Vendor Tips - Set-Up, Protocol and more ideas on how to represent your brand at an event
Euro Night, Annual event celebrating the individual cultures of the European Union countries (Embassy of France, Washington, 2010)
This fall for the first time, we set up a booth at a local festival. Over the years we have participated in dozens of events that required setting up a booth. Here are some tips from the field, and things to think about before signing up to be a vendor with a booth at your next event or festival.
1.Identify the purpose - why are you setting up a booth at the event?
Selling a product? Selling a service? Collecting donations for a charity or non-profit? If you are selling a product, besides having enough stock of the product on-hand, you need to have a way to sell the products. One way to do this is by having a cube or digital shopping platform set up on a tablet or laptop. Pro-tip make sure your tablets are charged. Also remember to bring extra extension cords and charging cables with you.
On that note, having a tablet on hand is a good way to record emails from visitors to your booth as well. Having a “subscribe here” form will help ensure you keep potential customers' contact information for newsletters or announcements, beyond the date of the festival.
Here are some benefits of setting up a booth if yours is a service-related business or if you are selling a product:
Increased engagement - visitors will learn about your business and get to know you and your team members, who will pitch the business in person, one-on-one to potential customers.
Increased exposure through social media and media presence at the festival or event. Any media coverage the festival receives may be an opportunity for media coverage of your business and its physical presence at the festival.
Networking with other vendors or similar businesses. The importance of interacting with competitors or others in your arena is not to be overlooked. This is an opportunity to learn best practices of other businesses - not only by looking at their booth but finding out their methods for greater sales.
2. Identify your audience - Is the festival part of a conference? Your booth should be coordinating with the theme. For example if it is a winter- holiday related festival make sure your table has the corresponding colors. If it is at a sporting event, make sure your booth has some matching elements like table cloth or napkin color or other decoration. This goes without saying that you and your team at the booth should match or coordinate your own outfits ahead of time. Is your audience made up of families and children? Adapt and make sure your booth has promotional items that appeal to them, such as coloring pages or crayons. Is your audience made up of senior citizens? Use technology that they are familiar with using.
3. Be willing to take risks - Commitment is required to participate in festivals or to have a vendor booth at an event. Hiring competent staff that is reliable and committed to spending hours with a happy face at the booth is essential. Investing in extra stock of merchandise for your booth is also essential. The cost to rent space and other materials are also part of the investment.
Remember that even if your sales are not as high or the traffic to your booth is low, you have gained the experience of marketing to a new audience and gained valuable insight on consumer behavior. These are definitely takeaways that will influence your marketing tactics going forward. Have any additional suggestions? Send me an email and be on the lookout for Part Deux!
