3 Tips for Sampling at Your Trade Show Booth

Customers love to sample products at a trade show booth. I witnessed this last time I was in a wholesale market. A large group of people gathered around a man who was demonstrating a restaurant style blender and giving samples of recipes. People came and left asking about prices and where the product was located in the store.  Many of these people, including myself, didn’t go to the store looking for a new blender, but, because they were able to see it, hear it and taste it, they were sold.

This is the same effect you want to have at your trade show booth.  The only difference is that people at trade shows want to be sold something.  They are looking for the best product with the greatest value, which is your product.  The best way to convince trade show attendees is with samples and “booth loot.”  Booth loot is all the little trinkets and goodies you can grab at vendor booths. Being able to leave an attendee with something solid is a great way to anchor your brand in his/her memory and let the attendee share the experience with others.  The better your loot, the more people will come to your trade show booth.  Word spreads quickly when attendees find cool samples at a booth.

What makes a great sample great?

Here are 3 sample must haves for your Trade Show Booth:

1. Your logo – even if you wow a potential customer at the booth, they could still move to a competitor if they don’t remember your company’s name.  If your sample is too small for your logo, attach an information sheet that has your logo.
2. Creativity – Even something as simple as key making or roofing can yield creative samples.  I’ve seen companies create a multi-tool (screwdriver, knife and bottle opener) in the size and shape of a regular key.  Not only was it creative, but it was useful too.
3. Distribution – At a trade show, you’re likely to have a limited amount of space to store and distribute your samples.  So make sure your samples are large enough to show your product but won’t take up too much space at your booth.  If you need extra space for samples you may want to set up a second location to store samples where you can bring more boxes to your booth when you run low.  Don’t worry too much about this scenario when attending smaller trade shows, unless you’re bringing some cool booth loot.