Marketing is, in many ways, about building trust between your business and your potential customers. When people believe that you are 1) interested in them and 2) capable of meeting their needs, they will be far more likely to make a purchase from you. The same holds true when you attend a trade show. You need to get attendees at the show to trust your business before they will be willing to engage further. While there are many ways to build this trust, creating unique trade show booths should be a central piece of your trust building strategy. Following are a few ways in which you can use your trade show display to earn trust from attendees.

The first look many attendees get at your business is your trade show display. They use the few seconds they spend glancing at your display to decide whether or not to engage further with your business. They will use their first impressions of your exhibit to decide what it is like to work with you. A display that contains multiple or conflicting messages will make people think that your business is similarly confusing or difficult to work with.

Since what your display communicates is so important, you should use your unique trade show display to send a clear message to attendees. This message should tell attendees two things 1) How you can help meet their needs and 2) Your level of professionalism and competence. Ideally, you should communicate these things with a brief phrase or sentence combined with powerful graphics that can be absorbed with a single glance. Your exhibit company's design services should be able to help you craft this kind of clear message.

Attendees will also make assumptions about your business based upon the appearance of your display. You can have a unique trade show exhibit and a clear message but still lose business because your display is dirty and worn out. Even small details (like burned out lights, dings and scratches, or faded paint) can lend your display a tired look. Attendees are unlikely to put their trust in a company that does not properly maintain their display, because if a business is willing to neglect their display, they might be willing to neglect their customers.

Instead, keep your custom exhibits in good repair. Have your exhibit company look over the display before you take it to your trade show. Examine it afterward for even small imperfections. Have damage repaired promptly. Clean your booth regularly during and after the trade show. And, if your display is outdated, dingy, or damaged beyond repair, consider buying a new display to give your business a more reliable look.

Once attendees enter your booth, they will also make judgments about your business based upon the experience they have there. They will assume that the way in which they are treated in your booth is the same way you will treat them if they become customers. If you provide them with a booth experience that is lonely, confusing, or frustrating, they will assume that this is the kind of experience they will have if they do business with you.

In order to enhance visitors' experience at your booth, consider developing a unique trade show display that encourages smooth traffic flow. This means that your visitors should encounter no obstacles (such as furniture) as they move through your display. You should also provide them with opportunities to engage with sales staff. Their path through the exhibit should naturally lead to sales people who are skilled in listening to the customer and in conversing meaningfully with them about your business.

Addressing attendees' needs is, in fact, one of the most important elements of any trust-building strategy you develop for your trade show display. Your business may offer innovative products and services, but unless people feel that those products and services can solve specific problems they are facing, you are not likely to win over their business.

As a result, create a trade show display that directly addresses attendees' needs. This means showing attendees how your products and services can help solve their problems. For example, instead of showing them how your new MRI machine incorporates the latest technology, emphasize its time-saving and money-saving abilities. Digital presentations, images of your products in use, and more can contribute to this kind of problem-solving (and trust building) message.

Finally, you can use your trade show display to earn trust with attendees by creating a welcoming atmosphere within your booth. People want to feel comfortable and welcomed by your business. You can communicate this welcome by creating an atmosphere that makes them feel as if you are interested in them and their needs. This means that you should create an atmosphere that encourages them to discuss their needs, that relates how your business can meet those needs, and that does so within a comfortable, professional environment.

There are many ways in which you can build a welcoming environment into your trade show display. For example, you can add lighting to create a warm look to the booth. You can create comfortable seating areas, and/or private meeting rooms that encourage people to have honest conversations with your sales team. You can offer amenities like refreshments and charging stations. Regardless of the specific design elements you use, your goal should be to create a unique trade show display that acknowledges your visitors' needs and shows how your business can meet those needs.

Building trust with trade show attendees is a matter of using your display and staff to communicate your ability to meet customers' needs with excellence. Through clear messaging, a well-maintained display, a smooth flow of traffic, attention to attendees' needs, and a warm atmosphere, you can build trust with attendees that will lead to more sales and more trade show success.