For today's businesses, inclusivity is crucial. It can bolster their brands in the eyes of consumers and give them endless new avenues for creating greater brand awareness and making sales. Besides that, it's basically required by law per the Americans With Disabilities Act and many other regulations that apply to different aspects of inclusivity and accessibility. With that being the case, businesses need to be as sensitive as possible to the needs and expectations of others. That concept extends to their trade show exhibits. Several considerations enter the mix when making trade show booth displays inviting and accessible to everyone.
Physical Accessibility
On the most basic level, consider accessibility for visitors with mobility issues and other disadvantages. That entails having wider entryways, exit points, and paths through your exhibit for those with wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive devices. For interactive displays, build them low enough for people in wheelchairs to be able to reach them. Be sure to make allowances for service animals too. Keep visual and auditory disabilities in mind as well. Incorporate braille, tactile graphics, written materials for those with hearing loss, and other aspects into your trade show booths to give everyone equal access to your information, products, and services.
Diversity
Diversity is another factor to keep in mind. Chances are your workforce is comprised of people from all walks of life. They all work together to keep your company running smoothly, and each person brings his or her own skills and innovations to the mix. Furthermore, your target audience is most likely made up of people from different backgrounds as well. That should be reflected in your exhibit. Build a diverse team of employees to man your trade show exhibit, and incorporate diversity into your signage and other visual elements if applicable. Consider having multilingual employees on your team. Those are a few of the ways you can make your booth welcoming for all visitors.
Staff Training
Additionally, be sure the employees who will be working your booth are well trained. That applies to assisting those with disabilities as well as interacting with people of different backgrounds. They should understand how to help visitors use any assistive devices you build into your display and how to work with people from different countries and cultures. They need to be trained in compassion, patience, and respectfulness.
Emphasizing Accessibility and Inclusivity in Your Trade Show Booth
Accessibility and inclusivity are as essential as branding in trade show booths. Incorporating accessibility features may not be easy, especially if you're limited to standard 10x10 trade show booths, but it's a factor you should certainly keep in mind. It may not be possible to cover all the bases in terms of providing multilingual staff members and understanding all customs and backgrounds, either. Still, it's important to touch on as many as possible. Those efforts will keep you in compliance with legal regulations and, more importantly, send a powerful message to your visitors.
