Trade Show Exhibit Traffic Flow

Trade show exhibit design revolves largely around the planned traffic flow through your booth. So one of the first things you'll need to determine when designing your displays is how you want to control your visitors' pathway.

Your customers' participation in your trade show exhibit is determined to a great extent by the traffic flow pattern built into your design.

If you want your visitors to come in, make your booth easy to enter. Blocking off much of the inner portion of your display makes visitors feel unwelcome and uncomfortable entering. It sends the subconscious message, "Look, but don't touch."

Barriers to entrance include tables, walls, dividers, product pedestals, plants, free-standing graphics, literature stands, equipment, and displays. Use these elements carefully to guide customers through your booth on a pathway that's carefully planned to determine their experience of your exhibit.

You can use barriers to prequalify targeted groups from the expo crowd, so that only the truly interested will make the effort to enter your booth; the lookie-loos will be discouraged and pass along to the next booth. If you decide to use this traffic flow strategy, plan your design carefully. An enclosed exhibit still needs to attract and invite its targeted audience.

Or you can make entrance barrier free, subconsciously inviting everyone to come in and experience your products and company.

When designing your exhibit, determine whether you want your visitors' experience to be guided or exploratory, and whether you want to invite access to your entire display or only to selected areas. Do you want them to proceed through the areas in a predetermined order leading to a logical conclusion, or do you want them to browse around freely?

Even the smallest booth space needs to be planned for effective traffic flow. Do you want to draw traffic inside your mini-space? Or attract visitors to the aisles for either demonstrations or a two-step process that prequalifies customers who enter your inner space?

Trade show traffic flow is an interesting component of design. It's an area where careful thought and planning can make a big impact on the financial success of your exhibit.

Return to top of Trade Show Exhibit Traffic Flow.

Return to Used Trade Show Display - Good Investment.

Return to Trade Show Booth Display home.

Learn how to turn all your trade shows and exhibitions into pure profit centers - Read "Trade Show Secrets", the ultimate trainer, guide, and checklist for more trade show sales with less effort.