A clear and detailed plan is needed any time you visit an exhibition or work event.
What do you expect to learn and take from an exhibition? What can it give you? What are your competitors planning to show? How can you make your business stand out from all the others? Should you distribute promotional merchandise? How will you follow up with new customers and clients after the event? How can you make the event as successful as possible for your business? These are just a few examples of what you should consider before attending.
Below, you will find some great suggestions on how to make the most out of trade events. It is up to you how you wish to implement them:
- Define your goals
It may sound completely obvious, but your goals must be set out and defined before attending any exhibition. Here are some examples of what these could look like:
- Increased revenue
- Brand awareness
- Data capture
- New business partners, such as wholesalers, suppliers, distributors or investors
Keep in mind that your aims need to be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Accessible
- Relevant
- Timed
- Define your budget
This is entirely based on what you want to achieve. Please consider all factors that could come into play. Think about the cost of attendance, build-up, products shipping, personnel overnight stay and marketing costs for sponsoring your presence at the event.
- Choose the right team
Once you have decided your aims and how much you want to spend, your team should be the next thing on your mind. Involving the right people is very important, and everyone should know and deeply understand what their role is. For example, if you are attending an international show, can you or your team members speak in the local language? Hiring someone from outside your company for the event might be a good idea if it can help your business bring in new clients. Multi-lingual stall staff could be the difference between you obtaining the chance to contact a new client, or let them slip by, so please bear this in mind. All bases should be covered with all kinds of staff who know what they are talking about, giving you the best possible chance of enjoying a successful event.
Thankfully, there are event staffing agencies available if you need the extra staff on hand. There are many benefits to this, including that the staff supplied to you may already have experience in working this exact local trade show. They know what to expect from the day ahead and can use their knowledge of local business and markets to help generate positive outcomes for your business.
- Marketing and communication plan
A clear and concise communication plan is essential to support your attendance at the event. This should spell out each goal, activity, and deadline that you wish to meet. For example, social media, advertising or leaflets are a great way to get your company noticed – so prepare these well before hand! You will know from experience that competition at trade shows is always high, and that is why you need to do your utmost to be noticed. Having a basic brand image won’t help you achieve this. Looking into a graphic design studio that can help your business stand out at events is a great way of turning heads towards your stall.
- Analyse and choose the right promotional material
It is also important to prepare well in advance any communicative tools that you might be using at your stand. Consider:
- Posters
- Signs
- Brochures
- Catalogues
- Price lists
- Videos and multimedia
- Promotional merchandise (corporate and business gifts, branded clothing…)
- Gadgets
- Business Cards
- PowerPoint and Keynote design
- Stand image
Your most important goal during any trade show or event is capturing your audience. You need your stand to be completely visible to have the best possible chance of being noticed. Using a theme would be a good idea, with originality and quality proudly on display. Branded clothing could also come into consideration here. If a potential customer notices your stall staff in unison, then they are more likely to respect your company as a serious player. Do you want your audience to know that you are taking your business seriously? Depending on the kind of event, it could be more important to be innovative than traditional.
- Let your contacts know your presence at the event using:
- Press releases
- Blog posts
- Social media
- Newsletters
Before showing up to the event, you can make sure your iconic branding is attached to all prior communications, so that people will instantly recognise your company when they see your logo stand.
- Create a memorable experience
Using the tried and tested method of engaging with passers-by or visitors to your stand can prove to be successful. Organising entertainment activities like contests, presentations, workshops and product demonstrations could get your stall noticed quicker than your competitors. Creativity is key at any trade event show. You want to distinguish your business from everyone else, and the more experience you have in doing this, the better. If you find yourself inexperienced at these kinds of events, then hiring a temporary professional to guide you could prove to be fruitful for the business.
- Organise the stand space
Your stand needs to be interesting, welcoming, easy to access and hold enough space to meet all your clients. Creating a checklist can help. Here are some examples of what you might need:
- Paper sheets
- Pens
- Brochures
- Gadgets
- Notebooks
- Computer and other devices with their accessories
- Cleaning products for that extra sparkle
- Maximise social impact
It is no secret why those companies who utilise the power of social media prove to be more successful. Social media is a big part of event planning, and it is a great tool for communication with existing and potential clients before any trade show. Take to your company’s social media sites and make sure everyone knows that you are going to be at a specific event. That way, visitors who are already interested in your business will know to keep an eye out for your stall and can even have some potential work ready to share with your company!
Preparing for an event is not only important for attracting new customers, but it is also important for successful budget utilisation. You do not want to waste your money and your time by showing up to events ill-prepared. Attending these events is a very different proposition to showing up to the office. They can be stressful, hectic and overwhelming at times. That’s why it is always a great idea to hire an event expert who knows the ins and outs of these events.
It is no secret in any part of the world that going cheap can lead to poor results. You could lose even more money this way, as potential clients could view you as unprofessional. At trade events it always better to pay the money for quality, this will give you the best chance of attracting more clients to your stall and therefore to your business.
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