences – a trade show game.
Trade show games are a fun and modern way of achieving marketing and sales goals. That’s right – playing games at the company’s expense isn’t just for kicks! Let’s explore that topic more by looking at how trade show games can make your booth both fun and effective, even on a business-like trade show floor.
PUSH YOUR BRAND AWARENESS
Trade shows are a great place to create brand awareness to thousands of potential customers. But you’re not the only one doing this. Tons of other companies are doing the same things you are to get the attention of trade show goers.
With all this competition it’s more important than ever to find new and creative ways to draw in a crowd. Trade show games are a winner when it comes to grabbing the attention of potential customers. The great thing about this ‘hack’ is that you’re not only keeping attendees engaged for longer, but passers-by are also drawn to your booth because they want to see what those who are already playing are doing. They want to compete, win prizes, see how well other people are scoring and they want to test their own ability.
These are all factors that compel people to visit your booth and play your trade show game. And in the process they become more aware of your brand, especially if your game incorporates your brand colors, fonts, images and logo in its design.
GENERATE MORE LEADS
The more fun, potential to win prizes and bragging rights your game creates, the more traffic you generate in your booth. This in turn results in more attendees who become leads. And we’re not just talking about names on a sheet of paper, but actual promising leads. Your staffers are able to talk to more visitors and ask qualifying questions. This way they can separate those who aren’t serious leads from those who are worth pursuing after the trade show.
USE YOUR TRADE SHOW GAME TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS
Use a trade show game to create an unforgettable experience
With so many companies fighting for their attention, time and potential business, it’s no wonder attendees are often on the defense when walking a trade show floor. They have their guard up and are reluctant to engage with exhibitors because they don’t want to be hounded after the show.
This is another reason why trade show games are effective. Playing a fun game is a breath of fresh air to visitors who are tired of being bombarded by exhibitors, and they are likely to view your staffers more as friends than adversaries. This is a great way to build relationships that could in turn become successful business leads.
GENERATE MORE SALES
With stronger relationships with your leads being formed, the most likely result will be an increase in sales from those leads. Depending on your company’s sales cycle, you should begin to see a boost in sales as your trade show leads close. Make a point of tracking the results of these leads and remind your sales team to keep in touch with the leads you’ve generated.
Keeping track of your sales results is easier when the same staffers who take the leads are the ones who also follow up on them, although this is often not practical. Another way to keep track of your show leads is to use a web-based CRM system. If you don’t have one of these in place, consider setting one up!
TRADE SHOW GAMES INCREASE YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT
When you’re a trade show exhibitor and you have thousands of details holding your trade show program together, it’s easy to lose track of your results. And for many exhibitors, your return on investment (ROI) is the ultimate metric.
Exhibitors who make use of trade show games often generate a substantially higher ROI. They benefit from significantly higher booth traffic, leads and, ultimately, sales. And all this is achieved by spending just a fraction more of their exhibiting costs on developing a trade show game.
Consider using a trade show game at your next exhibition to help draw in more visitors and create stronger leads.