Trade shows, conferences, and other networking events are a time to expose your business to new audiences and hopefully land more customers. After working with B2B and B2C brands on their trade show booths, and marketing materials for these live events, we have a few thoughts on how to make an impression and why it makes sense to outsource the design.

Should you design your trade show booth and marketing materials or outsource them?

The promotional events your company got to can change the game for your business. Why? Most attendees are in positions of buying authority. They often have decision-making powers and can use them to buy from you.

But getting these prospective customers to do more than merely glancing at your booth starts with a visually appealing design. In a survey of exhibitors, 48% said that a captivating booth design was the most effective way to attract attendees.

Now the question becomes: Who will make this booth design come to life?

There are two options:

Designing your booth internally
You and your team could try to take on the design yourself if you already have the resources on hand to do it. It would involve knowing the principles of design, working knowledge of structural design, prepress setup, and communicating with printers, among other things.

It can be a more cost-effective option, especially when starting out. But what you save in costs indicates already having the skill set to ensure the design aligns with your marketing and business goals for the event.

In addition, if you or your team are creating a booth design, brochures, and other promotional materials internally, the final product has to be set up correctly for print, so it looks as good in 3D as it did in 2D.

Outsourcing your booth design
The second option is to hire a professional designer—or agency—who specializes in designing for trade shows and events. Their expertise will give you a leg up against the other businesses vying for people’s attention.

From the initial planning stages, designers can guide you in what it will take to execute your booth’s concept visually. These creative professionals also have the business and marketing background to make sure your booth lures in prospective customers.

Designers also work closely with printers to ensure that creative files are set up properly so the final design scales correctly and without any color variations, blurry images, or other issues. Hiring professional trade show designers frees you and your team to focus on the strategic aspects of the show.

Deciding which option to choose boils down to budget, event size, and of course, how long you have to plan. Between 22-28% of exhibitors prepare for their trade show appearances one to four months in advance. Meanwhile, only 18% take more time to plan for these in-person events.

But one of the most important considerations is your booth’s idea. The more extensive your exhibition’s concept and special features (e.g., custom architecture, advanced technology, or immersive experiences) are, the more time, expertise, and planning will need to go into the booth’s design.

Getting more leads and sales from trade shows

For most businesses attending trade shows, all their efforts boil down to one goal: increasing sales. According to Sage World, roughly 77% of attendees find at least one new supplier or vendor at these networking events. Over half of businesses participating in trade shows say these in-person events play a critical role in their marketing strategy and sales efforts.

Making a positive impression with your booth’s design, marketing, and promo materials often influences the likelihood of someone choosing you over a competitor. These leads are more likely to check out the company’s website to get more information, making it easier to convince them to make the switch and close the sale.

And when you get a new lead at an event, the chances of closing them increase.

On average, it takes almost five sales calls to close a non-exhibition lead. But face-to-face contact at a trade show or conference decreases this number to slightly over three.

Use your trade show booth to get new business

Making a splash at a trade show sets you down the path of introducing your products and services to people who may have never heard of your business before. And since this is the case with most attendees, you have the chance to leave people with a good impression and gain some new business leads.

By bringing in the creative pros from the start, you can focus more on landing new customers and less on design. These designers can deliver a trade show booth and marketing materials that represent the value of your products and services using a striking design that strategically aligns with your goals.