So your planning to exhibit at a upcoming trade show, and the old display that is crated up in storage has seen it’s better days.  Now that your approved to start looking for options, what’s the plan?  There are many exhibit houses that compete for trade show business, each of them trying to be unique in their own way by showcasing their exhibit designs and experience.     

8  Tips in Selecting the Right Trade Show Exhibit House.

1.  Consultative Approach:  There are many display houses that sell trade show booths, but with little expert advice.  Look to partner with an exhibit house who’s sales representative has industry experience to consult you.  Many reps in the industry tend to talk, talk, talk about their great products, but never fully understand your products or services, and your goals.  If the sales rep doesn’t ask the right questions and actively listen,  you may never see the display solution that best fits your company. 

2. Creative Design:  Look to exhibit houses that are design focused and are up-to-date on creative trends within the trade show industry.  Experienced teams that ask the right questions, and actively listen to your companies ideas and goals on the show floor, often become a great long term partner.  Compare at least three designs from different exhibit houses to compare the best overall value.  Look for houses that offer free creative design with FPO (for position only) graphics.  

3. Discovery Process:  Exhibit Houses that spend the upfront time with you getting to know your product or services, are more often the ones that come through with effective exhibit solutions that work.  Look for companies that offer a team in the discovery process for a more effective design meeting, i.e. both the sales rep and creative designer, allowing you direct access to the creative designer.  

4. Website:  An exhibit company with a great website, has a great tool to showcase examples of their creative designs.  Often a great starting point is to search through booth designs that are well organized by size or price, finding examples of what you might like or even dislike.  A company that has a great website will save you time and money.  Companies that take the time and effort to develop effective websites, are more often focused on their clients success.

5. Products:  Look for companies that have offer great innovative displays.  Innovation of portable booths, hybrid displays and modular displays have tremendous benefits to exhibitors.  Newely designed displays properly researched and developed, will save you time and money – two things that all companies are in high demand of.     

6.  Value:  Make sure to find value when shopping for a new or rented trade show booth.  The cheapest or most expensive is rarely the best value of a booth.  Look to partner with a house that offers a product line with an overall comprehensive value, from product integrity, functionality, creativeness,  durability, packaging and instructions.

7. Tech Savoy:  Look to partner with companies that have not only have embraced technology, but excel at it. Communication is the key to trade show successor a disaster.  Exhibit houses that utilize webinars  for discovery meetings and pre-show meeting often have more success on the show floor.  FTP sites, web systems of management for displays and tracking shipments on-line all add to the clients success on the show floor.

8. Project Management:  Exhibit houses that offer client direct communications with an experienced trade show project manager, are more often organized and are focused on a client success.  Look for a display house who has the project management team involved from the start of the project to the end.  Make sure to have multiple contacts such as the sales rep and project manager at a minimum.