Trade Show Checklist—Preparations Before, During, And After The Show
There are many details to manage in order to ensure your company's trade show success. This article provides a summary checklist for managing many of the important details. The complete checklist is available for download from the Sierra Custom Signs website.
Fast And Responsive Trade Show Services
Sierra Custom Signs designs and fabricates custom signs and displays in Reno, NV. We are proud of our fast, responsive service to our clients. We use large format, high definition digital printers that produce stunning signs, banners, and printed displays. We supply popup displays and custom graphics for trade shows and other corporate events. We also offer corporate branded apparel, company promotional items, and trade show giveaways, and we can supply full color, printed collateral materials such as brochures, flyers, and business cards on short notice. Call us when planning your next trade show or event. We can assist during the planning phase and supply scaled renderings of your custom exhibit prior to fabrication and delivery.
Emergency Trade Show Assistance
No matter how thorough a job you do in preparing for a trade show, occasionally, a critical component is lost or damaged in transit. Sierra Custom Signs has the facilities and organization to quickly deliver replacement signs, printed displays, banners, and banner accessories in the event a trade show component is lost, damaged, or omitted from your exhibit. Call (775) 823-9699 for fast repair or replacement of exhibit components.
Checklist Summary
Following is a summary of items to consider when planning and preparing for a trade show. There are four major categories to consider.
- Exhibit Logistics
- Travel And Staff Support
- Repairs And Adjustments
- Return Shipping
Exhibit Logistics
Your exhibit or booth is probably the single most important component of your trade show. The logistics to ensure that your exhibit is complete and that it arrives when needed in good condition, is critically important. Some actions to consider before shipping your exhibit to a trade show are:
- Set up and check your exhibit on your premises before shipping it to the trade show.
- Check whether all exhibit components are intact and in good working order.
- Check whether all signs, banners, posters, and displays are in good condition.
- Check whether cartons or containers for shipping your exhibit to the trade show are in good condition and that they properly secure the exhibit components during transit.
These are a few of the logistics items to check to ensure that your exhibit is complete and that it arrives at the trade show in good condition.
Travel And Staff Support
A successful trade show depends in large part on the effectiveness of the exhibit staff. It is important that the staff have schedules that provide frequent breaks for meals and personal care, and that other items are provided to ensure the staff's comfort. Encourage staff to wear comfortable shoes, and make provisions for bottled water, and possibly energy bars and breath mints for a quick refreshment during the show.
Exhibit Repairs And Adjustments
Fasteners for assembling your exhibit can be lost or damaged during transport and during the exhibit setup. In addition, setup can result in fingerprints and grime on the display surfaces. Include extra fasteners and cleaning materials for these contingencies. For your convenience, we can supply stickers with Sierra Custom Signs contact information, which you can apply to the back of exhibit panels and components.
Return Shipping
In addition to shipping your exhibit to the trade show, you must ship it back to your company or exhibit storage location. Make sure the freight company knows when pickup is needed and that they are aware of any special handling requirements. Consider numbering the labels for return shipment and consider logging which numbered label is used for each component of your exhibit.
There are many details to attend to in order to have a successful trade show exhibit. The Sierra Custom Signs complete checklist addresses a number of areas that are important to consider before, during, and after your trade show. Though comprehensive, our checklist will likely prompt even more items to consider to make your next trade show a resounding success.
