Hands up if anyone has ever been to a tradeshow?  Im guessing it is everyone.  Okay now hands up if you have ever been to a tradeshow and you found it difficult to identify between the booth crew members and tradeshow visitors?

If my experience is anything to draw from there are many companies that make the mistake of not identifying themselves.  When visitors come to your tradeshow booth and cannot find a team member when they want to make a genuine enquiry it is more than an inconvenience for them but it is an opportunity lost for you.  Tradeshows are costly and costs on average $10,000 if not more depending on how elaborate you want to be. This is why focusing a bit more attention on your crew uniform can really make a difference.

In many instances most companies have a basic branded polo shirt for their team members.  These would normally be standard colours with your branding on them.  I can tell you now that is simply not enough.  You see many tradeshow participants would also be wearing something similar with their logo on it.  In a tradeshow environment it is simply not obvious to a visitor who is a crew team member for help and who is a general partipant.  The lanyard which is popular in almost all shows now also do not help because both visitors and booth team members are all issued with one.

Here are therefore some simple tips to help you differentiate your crew from visitors:

1)  For a low cost idea why not consider a simple branded apron.  In fact it can even be plain but an apron does distinguish visually very easily who is a visitor and who is not.  For those who think aprons are not macho enough then consider those large blokes in Bunnings and hardware stores (would anyone really dare say they look dainty to their face?)

2)  Promotional Caps - Go for bright colours.  Blacks and blues simply blend in the crowd and are not effective enough in distinguishing yourself.

3)  Promotional Badges - Make them really big and in visible places on your shirt

4)  A promotional sling bag can really help identify a team member as staff.  Better still they double up as effective ways to hand out flyers and promotional products

5)  Literally spell out Team Member and have it screen printed on the back of a shirt.

6)  Dress really really formal.  In fact so formal that you and your team stand out.  Without a doubt this will make you obvious as a crew member.  Gentlemen why not slip a pocket hankerchief into your suit jacket pocket for that dressed to impress look.

Tradeshows are meant to be fun but for you it is also serious business and you should ensure that all bases are covered to ensure your guests are correctly looked after and that they not only enjoy the ambience that you have created but also experience your product and your service.  Make sure your crew can be seen at all times to make sure this happens and it would be a fun time for all!