Snap, Crackle, Pop! Trade show booths need to pop, pop, pop. This is especially the case when you are competing with other booths in the room. If you cannot put in 110% here, you shouldn’t have a table or a booth. It is a waste of money. There are two things you need to keep in mind here. One, you have seconds to grab someone’s attention when they are walking by. A big sign that clearly states what you do is a must. Two, if you half-a$$ any of this you are going to look unprofessional. I was at a conference one time where a neighboring booth (and these were not cheap booth spaces) came up to me and asked if she could borrow some tape, because her homemade sign (also bad) was falling off her easel. I didn’t have any tape, but the next thing I saw was that she founds some masking tape and was taping her atrocious sign to the easel. Not good. Just to translate, not putting in 110% is: having zero handouts or homemade flyers, forgetting your business cards and not having any way to capture contact information for people who are coming by.
Explosion or Implosion? Brand identity that does not match tends to implode on itself. At M Communications, we have done a ton of start-ups and makeovers. The end result is everything is match-matchy from a brand identity standpoint. Oh, and a professional look is important too. The last thing you want for your biz is a red business card, purple flyer and a website that has every color in the world – unless you are selling crayons or finger paints. All of your marketing materials should have a similar look and feel because people will become associated with your brand and recognize it.
Messages with a Big Boom. Messaging is everything, whether you are writing a blog, newsletter or even web content. You not only want to create an impact, but be succinct with your words. The second you go off track or confuse people you will lose them. This is exactly why I have an editor, as well as an edit button. Take your website for example; you need to be clear for your visitors, because you have seconds to communicate who you are and what you do. So, if you are a company selling high-end financial services you are not going to want to have a headshot picture with fluffy your cat and instead of key words describing your business, you put a mission statement that makes literary no sense. As a result, you lose your visitor and you should never expect people to click thru to the next page to find out what you are all about. On the other hand, if you have a pet sitting business this is a great way to convey that you care for pets, which does send a good message. My point? Wow them with your writing and if you can’t find someone that can.
