Trade Show Evolution

Finding just the right combination for markets and trade shows takes some time, testing and evaluation. Even though I had done dozens of trade show set-up in my career, finding what worked for our laser business was still a trial and error experience.

We started with a local show, and visited a prior event before signing up as a vendor. I planned and developed a scale map so I would know exactly where everything would go. The first lesson I learned was to be flexible. Very flexible. When we arrived to learn the space was not a booth area, but in fact a table! A lot of our display ended up staying in the truck. I had to re-arrange and re-plan on the fly. We did have our sign which was made in-house, with our name, logo payment methods and QR codes for both our website and facebook pages. We also had 2 hinged pegboards to hand and display items. We took a 4 x 8 sheet of pegboard, cut in half and half again widthwise, and framed and hinged to make the 2 end pieces which measured 2’ x 4’ per side.

Our signage in the centre, with the pegboards on either end providing height to our booth.

We had a selection of ready-made items and did make some money, but we found this show to have a lot of browsers and the main demographic was female. Since it was coming up to Mother's Day, we were not selling products aimed at that market. We learned food sells at markets attended by the female demographic.

It was the first really nice weekend to be out in the garden so we were able to sell a few garden stakes. The Coffee sign you see in the photo sold as soon as we hung it up, but it was a fellow vendor so we were able to leave it up for the show. They picked it up at the end. This was our first show, and very early on with our first laser - the CO2 - so our product range was all over the place. We were still feeling our way as to what to make and what the market would bear.

Lessons learned were: spring wasn't the time for us, refine our product line, simplify the table layout and have everything priced, display height worked in our favour but signage needed to be visible too.

We booked a table for the Christmas show and requested power. The 8’ and 4’ tables were beside each other located along the outside wall. I purchased a pre-lit pencil tree that was 7 feet tall. We stood that on the 4-foot table making it visible to anyone in the auditorium, regardless of where they were. The tree had a variety of our ornaments on it, and we started to take orders for customized pieces. It was a successful show as we more than broke even. We took orders for several customized ornaments, sold all the tea light houses we made and sold all our food stencils. Again the purchasers were the female 20 – 60 demographic. Still not a way to make a living, but we covered costs and had a good day meeting people.

Acrylic Food Stencils sold out.

Our wood and engraved acrylic ornaments sold well.

The Tea Light Houses were a hit.

The Christmas shows were the best time of year for us with what we were able to produce. We were still limited as even though people on social media were exuding the virtues of selling engraved wooden spoons and cutting boards, we were just not seeing that market.

Lessons learned were: November/December shows were the time for us, height is important for visibility, but so is signage which we were still lacking. The debit tap machine we have upgraded the system, allowing me to take payments with my phone which helped as the internet was very intermittent.

The following year we had a new larger coroplast sign made. A metal overhead frame was added and our signature blue tablecloth was changed to a seasonal bright red one. A smaller grapevine tree held our ornaments and we were starting to branch out with more of our own designs, rather than use designs everyone else was using. At this time sublimation was all the rage and there were several vendors proudly displaying scores of tumblers they had wrapped and printed. We were starting to concentrate on the pet and horse markets, offering truly customized items but had to be conscious of the price too. It was a challenge to come up with items that would make good gifts at a reasonable price. Our horse and dog ornaments proved to be the top sellers at this market.

The horse ornaments on the tree caught people's attention.

By offering specific breed silouhettes, we were able to increase the customization and appeal.

Breed specific silouhettes and customized engraving helped keep costs down and margins good.

We had a fair day, just covering costs. We spoke to several people and managed to hand out business cards (engraved on our own machine!) and the orders that came in after the market for customizing in time for Christmas made it our best event to date. We were still learning, so pricing out a job for a custom piece was still a challenge, as we were charging by time.

Lessons learned were: signage is key, price point, have samples of your custom work and know costs, pricing needs to start somewhere, so we came up with a base cost to engrave a name onto a tumbler, and it would go up from there if more was required. We were also finding considerable limitations with the one laser, so after research, we decided to purchase a mopa fibre laser.

I spent considerable time reviewing our set-ups and approaches to these markets. The second machine was adding to the number of materials we could engrave. Orders were coming in, now throughout the year which was promising. We were the supplier to one of the local Air Cadet squadrons and one of the local Scout groups. Pricing was getting more consistent and accurate. Practice on the new machine meant we could now offer engraving on ceramic mugs, plastic, leatherette and even in colour on stainless steel. We were designing our own items and getting sales through our website and Facebook groups. I am not sure if it was the realization we needed to have a machine at the shows, or that I was feeling like I wanted to get my own laser, but we consulted and I purchased our third machine – a UV.

So for the next Christmas market and in fact two markets, it was back to the drawing board to design a table that worked with the new machine on site. We took one of the white pegboards and built that into a shelf and pegboard, which was now 4’ wide and 3’ tall. This allowed us to showcase items, but we still had things we could customize on the spot. We built a shield so people could not see the laser, but we had glasses and invited them to step behind the table to watch their piece being done if they wished. One of us was in front and the other was at the machine, allowing us to chat, hand out cards, make sales, take money. Yes – we had a phenomenal day at the first market. We repeated the setup somewhat at the second market, but the machine was not on the table – but located beside it. The traffic was solid and after market orders kept us busy right up to 2 days before Christmas.

Streamlined, simplified, and all at the shopper's eye level.

What were the sellers, you ask? House signs, engraved ceramic mugs, personalized jewellery boxes, glass tumblers, glass ornaments and dog ornaments. It all takes time to find the right mix for the local market, but by continually reviewing, analyzing and refining, the business can be built up to the level you want. We are happy to keep busy without being over-run, over-stressed or over-worked.

Lessons learned were: keep the display simple and limit the options, have clear pricing on each item, keep your order forms ready, offer useful items that others are not producing on mass, and always deliver before you said you would.