Just like when you test drive a car for it’s braking, turning radius and comfort, you should also test your trade show exhibit for ease of use, weight, quality of materials and visual appeal…none of which can be done online.  Yes, maybe buying online is quick and easy, but you won’t be purchasing the same added value you would with an in-house consultation.

Meeting Your Support Team

One of the greatest advantages of purchasing a trade show display in person is that you will have the opportunity to meet your support team.  At a full service trade show and event marketing company, you can have a discovery meeting to express your needs and goals.  Whether you’re interested in a simple portable display purchase or a full service relationship including asset management, design and manufacture, and event marketing, an online company cannot give you the level of customer service that a dealer in the showroom can.

Seeing is Believing

An online rendering of a trade show display is completely different than viewing it in person.  A common reaction we have when a client walks into our showroom is “Wow.”   Reason being the colors are crisp, the graphics are quality, and the materials are professional.  It is impossible to gauge the durability and quality of an exhibit and its graphics without seeing it for yourself.  It is simple for an online source to mislead you, so why risk the disappointment of buying a display made of cheap materials only to replace it a few months later?  Also, unlike buying online, in store you can see the products and a demonstration of any complexities that may cause confusion on the trade show floor.  Many clients come into our showroom knowing exactly what they want to purchase only to realize that they like another product instead.  This is why so many repeat clients come in with only slight guidelines for their purchase, leaving us to provide expert recommendations for booth specifics.

Lifetime Warranty and Quality Assurance

Avoid extra fees and extra risk that comes with purchasing online.  If this is a onetime use pop-up banner stand, online may be the answer, but all of our displays are durable and have a lifetime warranty for quality assurance so you can feel comfortable with your purchase and avoid unexpected repair bills that come with purchasing a cheaply made trade show exhibit.  Some online carriers may hit you with unexpected shipping or restocking charges and leave you wondering about the safe and professional delivery of your display.

When you purchase online, there is a lot that is left unknown and unsupported.  They won’t have an entire team available for questions, the satisfaction of feeling and seeing the value of your purchase before it’s made, or the comfort in knowing you have a quality trade show display with support when you need it.

Skyline can offer all these things to you, along with many, many happy customers to back up our claims.  So be wary of taking the quick and easy way out with online display purchases and instead take advantage of the benefits of visiting your local showroom.

Find out more ways to be the best exhibitor by reading the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper.  This 32-page book has almost 100 tips for the most effective strategies and tactics exhibitors are using today.  Click here to request your free copy. 

Has anyone ever told you “It’s about quality not quantity”?   Although this saying doesn’t apply to all aspects of life, making quality purchases helps to ease your anxiety and prolong the life of your purchase, especially with your trade show exhibit.  When something is priced at a higher margin than other competitors, it is usually for a reason: quality materials, excellent craftsmanship, better warranties, and more.

Accessorize Your Brand With Quality

For all you fashion-forward exhibitors, this situation can be likened to that of purchasing a knock-off designer handbag.  Just because the consumer MAY be the only one who knows it’s not a true brand-name bag, does not mean that she is carrying a bag of corresponding quality. Compared to a real Dolce & Gabbana, the fabric of a knock-off  bag may have only a faint smell of leather, poor craftsmanship, lackluster lining, not to mention the buyer’s big, fat conscious yelling “FAKE!” It may look good from a distance, but up close the shoddy craftsmanship shows through.  Similar to enhancing your image through fashionable accessories, you want to accessorize your brand with a well-designed, quality graphic and trade show display.  The quality that makes your brand shine is in the details of superior craftsmanship and know-how. When you value saving a few dollars over quality in trade show exhibiting, you may not be the only one who notices.

You Get What You Pay For

We recently had a client looking to save a few bucks, only to find that her bargain hunting ways back lashed.  In search of a better deal, she decided to outsource her posters to a print shop; assuming the production would be just as reliable.  She unknowingly sent over designs with little resolution.  This resulted in poor quality images that couldn’t be optimized.  Rather than informing her that the images would be blurred, the company just went ahead and printed it!  This would have never happened under our supervision.  We always proof our designs, and would deny approval to create graphics out of images that fall below quality standards.  Since she assumed this was a simple project that could be completed with the same care for a cheaper price, she left zero time for error, and therefore had no posters to use in her booth space.

Learn Your Lesson

Before you base a decision on the quantity of money you may save, you must first guarantee the quality of your investment.  Don’t end up with the fake handbag that may look good from afar, but up close is a cheap, low-quality version of what it could be.  You put a lot of time and effort into your trade show marketing plan, and completing the process with a high-quality design and exhibit is the sure fire way to reap the rewards.

Quality trade show booths are just the beginning when you start exhibiting.  For more ways you can increase your marketing effectiveness, read the What’s Working In Exhibiting guidebook.  This 32-page white paper has almost 100 tips for exhibitors to boost their results and stretch their budgets.  Click here to request your free copy.