Trade Show Furniture Adds Usability to Any Trade Show Booth
When you are preparing for a trade show, you go through your checklist of various items. You make sure you have the right size booth, the extra padding of carpet and the necessary marketing materials. The one item that most trade show coordinators do not consider purchasing or renting is the trade show furniture.
They do not think about whether or not the salesperson and their prospective customers have a place to sit. Most companies do not want their personnel sitting while they are working the show. However, creating a meeting or sitting area for impromptu meetings will make it more convenient for the salesperson to conduct business during exhibit hours.
The most common trade show furniture for creating such an area is a small table and chairs. If management does not want to include a sitting area you can use ultra form counters, to provide a standing meeting area.
Either format you choose to use will work nicely. Wooden director chairs – these chairs are constructed of solid hardwood. They are designed with shaped arms and legs that will provide extra stability.
The heavyweight, dyed canvas covers can be created to match your companies branding, including personalizing them with your company logo. The chair frame comes in three colors; black, white or natural finish. Metal folding chairs and table – depending on the size of your booth, this option is becoming more popular by the day. The tables are collapsible and come in several different colors and heights. You will be able to purchase chairs that match.
As with the tables, you will have a wide variety of colors and styles to choose from. Ultraform counters – are a great addition to any exhibit booth. When you set these counters on the side of your booth they become an excellent way for your salesperson to have an impromptu meeting.
They will be able to stand next to your prospective customer to discuss the products they are interested in while staying out of the main flow of traffic. These counters can also double as a storage unit. A person passing by will not be able to tell that anything is being stored underneath.
The counters are lightweight and easy to transport. The outside of the counter can be designed to match your booth. When it comes to purchasing trade show furniture you have several options to choose from.
You can either purchase the items or rent them. You can go to your local, trade show display company to determine which items you want, or you can find them online.
Pick The Right Chairs For Your Trade Show
After selecting the rest of the furniture for your trade show, its time to choose a template for the chairs for your trade show. Depending on your choices for the remaining layout of your establishment, your options will be limited. If you’ve chosen a western look up until now, then consider going with carved wooden chairs with a dark finish. Stay consistent with the theme of your booth.
Regardless of the style, you’ve chosen, its recommended that you invest in sturdy, durable chairs. Because alcohol lowers inhibitions, it’s not uncommon to see inebriated patrons standing or even dancing on chairs. While this varies from trade show to trade show, its still good practice to have chairs that will stand up to abuse.
As always, consider the type of customer you want to attract. What type of atmosphere are you trying to create for your trade show? Some would advocate buying UNCOMFORTABLE chairs, to encourage people to get up and move around. Do this at your own risk. The last thing you want is to be known as the place with uncomfortable chairs!
Where should you put your trade show furniture?
First, consider what a trade show really is. Its a place where visitors from all over the place to come to visit your exhibition booth, to check for your products, and to become your customers. That being said, what kind of trade show furniture do you think you need to put in a place like this?
The best way to achieve this look is to structure your booth in the center of your establishment. This way, its accessible to the customers from all over the place. You will free your staff up to work and move around the entire room, which can be quite large.
You’ll also be giving the visitors a chance to try on your product, which is very important to convert them into customers. After all, people are going there to find out more about your products, so do them a favor and put as few obstacles in their way as possible!
A common set up is this: You have the display in the center. All around the booth, you have chairs. This is the basic set up and with some good music, its enough to keep people coming to visit your booth.
If you have some extra space off to the side, you can also add a few more countertops with stools. The countertops should be at the same height as the display, perhaps a little higher, to allow for people to stand or sit. Why stand? Because if all the seating at the booth is taken, then chances are that there are no stools left for customers to use.
So that’s it! Remember: give your visitors an opportunity to see the products that you want them to see, play some good music and pump them full of treats and you’ll have a 5-star establishment in no time!
What should you look for when buying trade show furniture?
As a participant in a trade show, you have several important decisions to make. What kind of booth do you wish to have? What kind of music will you play? What kind of crowd do you want to attract? What kind of trade show furniture will you fill your establishment with?
For example, if you’re going for a lounge, you’re obviously going to want to bring in some couches. The placement of a few couches along the walls will add some extra seating room for your visitors who just want to feel relaxing when visiting your booth. Be sure to add some coffee tables so that you can show your products to the visitors when they are entering your booth.
You’re also going to want to add some booths. Hopefully, you’ve planned ahead for this, but if not then it is no big deal. However, if you have then you’re going to want to get some leather booths for your customers. A booth set off to the side becomes a mini-VIP area for a small group who’s looking for a little more privacy in a noisy trade show.
When it comes to buying chairs, the same rules apply as when picking other furniture. Think about it: Why are you picking comfortable furniture for your trade show?
Because the more comfortable people are, the longer they’ll be willing to stay. And the more they stay, the higher the chances you can close a deal!
Of course, this is also going to depend on the atmosphere you have in the trade show. But from a strict furniture standpoint, if it doesn’t feel good to sit somewhere then people aren’t going to come.
Consider the type of look you’re going for as well. Are you catering to all the crowd or the older, more sophisticated group?
But by far the most irritating about being in a trade show is that there’s never any place to sit! For some reason, all of the seating is taken, forcing you to stand against the wall like some kind of creepo. As a trade show participant, you are going to want to have some room to walk around. This will encourage interaction. But you need to make sure you put enough seating in your booth as well.
