The process of planning and preparation will undoubtedly change for events after coronavirus quarantine measures. Disease prevention measures will be implemented not only for the trade show attendees, but also for booth and facility staffs. Public health concerns will be top of mind for anyone attending large gatherings. Enacting socially responsible operations will set companies apart from each other in the minds of potential customers. While event organizers will develop actions for every exhibitor and attendee to take, exhibiting companies should take as many additional actions as possible to ease any fears. Here are five health and safety strategies your trade show marketing team can implement to prepare for conferences and trade shows in a post-COVID-19 environment.

Send Branded Face Masks to Attendees Prior to the Event

Face mask have taken on a dual purpose as both a recommended safety precaution and fashion statement. Sales of personalized masks have exploded on-line and trade show suppliers have started offering branded masks due to the high demand. While handing out masks at the event is a logical step, companies can go one step further in building relationships with current and potential customers by providing masks before a trade show.

A common tactic of trade show marketers is to perform outreach to event attendees and remain in contact with them leading up to the event. A great way to make a lasting impression is to send packages of branded face masks for use during the trade show. Attendees will make plans to get masks before the trade show; the free convenience will go a long way with potential and current clients.

Place Hand Sanitizer Dispenser Branded Stands in Booth Area

It goes without saying that we can expect hand sanitizer dispensers to be everywhere in public places and events after Covid-19 risks has lessened. Companies will be putting in place health regulations and policies that should extend to all events and activities outside office buildings and headquarters. While in-office sanitation stations can be branded or unbranded, any health safety supplies outside of the office should include some type of promotional branding.

A smart cost-saving strategy for businesses would be to buy branded hand sanitizer dispenser stands in bulk and distribute them throughout office floors and to events as needed. Trade show marketing teams would not need to worry about procuring them ahead of time, as the exhibiting company would already have plenty in stock and ready to go. Taking sanitation precautions will be an absolutely vital practice to ease public health concerns while doing business and keeping extra hand sanitizer dispenser stands on hand will make that task easier.

Practice Social Distancing Measures

Despite attending large events, people will still be practicing social distancing methods out of concern for their health. Companies should do their best to make the practice as easy as possible for their current and potential clients. Taking stock of attendee concerns prior to a trade show in terms of their schedules and health concerns will help teams plan their sales strategy. A tip is to offer an abundance of meeting opportunities outside of the official event activities This will keep the amount of people at your booth to a minimum.

This strategy is especially helpful when engaging with current customers; fostering goodwill by prioritizing their safety will help sales team maintain great business relationships. For new clients, trade show staff can work to schedule meetings with their booth attendees outside of the crowded exhibit floor. Teams could also plan to be in the trade show host city for an extended amount of time to allow for more meeting opportunities. The hotel industry is one of the most health safety cautious industries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and companies can express concern for the safety of their employees while traveling by recommending prevention methods and curfews.

Utilize QR Codes

Posting QR codes for scanning at trade shows is not a new method of information sharing. The small, square printed graphics are meant to be decoded by smartphones to reveal promotional codes, contact information, and websites. However, they provide a great contactless way to pass on the contact information for a sales team member instead of passing out business cards. Companies can save both printing costs and prevent the spread of germs by bypassing the provision of business cards to their employees for events after coronavirus. QR codes can be printed on any trade show display and in any location, which offer a quick and health-conscious way for attendees to gather a company information on products, services, and team members.

Clean Event Displays and Counters Regularly

Actions speak louder than words, and one of the best ways for trade show exhibitors to take actions against the spread of coronavirus or any other illness is to ensure their booth remains sanitized. Companies should provide their staff with plenty of cleaning supplies, including disinfectant sprays and wipes. Instructions should be provided to trade show staffs to regularly clean the entire display area at designated time increments, such as every 30 minutes. This will not only demonstrate social responsibility and a value for public health but will also ease the minds of exhibit attendees.

Planning events after coronavirus will require companies to look at their entire sales strategy and work to implement public health safety measures in all activities. Both employees and attendees will benefit from sanitation efforts and the peace of mind those efforts provide. Companies need to take these tactics seriously because Covid-19 prevention and public health are everyone’s business.

The best salesperson can tell you that there is nothing that can compete with an in-person sales pitch, but the ability to make in-person sales and client service calls is now impeded. Video conferences are no longer just a convenient resource, they have now become the only option for face time. On Sunday, March 29, 2020, President Trump announced an extension of stay-at-home recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19 from March 31, 2020 to April 30, 2020. As with the initial orders, this requires millions of workers from hundreds of industries to disrupt their usual way of business. Americans don’t have a specific date as to when they can return to their normal routines and companies are being forced to quickly adapt to working remotely.

Despite these uncertain times, profits and quotas are still the priority and cannot be put on hold. Therefore, the amount of virtual sales calls and webinars is on the rise. Employees must adjust to making these calls from home. Technology may allow face to face meetings, but without the typical corporate environment even the best pitches can fall flat and feel unprofessional.

The #1 Video Conferencing Tool

The solution? Supplying employees with branded, clean background graphics. These necessary digital interactions with prospects, customers, and co-workers need an organized and professional looking “office” setting, even when made from the home or other nontraditional business settings. With the extension of stay-at-home orders, companies cannot afford to wait out the crisis. They must adapt to holding remote meetings for the foreseeable future.

Give your team the ability to give the best possible impressions, even when they are in their own homes. Our 4ft backdrops, printed with your company logo or current marketing message, will give your employees a unique advantage. Instead of a kitchen, family photos, bookcases, or couches in the background of their video conferences, supply your team with backdrops that are easy to set up and ship quickly.

Give Employees the Resources to Succeed

Managers can’t hesitate in giving their teams the resources to succeed. The backdrops will impress new and old clients with a simple, yet impactful, solution. Not only do the backdrops lessen the stress of preparing for video conferences, they are a fantastic branding opportunity. In addition, the displays are useful resources for other marketing needs in the future.

Another feature of video conferencing is the ability to have multiple people from multiple organizations on a call simultaneously. Company collaborations and full team sales pitches are commonly done in-person. There is no doubt which organization each person is representing in physical meetings. Indy Displays’ backdrops allow employees from the same company to easily be identified in a group video call. This eliminates any possible confusion as to which organization each speaker belongs.

The lightweight displays are easy to assemble and take up little space when not in use. The fabric is high-quality and won’t cause any glare. Indy Displays is offering a discount on a purchase of five or more. The displays can ship out to employees at their respective homes.

Don’t let this unfortunate crisis slow down results! Many experts online have already indicated that what clients and prospects see behind remote workers matters and recommend not letting backgrounds appear cluttered, too busy, or distracting. This sudden change let many companies unprepared. Embrace the chaos and be the team that adapts the quickest and remains the most professional. The use of these portable, easy-to-assemble backdrop display stands ensure company personnel is maintaining a professional image during these difficult and ever-evolving times.

Here are some additional tips to for success when working from home:

The marketing value of exhibiting at trade shows relies heavily exhibit booth attendance. Event marketing teams can still rely on design trends like brand illumination using backlit displays, effective promotional items, and proper pre-show email marketing campaigns to increase exhibition hall traffic. However, implementing these 4 new strategies before your next show could pay off by dramatically increasing foot traffic to your company’s exhibitor booth!

Provide Free Transportation With UberEvents

 

UberEvents allows event organizers and exhibitors to purchase prepaid rides for show attendees. Incentivize your clients and interested prospects that are making an effort to visit your trade show booth space by helping them save on transportation. UberEvents makes it easy to create reserved rides for event guests by generating a free ride code. Exhibitors can set-up one code for all selected guests, or individual ride codes that are specific to individual exhibition attendees. The codes can be programmed to only allow free transportation to and from the event or trade show. Providing your visiting clients and attendee prospects with free scheduled transportation, is a unique and modern event marketing strategy available to exhibiting companies. Prepaid scheduled transportation will help increase exhibit booth attendance, as well as improve your client’s overall show experience and brand loyalty.

Utilize Virtual Reality Technology

 

Virtual reality is constantly improving, and the technology is new enough to draw a crowd of curious trade show guests. However, it offers more than just entertainment value. VR can save a company thousands of dollars on prototype production, instead programming their VR headsets to allow consumers to experience new products virtually. Virtual reality gives event marketers an opportunity never before available; the ability to take booth attendees out of the convention hall and transport them into another location. The possibilities are, quite literally, endless. Trade show guests can examine the handiwork of homebuilders, see a medical device at work inside a human body, or travel to exotic vacation destinations, all within a company’s trade show space.

Create a Unique Experience

 

With so many innovative trade show products on the market, 2018 is the year to think outside the box for exhibit booth design. Trade show furniture of the past was either heavy and expensive, or cheaply built and uncomfortable. But now, exhibitors have the option of foam furniture with printable zip covers that are easy to transport and set-up! Design a comfortable lounge area that show visitors will want to hang out in, with couches and phone-charging coffee tables. A set-up like that is more inviting than the standard display backdrop and counter combo. Add unexpected small details, like plants or table lamps, to make your trade show booth memorable. Give your show guests a good reason to stay, and your exhibit booth attendance will naturally increase. In addition, exhibitors that take the time to create an inviting trade show display that features and “escape” layout, will motivate their guests to learn and retain more information about that exhibitor’s products and services.

Social Media Engagement Campaigns

 

Leading up to your trade show, begin interacting with your company’s social media followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Many marketing teams make the mistake of only posting self-serving content. They should also be responding to and communicating with real consumers. Introduce a unique hashtag specific to your event for attendees. They can easily follow updates and conversations about what to expect from your exhibition booth from the hashtag. If used the right way, social media can be an inexpensive way to stir up interest for your next event. The more approachable a company’s brand online, the more approachable their booth staff! You can also encourage attendees to post about the event before, during, and after the trade show by introducing a social media contest or giveaway.

It’s important for trade show marketing teams to continually revamp their tactics, keeping existing and potential clients both interested, and invested, in their brand. What new concepts will you be integrating into your exhibit booth layout plans this year?

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Exhibitions are an excellent way to promote a company’s brand and services. A display’s graphic design will be the first branded item trade show guests see while walking the convention hall floor. When planning for a trade show, marketing teams must place a priority on instantly drawing attention on the show floor and building interest around their brands. A well-designed booth should be simplistic and clean, but also unique and creative. Talented graphic designers understand that less is good. Trade show signage walls resemble free-standing billboard stands. Like traditional billboard marketing campaigns, brand marketers should create booth design layouts that tell a story without words.

Fundamentals of Effective Trade Show Booth Design

 

Show off your brand

Your booth must boldly display your company name and brand. Customers cannot walk away from your booth not knowing who you are and what goods and services you provide.

Grab a hold of your audience

Know your audience and develop a campaign to grab their attention with eye-catching pictures and video to engage them.

Lead visitors to your exhibit

Don’t rely solely on face-to-face interaction for educating visitors, since not all visitors will have an opportunity to speak with sales staff. The products need to be prominently featured and visitors should be able to find answers to their questions easily.

Define your goals

Firthermore, the design of a trade show booth should make it clear why a company has chosen to advertise to a specific audience. Whether it is to launch a new product or cultivate new clients, visitors appreciate a transparent and pleasant experience with show staff.

Branded Trade Show Giveaways

Most of all, promotional products that are popular with the expo audience can help increase repeat orders from your customers up to 16%. While most people think of promotional trade show giveaway items as pens, water bottles, and key chains, they can be a wide variety of unique items. A few suggestions from the Indy Displays team are virtual reality glasses, sunglasses, luggage totes, antibacterial travel packs, LED keychain lights, bottle openers, smartphone cases and well-fitting quality shirts. Customers that receive creative useful giveaway products as personal gifts are much more likely to refer others to your company, compared to those who don’t have a tangible reminder.

Trade Show Booth First Impressions

 

• Brand imagery affects consumer opinion. Therefore, it is one thing that should never be left to chance in planning. Most of all, make your display booth graphic murals stand out.
• The display booth layout and visual branding will reflect upon your business and exhibitor staff. Therefore, an exhibit staff with a sloppy appearance and dated exhibition stand design will make your company look less desirable to prospective leads.
• According to the famous 3-second rule, your booth design needs to engage and attract passers-by traffic in under 3 seconds. Otherwise, they’ll quickly turn their attention to another company highlighting their brand properly and staffing the booth space with knowledgeable marketers.
• Make sure the design theme and booth structure properly represents industry, brand, and company mission.
• Know your target consumer demographics and develop a promotional campaign that caters to them and creates organic interaction.

 

Importance of Booth Space

 

The convention floor location of a trade show display is important, no matter what size the event venue. In addition, your company must refrain from employing an incompetent event team. It’s important to book early and secure an available premium space. Because spaces with high foot traffic go quickly, timing is of the essence, regardless of  common excuses made for last minute decision making.

Consider LED modular edge-lit light box display solutions to turn your booth design into an eco-friendly backlit trade show wall that requires far less electrical power. Custom modular displays are also reusable / resizable hardware systems, as a result offering companies versatility and unique ways to save on high shipping and drayage fees. Exhibitors looking to purchase a completely eco-friendly “green” exhibit solution, have the option to select recycled fabric and trade show LED lights that produce optimal HD quality printed images and colors illuminated by next generation light technology with up to 50,000 hours of shelf life!

 

 

The advantages of occupying an island booth open space are worth the additional investment. Island exhibit floor spaces are located in the middle of the convention hall floor, making island booth rental locations the busiest areas on the exhibit floor for guest attendee foot traffic. As a result, island exhibit structures provide visibility and booth access from all 4 isle facing sides. Unlike standard inline exhibit spaces, open island center floor rental spaces typically do not have height trade show display stand height restrictions. Therefore, this allows exhibitors the opportunity to utilize additional graphic branding space  unavailable to their inline exhibiting competitors.

 

Booth Etiquette Tips

 

Dynamic exhibition stand design is essential for attracting visitors and trade show staff members are the ultimate company representatives. As a result, exhibitor staffs should always demonstrate the following professional characteristics:

1. Respect for the company and its mission
2. Genuine product interest
3. Extensive knowledge of company, services and products
4. Effective marketing campaign execution
5. Professional appearance (very important)
6. Hospitality and customer service
7. Gracious attitude and empathy

 

Exhibition Booth Interactive Technology Strategies

 

Incorporating interactive trade show booth technology into exhibition design has become a growing trend in recent years. The past ten years have given way to such rapid advancements, hence trade show marketing teams must adapt to a technology-obsessed consumer market. Consequently, here are 5 excellent ways to engage potential clients using modern tech strategies:

• Gamification: The excitement of games and contests create memorable group experiences. The entertainment can be competitive, like industry related trivia or video games. However, they can also be passive, such as a traditional prize wheel.
• Interactive Storytellers: 3-D storytelling applications on free-standing monitor kiosks or handheld tablets allow companies to create customized buyer journeys and branding assets.
• Virtual Reality: Augmented reality delivers endless education possibilities, as companies can deliver experiences to visitors that they would otherwise never have the chance to experience in a trade show setting.
• Apps: Smartphone applications take advantage of the fact that every single trade show attendee has the technology in their pocket. In addition, apps can be used to track visitor behavior, gather contact information, or compile social media attention.
• 3-D Printing: Custom concepts can become a reality quickly and inexpensively with 3-D printing machinery.

 

Resources;

• http://www.trade-show-advisor.com/trade-show-booth-design-fundamentals.html
• http://www.trade-show-advisor.com/trade-show-exhibit-design.html
• https://www.thebalance.com/the-basic-trade-show-booth-etiquette-rules-for-staff-1223791
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/promotional-productsgetting-best-roi-heather-rykowski/

 

 

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Fraudulent chargeback claims have unfortunately become an occasional cost of doing business online in recent years. Large e-commerce corporations have started to factor these unethical claims into yearly costs similar to the way brick-and-mortar stores account for the possibility of theft (also known as “shrink”) while budget forecasting. However, business owners with smaller operations can be devastated by chargeback fraud. Dishonest customers can essentially capitalize on the support of their credit card provider in order to steal thousands.

The sheer amount of money wrongfully stolen from business entities through “friendly fraud”, is shocking. The e-commerce sector is the easiest target, and therefore hit the hardest. In 2016, $4.2 billion in revenue was lost due to unethical chargebacks. In fact, 71% of all credit card chargebacks filed in 2016 were classified as fraudulent e-commerce claims.

 

Consumer Advocacy from Credit Card Companies

A major contributing factor to this growing scam is the advocacy from credit card companies in favor of their card-carrying customers. Credit companies freeze funds associated with the disputed transactions once a claim is filed. After the funds have been frozen, the retailers are given the opportunity to plead their case online. This includes submitting invoices, shipment tracking records, product photos, email communication with the buyer, and any additional evidence. However, the credit card companies have final say. The priority is to protect their customer, the cardholder, and not the independent merchant.

Correspondingly, this has created a devastatingly large window of opportunity for consumers to take advantage of e-commerce companies with little to no consequence. In fact, after the credit card provider decides in the buyer’s favor, the funds are returned to the unethical customer without ever requiring the buyer to send back the product that’s now officially unpaid for. It seems unfathomable, but at the end of the day the merchant often loses on both ends, the funds and merchandise that’s now fallen victim to what has been coined “Friendly Fraud”.

Repetition of Fraudulent Behavior

Upon discovering this friendly fraud loophole, consumers are highly likely to continue the behavior. Half of all cardholders that successfully commit chargeback fraud will do so again within a mere 90 days. This reality is putting online business owners in a difficult position financially. This results in deterring the growth of small businesses due to the unpredictable risk.

Even outstanding customer service doesn’t provide effective protection. A dismal 14% of customers attempt to communicate with sellers prior to filing a chargeback claim. Online transactions provide a veil for criminal activity, as customers can win a fraudulent claim without ever communicating with the seller. Unsurprisingly, 58% of consumers file their chargeback claims without ever contacting the merchant in question.

Understanding Reason Codes

When filing a claim, cardholders select from a list of reason codes that describe the type of chargeback. Over half of all claims are filed with the most general reason code, “Fraud/No Authorization”. This specific code can be interpreted in a variety of ways, ambiguously placing illicit practices onto the merchant that even the most meticulous documentation submission cannot disprove. The second and third most used reason codes, “Products or Services” and “Cancel Recurring Billing” respectively, reflect more specific transaction aspects that are more easily verified by both parties.

Preventing Chargeback Fraud

Friendly fraud can happen to any merchant, but there are steps to take to protect profits against this corrupt activity. First, sellers should develop an understanding of all possible reason codes. Then, accordingly, design business processes that avoid practices susceptible to chargeback fraud. Obtaining clear, official authorizations when finalizing orders and handling payment defends against any miscommunications on customer expectations.

In addition, merchants must focus on providing high quality customer service to address and remedy any issues swiftly and fairly. This includes ensuring consumers are aware of return and refund policies. Many times, consumers will call their bank or card company when they see an unfamiliar charge on their statement. Therefore, retailers are responsible for ensuring their company’s charge is accurately depicted on transaction statements to avoid any confusion. Lastly, e-commerce companies must be diligent in keeping detailed records to provide in the event of a fraudulent claim.

In the case of many credit card chargeback claims, the customer is not always right. When businesses are unprepared to dispute dishonest claims, they are often blindsided by “friendly fraud”. This unawareness can possibly result in the loss of hundreds or thousands of dollars in revenue. As more consumers become aware of the opportunity to scam businesses through friendly fraud it is essential for e-commerce business owners to remain diligent on protecting themselves on every transaction. We hope this IndyDisplays.com article and infographic will help spread the word about Friendly Fraud and helps educate e-commerce retailers so they are more equipped to prevent credit card chargebacks before they happen!

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