Exhibitions have many purposes like launching products, catching up with what your competitors are doing, recruiting new potential clients and interacting face to face with existing customer. Exhibitions also require quite a lot of preparation which is mandatory if you want things to run smoothly on opening day. Over the past 20 years we have accumulated vast experience in the exhibition industry, making us Exhibition Experts! In the following article, we have gathered our 20-best preparation for your upcoming exhibition:
1. Choose the right exhibition – be sure to conduct a thorough research to locate the trade shows most relevant to your products or services and filter the ones with the highest footprint, in order to maximize your ROI.
2. Check which other companies are planned to exhibit – This will help you understand what your competitors are planning and prepare accordingly
3. Plan your budget thoroughly – always keep a small margin for unexpected costs. You need to make sure you have enough budget, it’s impossible to get good results out of an exhibition by spending the bare minimum.
4. Define your target audience as specifically as possible – the more information you have, higher the chances to design the perfect stand design to allure them to enter your booth and engage with your brand.
5. Set measurable and quality goals – it’s important to set goals in every marketing and sales activity, especially when it involves budget investment, in order to measure the results and effectiveness of your execution.
6. Sign up early to choose the best location – Once you have chosen the most relevant exhibition for your industry, sign up as soon as you can to enjoy a lower registration rate and get a broader range of exhibition spaces to choose from.
7. Locate your exhibition booth in a central location – choose a space where the most footprint is expected to pass through, this way you will increase the number of potential clients entering your exhibition stand
8. Advertise your exhibition stand before opening day – Start advertising as soon as you sign with the organizers and make sure to invite as many existing and potential clients as possible to visit your exhibition stand.
9. Book your travel reservations as early as possible – Again, early birds enjoy lower rates and broader possibilities of transportation and hotels to choose from. If possible, book a hotel close to the venue to reduce transportation cost and time to and from the exhibition venue.
10. Choose you exhibition booth service provider wisely – First impressions are the most lasting, so it’s important that you choose an experienced service provider to design and construct your trade show booth with a proven past record and a global team to provide guidance and onsite technical support if needed.
11. Prepare your exhibition booth staff well – it’s crucial that all your staff on the exhibition booth are familiar with the relevant information as they will serve as the forefront of your company with many potential clients.
12. Considering having a uniform for your staff – this will contribute to better exposing your brand logo, directing potential clients to the relevant staff for any questions they may have, but most important give a unified look to all your representatives. It doesn’t have to be fancy, even a nice branded t-shirt can get the job done.
13. Choose wisely how to display your key messages – you can have them printed out on the booth walls, on led screens, flyers, demonstrations etc. Possibilities are unlimited but make sure to have the right balance so not to overwhelm your visitors with information.
14. Prepare a checklist of all the items you need to bring with you – there is nothing worse than remembering you forgot to bring an important item with you on opening day. The way to avoid this is by preparing a checklist of all the items you need in advance.
15. Don’t forget to advertise during the exhibition days – Share your exhibition booth information on your website, social media platforms, mailing to existing and potential customers, through live streaming and any other asset you have, to increase footprint and convert them into leads.
16. Collect as many leads as you can – By incorporating an engaging activity in your exhibition stand, visitors will engage with your brand in an enjoyable way that will also make it stand out amongst other exhibitors and remain memorable to your potential clients, event after the exhibition has ended.
17. Include an engaging activity in your booth – this will draw more footprint to your booth, help visitors engage with your brand and create a WOM effect while making your booth and product more memorable to potential clients. A good service provider will help you create the most adequate engaging activity for your target audience in the booth design.
18. Consider holding a lottery with a prize to collect leads – a great way to encourage visitors to leave their contact information and transform to leads is by asking them to drop their business cards into a big bowl for a lottery. A good service provider will help you create the most adequate engaging activity for your target audience in the booth design.
19. Create a small giveaway for booth visitors – prepare a small branded giveaway for booth staff to hand out, like a pen or a mousepad. This will help your staff start a conversation with potential clients while also handing them some printed information about your brand. A branded giveaway also makes your brand more memorable, even after the exhibition has ended.
20. Follow up with leads collected during the exhibition – Don’t forget to contact your leads 1-2 days after the exhibition has ended, while they are still considered “hot leads”. You can create a special offer for these leads to help convert them into clients.
Ⓒ BARZILAI