Increase Exhibition Stand Sales by Removing Friction

Exhibiting is largely about generating sales for your company. However, this isn’t always easy. Sometimes there is friction within the sales process and customers may refuse to purchase from you.

What exactly is friction?

Friction is anything that causes your customer to hesitate during the purchasing decision. Often friction involves having too many stops in the process. This can occur in your exhibition stand and can hinder your sales results. Removing friction will allow customers and visitors to trust your brand and encourage them to purchase from you.

How do I remove friction?

Firstly, you need to identify how friction can appear. This will depend on whether you are exhibiting at a consumer show or a trade show. The visitors for each are different buyers and will respond differently to the friction on your stand.

Exhibiting at a consumer expo mean that you will have visitors attending who are prepared to purchase products. If you have friction at your exhibition stand you may risk losing sales.

Displaying Products

How you choose to display your products or service on your stand is incredibly important. If you place items in a haphazard manner than visitors will struggle to see the full range of products that you have available, and they will also avoid the entire area. Buyers want an easy buying experience, they don’t want to have to work to make a purchase. So, make this easy for them!

Choose an exhibition stand layout with appropriate shelving as this will allow you to showcase your products. Let your key products shine by using plinths or free-standing displays. This will attract attention to your stand and further encourage your visitors to make a purchase.

Additionally, when displaying a high number of products make sure the price is clearly indicated. Visitors may not feel comfortable asking the price of every item they are interested in, so make sure they are informed.

Payment Systems

If you’re attending a consumer expo you will need to have reliable payment systems available on your exhibition stand. After all, people can’t purchase your products if they can’t pay. The type of expo and the cost of your products will determine how many different forms of payment systems you should offer.

Invest in an EFTPOS facility. With modern technology you can easily run an EFTPOS facility from a tablet or your smartphone.

If you’re selling some items that are a lower price, you might also consider having a petty cash box. Keep in mind that it may be difficult to maintain the appropriate cash to give the correct change.

For expensive items, investigate payment options such as Afterpay or Zip-Pay. This makes it easier for customers to spend money with you and eliminates the fear of big purchases by making them manageable and affordable.

Regardless of which option you offer, ensure that you have clear signage on your exhibition stand (preferable near your counter) so customers are informed. Making the purchasing options easy will remove friction for visitors buying from you.

Easy to Navigate Stand

This goes hand-in-hand with product display to ensure that your customers can easily walk onto your stand, see your products or services, and move throughout the space in a comfortable way. Avoid shelving or plinths on the edge of your stand they may prevent customers from entering he space. Some displays on the edge can be great to attract buyer’s attention, but make sure there is a balance between the quantity and the size.

Striking the right balance will help remove friction from your exhibition stand and increase your buyers. Having a stand designed by an Industrial Designer who specialises in exhibition stands will ensure you receive a great custom design suited to your sales goals. 

Storage Options

Avoid crowding your exhibition stand with products you aim to sell. Invest in a large storage area for any extra products that don’t fit on your display shelves. Depending on how these products pack down will determine how much storage you need. Your exhibition stand designer will be able to incorporate storage seamlessly into the design of your stand.

Having adequate storage means you can use your exhibition space more effectively, remove any unnecessary products from the display shelves and essentially remove any unnecessary friction that would prevent customers from buying your products.

Most exhibitors still rely on the “sales funnel” approach to selling at expos. This relies on maximum visitors to the stand in the understanding that not all of them are potential buyers, but the more visitors you attract the more actual buyers you will have. What if every visitor was a buyer? That would surely increase your sales and make exhibiting worth it for your business.

This can be the reality if you consider the above points and remove friction from your exhibition stand, allowing visitors to buy without hesitation.

If you need some fresh eyes to look over where you can eliminate friction from your exhibition stand click below and let us know. Our experienced team can help you stand out at your next exhibition.